Elbow grease is the best polish

You can sit about for ages making great plans and forming great schemes but unless you take action nothing will happen. Having a clear idea of what you're going to do before you start is a good policy. Well begun is half done, but without steady effort there will not be a good outcome.

In order to motivate your self it sometimes helps to visualize the end result, to continue the metaphor, the effort of polishing results in the smart appearance of your shoes which might just tip someone's opinion of you to favorable. It is the carrot on a stick that keeps the donkey going.

So whatever it is you are planning to do roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.

Deep waters run still

We have all delighted at the sight and sound of a babbling brook. The foamy, silvery, bubbly water chuckles merrily over the pebbles. A deep pool is dark and mysterious. Perhaps fat trout lurk in its depth.

This is a simple, long used metaphor illustrating the different types of human mind. Some people chatter away and say very little. Other say little but convey a lot.

The chatterbox broadcasts every simple thought that occurs to them. The deeper person weighs ideas carefully and selects only the best. It is from them that we get "the fattest trout".

Debt is the worst poverty

If you are poor you are poor and you have to cut your coat according to your cloth, how ever poor that cloth might be. If you are in debt you have entered negative territory and someone else owns your coat. Any effort you put in to struggle free is absorbed by your debts. You cannot save a little to see you through. You cannot invest a little surplus to improve your lot.

Avoiding unnecessary debt is one of the first things a wise person should learn. The trouble is that governments have created a system of money based on paper that can be manipulated. It is possible for people to run up debt and then have it considerably reduced by inflation.

The common sense saver who prudently avoided borrowing feels cheated, as their savings lose value. In this unnatural situation the wise loose out to the witless. Is it a form of cheating or redistribution of wealth? How many times can you con people into working hard and saving if their spendthrift neighbor is the one who ends up with a big grin?

Second thoughts are best

We all tend to react to a difficult situation with emotion. Because of this our first response can be inappropriate. The expression " to sleep on it" tells us of the importance of taking time to consider our reaction.

Taking time to reply gives us the opportunity to reflect and use our powers of reasoning to decide the best ways to deal with the problem. Writing an E mail and firing it off in haste can get you into trouble.

The old saying " count to 10" makes a lot of sense. Without emotions we would not be human but discipline is necessary. So remember: first love and second thoughts are best.

To promise and gives nothing is comfort for a fool

The first thought that comes to mind when reading that is: politician. People in government usually know that by the time they leave office the promises they made will not have come to pass. But it will be someone else's problem.

Beware the Greeks bearing gifts is a very old saying that seems to apply to those whose business is government. The gifts handed out by politicians have been paid for by the people who get them. In return for this generous kindness they give themselves a pay rise.

To vote for a politician because of his promises is not a good idea. You have to judge their character from their track record. Perhaps those people who judge a politician by his suit are just as wise those who study their every word.

May you're shadow never grow less.

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The length of your shadow depends on your height. The shorter you are the shorter your shadow. This is of course referring to the height of your reputation.

Our standing in the eyes of others depends on how they assess us. This metaphor is a simple way of praising someone but at the same time warning of the dangers of diminishing themselves by the wrong actions.

People are often encouraged to walk tall in the metaphorical sense and this leads to the idea of a long shadow.

Crumbs are also bread

Everyone wants a decent amount of the things they desire. But you don’t always get what you want. The Scots, renowned for their thrifty ways, have a saying: Manys a mickle maks a muckle: Many small things make a great thing. The Americans talk of nickel and dime operations with disdain and like to identify with the big and bold.

Reality for many people means small pickings are the only ones going so they have to make the best of them. Some of the largest fortunes have been built by those with low priced products with small margins but selling regularly.

The advice here seems to be to have a little humility and be grateful for what you can get.

He that will thrive must rise at five

There are only so many hours in a day. If you want to get on there is no point in wasting your time luxuriating in bed. If you buzz with energy and activity while your dozy competitors reach for the toast you have a head start. The early bird catches the worm.

If your work goes well because you started early and you see good progress you go to bed with a clear conscience and a sense of entitlement to a good nights rest. You sleep better and awake early, refreshed and ready for the next days challenges.

In the countryside the cock acted as a natural alarm clock and awoke the people early. Now we have alarms of all types so there is no excuse - rise and shine!

On a good bargain think twice

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It might be impolite to look a gift horse in the mouth but when offered something at a bargain price there is a need for wariness. If it is too good to be true then it probably is.

