My mentor - not an easy man had a number of gems. My favourite was his response following a young consultant coming up with a singularly bad suggestion.

So was born "van Rensburg's dictum"

"An ass can make only one sound. Don't expect it to whistle, and don't expect any sensible eloquence either!"
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My mother used to tell me "You are old enough and ugly enough that your wants won't hurt you." Puts the world in perspective, doesn't it?
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I learned this from an Air Force general (maybe colonel, can't recall):

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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"Don't eat yellow snow."
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An old-timer I worked with used to say "We work 50/50. I take all the credit and the kid here takes all the blame."

Probably the very best thing a mentor ever told me in my entire life was "You wanna be right or you wanna be happy?"
He's the same man that said to me "Look, this is just man to man. But you'll never suffer a peaceful minute until you get that crazy b1tch out of your life."
He was 100% correct in both instances and I took great steps to change my life to coincide with that wisdom.
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Boss from long ago had a saying about seeking out the right person to get a problem resolved:

"You don't like the music go talk to the organ grinder, not the f****n' monkey!
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"Only suckers pay retail"

"Don't much care about your education. You either can or you can't."
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My mother would always tell my brother and me that she "bore braun NOT brain".
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Two from my dad:

"Never sh!t where you eat." Which could be applied to many things, but in this case it was about dating or being involved with someone where you work.

"A liar never believes anyone, a thief thinks everyone is stealing from them and a cheater will always think someone are cheating on them."
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She bore a razor?

Oh, "brawn" not ... :-)
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You want good, fast, and cheap but you can only pick two. Choose wisely.
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Looks like she was right! :-)
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Dave, my buddy Gary always said...
I never wanted to be nothin, and I never amounted to anything.
I guess that makes me a complete success.
:-)
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LOL, Scott.
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Measuring is the enemy of accuracy.
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Grandma always said, "No pussies in the hall of fame."
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My father always told us to hope for the best, but be sure to plan for the worst.
His ship was shot down in a US Air force raid over the Polesti oil refineries in WWII and crash landed in a badly damaged B-24Liberator. All of the crew survived the crash except one unfortunate crew member. The survivors all made it through POW camp and returned home. Prior to that, his crew practiced low-level engine shutdown landings. Seems to have paid off!
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Wow, Rob. I had an uncle who's Liberator was also shot down over Romania. He too was a POW. Small world.
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MSgt Berry, First Sergeant in my initial training squadron when I was brand new to the USAF, giving me my first weekend safety briefing: "Don't drink and drive. But if you HAVE to drink and drive, use a half-pint bottle and turn it sideways so it won't block your vision."
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My mentor and friend has signed my birthday card the same way, every card he gave me/signed in the 20 years I've known him.

"May your path into decrepitness and senility continue unabated."
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