This article was originally published by Fast Company.
Remember the cheesy posters that used to hang on office walls? Some were professionally created, framed office décor. But just as often, you would see these quotes pinned to cork boards beside a desk or on a cubicle wall. Those framed photos of eagles, mountain peaks, and water ripples, and inspirational text beneath provided an entire generation with motivational quotes about leadership, success, and resilience.
While I occasionally come across inspirational quotes hung in workspaces today, I rarely see the professionally produced versions that were ubiquitous in the 1980s during what may have been the heyday of the self-help movement.
These posters became so popular that Successories stores sprang up in malls across the country, selling posters, coffee mugs, and other paraphernalia featuring inspirational quotes.
Where did all that stuff go? My theory is that modern-day memes pushed it aside. These satirical devices have filled up our social feeds and texting groups, rendering old-school inspiration defenseless. Who could cling to inspiration in the face of such an onslaught?
Maybe it’s just nostalgia, but I miss those campy posters. But I suppose what I really miss aren’t posters with a mysterious image of a drop of dark liquid (what was that, oil?) creating a ripple, but the nuggets of actual wisdom found in the small print below. With all the change and uncertainty in the world, it feels like we could use some of that inspiration.
Here are five timeless quotes I’d propose for office posters today:
- Attitude: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”—Eleanor Roosevelt
We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control our reactions. Regardless of what is said or done to us, we still control the most essential parts of who we are—where we put our focus and how we choose to spend our time and energy.
- Excellence: “Doing the common things uncommonly well.”—Orison Swett MardenMastery requires mastering every element of that skill. There are no shortcuts to excellence. No one achieves excellence in the whole after accepting mediocrity in a part of the whole. The only path to excellence is a relentless focus on doing all the small things well.
- Growth: “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” — Henry FordWe never get better without failure. Just as we must work our muscles to get stronger, improvement in any area of our lives requires hard work and the experience of overcoming stress and adversity. Once we understand the role of failure in improvement, we gain the ability to learn the lessons necessary for growth.
- Imagination: “Everything you can imagine is real.”—Pablo PicassoPerhaps the most remarkable trait of the human mind is the capacity to envision what does not exist. Imagination is the beginning of innovation. Dreaming about what isn’t enables us to conceive of what could be.
- Persistence: “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.”—William FeatherIt is incredible how often it isn’t the smartest or fastest who succeeds, but the one who is willing to work the hardest. It is even more often the one who is willing to keep working when others have quit. Only continual effort leads to occasional breakthroughs.
- Attitude: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”—Eleanor Roosevelt
However motivation reaches us—through a poster, a message, or a memory—I hope we all feel a little more inspired to invest in and do the things we need to do today that will lead to something great tomorrow.
