Kozma Prutkov

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. No one can embrace the boundless.

   You cannot do everything, read everything or be everywhere. Pick what you will hold and let the rest go by. Trying to grab it all is the surest way to hold nothing well.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 3, our translation from the Russian

2. Look to the root.

   Symptoms are loud; causes are quiet. Before you fix what you see, ask what is feeding it. Most problems solved at the root never come back.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 5, our translation from the Russian

3. Say little, but say it well.

   Every extra word weakens the ones that matter. Cut until only the true part is left. People remember the short thing said well, not the long thing said at length.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 6, our translation from the Russian

4. Got a fountain? Plug it. Give the fountain a rest too.

   In Russian a fountain is a person who will not stop talking. Prutkov's advice is to turn yourself off now and then. Silence rests you and everyone around you.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 22, our translation from the Russian

5. Don't fear the enemy. Your fiercest enemy is yourself.

   The opponent across the table is rarely the one who beats you. Doubt, laziness and temper do more damage than any rival. Win the fight inside and the outside one gets smaller.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 59, our translation from the Russian

6. Lie once, and who will believe you?

   Trust is built in years and spent in a sentence. After one lie every true thing you say has to be checked. Keep your word clean and it keeps working for you.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 74, our translation from the Russian

7. Look at the sky and see sky. In a small mirror, only yourself.

   What you look at decides how big your world is. Stare at yourself all day and your world shrinks to the size of a hand mirror. Lift your eyes to the horizon and you grow to match it.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 77, our translation from the Russian

8. If you want to be happy, be happy.

   Happiness is not a prize waiting at the end of a list of conditions. It is a choice you can make in the middle of an ordinary day. Stop postponing it and start now.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 80, our translation from the Russian

9. What we have, we don't keep. Once it's lost, we weep.

   Health, friends, parents, time: we treat them as permanent until they are gone. The grief afterwards is mostly regret for the care we did not give. Look after what you have while you still have it.

   Fruits of Reflection, No. 85, our translation from the Russian

10. Two hands: take with the left, give with the right.

    Receiving and giving are meant to run at the same time, not one after the other. What comes into one hand should already be leaving the other. Keep the flow moving and you never run dry.

    Fruits of Reflection, No. 120, our translation from the Russian

11. Cunning is the weapon of the weak and the mind of the blind.

    Tricks are what people use when they lack strength or clear sight. The strong and the clear-eyed can afford to be direct. Build real ability and you will not need to be clever.

    Fruits of Reflection, uncollected aphorisms, No. 49, our translation from the Russian

12. Wisdom reduces complaints, not suffering.

    Wisdom will not make life hurt less. What it changes is how much you talk about the hurt. The wise carry the same weight; they just stop narrating it.

    Fruits of Reflection, uncollected aphorisms, No. 51, our translation from the Russian