Monday, February 12, 2018

Just Who Are You Quoting, Anyway?

Hey, great new look, same great blog! This week, it's a video!

Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and Albert Einstein walk into a bar...

Les Oswald talks about quotes and misquotes.

So, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and Albert Einstein walk into a bar. The bartender turns to them and says, "So, which of you is misquoted most often?" All three of them raised their hands… as well as everybody else in the bar: Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Henry Ford, George Carlin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Helen Keller. It's not much of a punchline, but you get the idea.

I've been in love with quotations ever since I was a kid. I've been collecting them, arranging them, using them, and everything. With the advent of the Internet, it has been fantastic because you can look up anything quoted by anybody. Unfortunately, a lot of those quotations just don't measure up.

I found a quote by Albert Einstein that, as an educator, I just loved. "Everybody's a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll live its whole life believing that it is stupid!" Unfortunately, Einstein never said that. Somebody else did. Come to find out the person who did say it was an educator and the quote is terrific because it's kind of motivating, and allows us non-geniuses to feel like we're in the same ballpark as an Albert Einstein. But what happened was somebody liked the quotation, didn't feel like it had enough credibility or enough "authority." So they attributed it to Albert Einstein and got a whole lot more mileage that way.

The thing is, we have the ability to be writers ourselves. If you write something really creative or motivating, I'd really like the opportunity to quote you! We don't have to borrow credibility from somebody else. We can pass along what you wrote or what you said and get a whole lot of mileage out of it. We can build up your own credibility or your own authority.






1 comment:

  1. I totally agree with you! We do have the ability to be writers ourselves! Everyone has their own unique perspective on life. and, more often than not, a great story to tell the world. These stories become irreplaceable. The reason why is because, everyone is so incredibly unique. No two people in history or in the world today are exactly alike. It's so obvious, yet so fascinating when I really think about it. Our identities are shaped intellectually, spiritually, and otherwise by so many factors. Such as; the people we come in contact with everyday (family, coworkers, the teachers who have inspired us, the quotes we hear, the blogs we listen to and read, the music we listen to, the we books read...etc.) These all come together to create a tapestry so unique, so beautiful that it is impossible to duplicate. Our own individuality is a constantly changing gift. The wisdom we gain from our individual experiences shape our perspective, and that perspective is just as important as anyone's. Even Einstein. This is why I love meeting new people and reading insightful blogs such as yours. Thank you for sharing your unique perspective and wisdom. It is indeed, a wonderful gift. - Janae

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