Are you struggling to find motivation? These wise words can help you overcome challenges, seize the day, and live a life that matters.
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
Imagine that you spend your whole day spitting one quote after the other. Those around you will be wet by the end of the day.
That is how wet my mind is when it comes to quotes. I see them everywhere, collect them, and carve them into my soul.
It has been somewhere in Africa. West Africa.
My grandparents are from a remote village in Guinea, Conakry, called Korbé. During the summer, I used to go there on holiday from Dakar, Senegal.
It is almost a 1,000 Km drive and generally done in two days because of the roads, which are so chaotic:
Source: Google Maps
I used to visit my grandparents on both sides. Below are the only two pictures of my dad’s mom and my mom’s dad:
Left: Néné Baaba (GrandMom in Pulaar) and Right: (with a walking stick) Baaben Aladji (Grand Dad) © Ahmadou DIALLO
I don’t have any pictures of my mom’s mom (Néné Kaou), and I have never seen one. She passed away long before I was born.
I remember some moments with Baaben Soro (my dad’s dad). He is the one who gave me the quotes virus when we walked down into the village Korbé.
I used to visit them once every two years. Yet the memories of my grandparents live in me through the wisdom they shared with me.
This article is about me sharing a selection of quotes inspiring me for my grandchildren and their grandchildren.
1. Whenever You Feel Like Repeating The Same Mistakes
“Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It.”
–George Santayana
The way I remember it is like this: the fact that people don’t learn the mistakes of history is the most important lesson of history.
I have a cycle at work. I work in a big company. Every three or four years, I get bored in my current position. I need to change, and there are many opportunities for internal mobility.
Early in my career, I would burn the bridges at my current position before moving to the next one. I did it two or three times.
I am currently at the end of a cycle, yet I have learned my lesson: I can move on without burning bridges. I Am learning from my past experiences.
I invite you to perform an audit about the successes and failures in your life. Ask yourself if there is a pattern that you are repeating which is harming you.
Make that change.
2. Whenever You Feel Like You are Stuck In a Rut
"People, in essence, do not grow up; they only get old."
– Néné Baaba
I have killed the child in me many times. I have been a victim of the competition mindset. I have been a firm believer in the Zero-Sum game. I win. You lose. If you win, it means that I have lost.
It is important to remember and reframe life as an infinite game. You come into life, play until you are dead, and this is it.
No, it is not doom and gloom. It is the only way to play the game of life. You should never be disillusioned as you grow old.
Bring back that child mindset and set your mind to play. Be curious. Be a lifelong learner. Embrace every new experience. Be a student of life.
Life is a game. You don’t pay through it. You play like a child until you die.
3. Wherever You Are Overwhelmed By Anxieties
"Smile. Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."
– Baaben Aladji
I have two kids. I see the way I think the world is going mad. I am worried about their future, and I am worried about the future of their generation, given the pollution, climate change, and polarization in the world.
Yet, while worrying, I am not focused on cherishing our moments together.
Yes, I can build wealth for them. Yes, I can put them in the best schools to ensure a bright future. Yes, I can do all of that by chasing money.
Yet, I have no control over their future. All I have control over is my actions in the Eternal Now. I have control over spending more time with them than my digital lords. I have control over walking the talk. They are always watching.
Seize the moment before it flees. There is beauty in the present. That is all it is.
4. Whenever You Feel Lost Or In Search For Fulfillment
"Life is like a play. It's not the length but the Excellence of the acting that matters."
– Seneca
Most of my peers from the same engineering school are thriving at work. I feel like I am still not progressing fast in the company.
Yet that is nothing compared to what just happened in Africa.
I am 43 years old. In March 2024, Senegal elected the youngest African president, Bassirou Diomaye Fay, who is 44.
Now, that is a punch in the face. I am 43 years old and in a company in a country surrounded by people still challenging Aya Nakamura's Frenchness.
I must not rush through life, sprinting like Usain Bolt. I must live with intention. We all have 24 hours a day.
Life is a marathon. It is not about rushing through it. It is about making the best of the time we get.
Yet, as nobody knows what is in their time basket, taking charge and making the change is essential. Now.
5. Whenever You Feel Nostalgic About The Past
"The one charm of the past is that it is in the past."
– Néné Baaba
I sometimes reflect on the past. What if I married that first girl I truly fell in love with when I arrived in Toulouse? What if I stayed in Senegal like Diomaye Faye? What if I was born White with royalty blood in my veins?
As the saying goes, Old is gold. Yet you cannot eat gold. You cannot breathe gold. And if you try to take gold with you in your tomb, you will just be robbed, like the Egyptian Pharaohs.
The past is for reference and not residence. Memories are great. Yet there is something even more significant: the present moment.
You are not the sum of your past iterations. Every morning, you are risen from the dead to start fresh—no strings attached.
6. Whenever You Feel Like Your Ghosts Surround You From The Past
"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."
– Baaben Aladji
I have many of those. The ghosts from my past wake up with me every day. They eat breakfast at the same table. They clock in at work. They play with my kids after dinner.
