Never—ever—leave home without your pad and pen.TIM LEMIRE, in his 2006 career guide
I’m an English Major—Now What?
Never, never, never be a cynic, even a gentle one.
Never help out a sneer, even at the devil.VACHEL LINDSAY
Never, never pass up an opportunity to meet new people.
Your antennae should be up your whole life.HARVEY B. MACKAY, in Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need (1997)
Never, EVER use logic on a pregnant woman.
I’m telling you right now: Just shut up and take it.CHRIS MANCINI, in Pacify Me: A Handbook
for the Freaked-Out New Dad (2009)
Never, ever overprogram or overschedule
your child’s time with too many activities.PHIL MCGRAW, in Family First: Your Step-by-Step
Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family (2004)
Later in the book, McGraw offered the following advice about how to handle a family crisis: “Never, ever, turn on one another, put family relationships on the line, or cave into pressure. Instead, close ranks and support one another.”
Never, ever let an attractive woman
hold a power position in your home.JULIANNE MOORE, in the 1992 film
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Moore, as Marlene Craven, offered this warning to Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) about hiring the sexy Peyton Flanders (Rebecca De Mornay) as a nanny. She was right.
Never, Ever Step on a SpiderNANCY NICHOLSON, title of her 2003 book
You shouldn’t point a loaded gun at anyone.
(This is not an absolutely rigid rule. An absolutely rigid rule is:
Never, ever, point an unloaded gun at anyone).P. J. O’ROURKE, from Modern Manners:
An Etiquette Book for Rude People (1983)
It is absolutely vital never, never, never
to panic when facing an upsetting situation.NORMAN VINCENT PEALE, from
The Positive Principle Today (2003)
Peale was fond of neverisms, and occasionally dabbled in multiple ones. In his 1997 book You Can If You Think You Can (1997), he offered this Churchillian thought: “Never—never—settle for defeat.”
Never, EVER, Serve Sugary Snacks on Rainy DaysSHIRLEY RAINES, title of 1995 book,
subtitled The Official Little Instruction
Book for Teachers of Young Children
Never give back the ring. Never. Swallow it first.JOAN RIVERS, on broken engagements
If you want your relationship to last,
never, never, never, ever threaten the relationship itself.ANTHONY ROBBINS,
in Awaken the Giant Within (1991)
Never, never, you must never either of you
remind a man at work on a political job that he may be President.THEODORE ROOSEVELT
According to Lincoln Steffens, this was Roosevelt’s angry reply in 1895 when Steffens and fellow journalist Jacob Riis asked the popular New York City police commissioner if he had presidential aspirations. Roosevelt, who became incensed at the suggestion that he might be a political opportunist, went on to explain: “It almost always kills him politically. He loses his nerve; he can’t do his work; he gives up the very traits that are making him a possibility.” Then, after pausing for a moment and thinking about what he was saying, he frankly admitted:I must be wanting to be President. Every young man does. But I won’t let myself think of it; I must not, because if I do, I will begin to work for it; I’ll be careful, calculating, cautious in word and act, and so—I’ll beat myself.
Never, ever disrespect your opponent or your teammates
or your organization or your manager,
and never, ever your uniform.RYNE SANDBERG, Chicago Cubs infielder
and 2005 Hall of Fame inductee
Never, never, never give up!
Patience and perseverance are the crowning qualities
of self-confident champions.ROBERT H. SCHULLER, channeling Winston Churchill,
in Hours of Power (2004)
You’re bigger than you think. So fit your thinking to your true size.
Think as big as you really are! Never, never, never sell yourself short.DAVID J. SCHWARTZ,
in The Magic of Thinking Big (1987)
Never lie. Ever.NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF, a “rule for leaders,”
offered in a January 1992 issue of Inc. magazine.
Never, never waste a minute on regret.
It’s a waste of time.HARRY S TRUMAN
When you use a prepared text,
never, never, never speak those words without first making
them your friends through constant and persistent attention.JACK VALENTI, in his 1982 book Speak Up with Confidence:
How to Prepare, Learn, and Deliver Effective Speeches
Never compete. Never.DIANA VREELAND
The legendary fashion adviser finished off her advice by adding, “Watching the other guy is what kills all forms of energy.” Vreeland was the Harper’s Bazaar fashion editor in 1960 when she began to help future first lady Jacqueline Kennedy create the famous “Jackie Look” (a few years later, Mrs. Kennedy wrote in a letter to Vreeland: “You are and always will be my fashion mentor”). Her involvement with the fashionable first lady, along with her later role as editor-in-chief at Vogue magazine, helped make her one of the most influential voices in the history of style and fashion.
Never underestimate, never, ever, ever, underestimate what you
might be able to share in two minutes that can change lives forever.ROBIN WEBBER, in a 2003 sermon that used
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as an example
Never, oh never, indulge in telling wife jokes.
It is in exceptionally poor taste.ZIG ZIGLAR, in See You at the Top
(twenty-fifth anniversary edition, 2000)
Ziglar introduced the thought by writing: “Remember: Your wife wants a man she can look up to—but not one who looks down on her.”
eight
Never Persist in Trying to Set People Right
Human Relationships