There used to be many more of them. Now, I have drastically reduced their number and work every day to minimize creating new ones.
Don’t let your regrets hunt you until your deathbed. You need to let them go as fast as possible.
Move forward. Fail forward. Don’t look backward.
What happened in the past is just a memory in your head. There is nothing you can do about it. Today, you rise fresh with a clean slate. Today, you can start writing the end of your new beginning—no questions asked.
Use your mistakes as stepping stones to sit on your present throne.
7. Whenever The Gods Of Procrastination Bang At Your Door.
"Never put off till tomorrow the fun you can have today."
– Aldous Huxley
I used to think that I should only do work that I enjoy. The universe was sending me contradictory signals. Yet I insisted that my work must be play and fun—all the time.
At work, all the cleaners (yes, they are only women) are the usual suspects. They are from North Africa or the Sub-Saharan part of the continent. They are my mothers and my sisters in arms.
Most of us find their work not fun at all. Yet I am sure that they find meaning in maintaining a clean environment so that we can poop and innovate about the next generation aircraft.
If those women do not delay their contribution to humanity, I definitely should not. When I see them, office politics seem less worth worrying about.
Life is not always fun and sunshine, tomorrow or every day. Yet you must seize the day and amplify your impact now.
Tomorrow never comes. Actr now, where you are. Act now despite challenges. Act with fun if possible. Act now with play if possible. Just act. Now. No matter the “what ifs” of tomorrow.
As popularized by GenZ: YOLO - You Only Live Once.
8. Whenever You Feel Like You Knocked Out by Your Setbacks
"Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust."
– Sun Tzu
I have failed the application for French Citizenship. Now, I am both Senegalese and French.
After my engineering studies, I was rejected for many job applications because I did not have a permanent resident visa. Now, I am working in a company where those people would love to see their children or relatives work.
I have been punched many times in the face while thinking that I had a robust map. That is a trap in my mind. I might feel ready for the next promotion, but the universe might beg to differ.
Maintaining my resilience is what has kept me moving. And until I die, I will keep moving. That is the way of life.
Take care of yourself daily. Take care of your mental health daily. Take care of your body daily.
Memento Mori, remember that you will die. Imagine that setback at your deathbed in fifty years, ten years, ten months, ten hours, or just ten minutes from now.
Rise again. Rise despite the rain. Rise through the pain. You will prevail. Rise one more time.
9. Whenever You Feel Like Your Mind Experiencing The Blue Screen Of Death
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge; knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future."
– Baaben Soro
I always thought that the world was just my worldview and my experiences. Growing up in Dakar, Senegal, I lived in a society where my perception and reality were in synchronicity.
After I arrived in France, where other rules were at play, I understood that the world is not my worldview. Each place has its own instantiation of what reality should be.
That was my Aha moment: I had to break free from what I knew to make room for the universe's wisdom.
Indeed, proper understanding goes beyond facts. Those are only the tip of the visible iceberg. I am not even talking about all the invisible icebergs human wisdom has never touched.
Always seek understanding first before seeking to be understood. Don’t just chase the light on a random road. Understand why you are on the road you are on right now. Don’t be blindsided by the streetlights.
Elevate yourself to contemplate the whole journey at scale. That is wisdom: connecting the dots. Backwards.
10. Wherever You Feel Like Your Life Compass Has Gone Mad
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
– Albert Einstein
I used to have excellent marks in elementary and high school without much effort. I did not even push myself that hard in engineering school. The hardest part for me was to get in.
Early in my career, I just did the job—full Stop. I was a fool to stop learning, growing, and challenging myself.
Then, eventually, I got lost. I lost track of the meaning of my own life. I was alive and yet dead inside.
I was that person taking the elevator and going down, hoping to get upward in life. I confused motion with movement.
Then I became a dad. Twice. Now, it is not just about me. It is about the example I set for my boys. They will be watching me more than they will listen to me.
If you want your future self not to be obsolete now, you need to reinvent yourself constantly. Life is motion. It blows a wind of change. You are not an immovable force. You have to be antifragile. That is the only way to make a breakthrough in life so that you don’t end up broken by life.
Is it scary out there? Absolutely. Should you die in your comfort zone? Absolutely not.
Keep moving. Keep living. Keep being.
Final Thoughts
Quotes are powerful. They are the quantum essence of wisdom compacted in a small form factor.
I have pictures from my two grandparents, Néné Baaba and Baaben Aladji. Yet I don't have any from Baaben Soro. And I am not even talking about Néné Kaou, whom I never met and for whom there is no picture.
More than holding on to those pictures, their legacy is IN me. It is not just for me. That is why I am sharing their wisdom with you.
Don’t focus on trying to leave a legacy for people. You have no idea how and for how long your legacy will survive your death.
Live in the moments. Build memories (hopefully great ones) in people. That is the only way to ensure your light touches souls you will never meet or see.
Néné Kaou, Néné Baaba, Baaben Soro and Baaben Aladji will live in me forever. They will live forever as I pass their wisdom to you and the internet.
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