It is not in the nature of acquisitive humans to give things away - we seem to have a built in instinct to grab and hold. Altruism is to some extent usually self serving, even if it is only to gain the feeling of pleasure in doing someone a good turn.

It follows that when being offered a bargain it is prudent to consider the flaws and pitfalls of acceptance. It might be that someone has an urgent need to dispose and will accept a lower price for the ready money or the object has a flaw or drawback that will soon prove to be the reason for the low price. The classic false bargain is buying a pig in a poke that turns out to be an unwanted kitten.

Caveat emptor - buyer beware is a good and ancient motto.

Good clothes open all doors

This saying will be music to the ears of tailors - and who knows - perhaps one of that ancient trade began it.

Do not judge a book by its cover is another old saying that seems to contradict the first.

What we are learning here seems to be that good presentation will catch the eye and start you off on the right foot. Having impressed someone with your appearance or with a book, drawn a potential reader to take a glance, the inner quality stands a chance of being recognized.

The thing to take away from this is: look smart to get a start then be smart and follow through.

Ready money is soon away

You will have heard people saying: money burns a hole in his pocket, so you are familiar with the idea that it is always a temptation to have ready money available. There are so many tempting opportunities to spend that it is easy to find an excuse to indulge if the cash is easily to hand.

This proneness to temptation means that it is prudent to save for a rainy day by putting your surplus funds to work for you in a savings account or other investment so that you have to put in a bit of time and effort to retrieve them.

Ultimately, money is for spending but there is nothing worse than an urgent, unexpected bill you can't pay, and the tormenting thought that last week you were throwing it away on fripperies.

He who has nothing can do nothing

A farmer with land can grow food; a carpenter with tools and wood can make something to sell; a person with education can teach and earn money.

This saying opines on the importance of what we have, material or intellectual. No doubt this originated in the days before social welfare when the poor were left to starve, but the lesson that can be taken from it is the importance of giving your children a good start. If you see to their education, training and possibly some savings to buy tools or start a business you help them to succeed.

It could be argued that anyone who possesses the will can succeed by hook or by crook. Even if you only have the gift of the gab by refusing to be beat you will find a way.

God defend me from still water and I'll keep myself from the rough.

Still water runs deep, and is generally regarded as dangerous, whereas the shallower ripples are safe to ford.

The big dangers of life are often such that we can do little about them, and we pray to God, if religious, or trust in fate if we are not, that they can be avoided.

Those problems that are within our individual and group strengths we should tackle in a prompt and wise manner. To expect God to attend to our every problem when we have been equipped to cope with them ourselves is obviously wrong. God helps those who help themselves.

He is idle that might be better employed

Do you ever get the feeling that you are wasting your time no matter how busy you are? We have a built in mechanism for checking the worthwhileness of what we do. Without it we would spend our time on trivia and irrelevant pursuits.

It is necessary from time to time to take stock of your activities and decide if your time is being used in a way that is likely to fulfill your goals.

Lost time is never found again so make the best use of your allotted span.

Spilt wine is worse than water

Spilt wine is worse than water

Spill some water on your clothes and it will soon dry with no harm done. Wine will most probably leave an unpleasant mark and a smell. You might also say that the wine cost money and the water was free.

The originators of proverbs and sayings worth remembering rarely content themselves with the obvious and this example requires further study.

Shakespeare has a line "Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds" taken to mean that the wrong acts of notable people are far worse than those of the ordinary classes. So here we are probably being told that persons of quality "the wine" when misbehaving cause more offense than the misdeeds of the ordinary person "the water". A specific example of this might be that if a lady of refinement and quality becomes dissolute it is more shocking than if a simple, uneducated girl does exactly the same thing.

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God who sends the wound sends the medicine

In days gone by people believed in something called "the doctrine of signatures". This stated that a plant had some relationship to its use, and that could be determined from its shape or the location in which it grew.

The 17th-century herbalist, William Coles, believed walnuts were good for head ailments because, "they Have the perfect Signatures of the Head".

The modern scientist might be sceptical of this approach, preferring tests and experiment, but is there any wisdom we can gain from a contemplation of this general principle? If a problem exists does this mean that there must automatically be a solution that, if we seek, we will find?

Solutions to many of mankind's ills have been found, and we cling to a hope that whatever we suffer from someday someone somewhere will find a cure -- be they inspired by God or Mammon.

It is hope alone that makes us willing to live

There are times in everyone's life when all the negatives crowd in - the extreme example being depression, when life seems devoid of all meaning and purpose.

Experiencing the downside of life is part of the springboard to the upside so has to be understood as a natural phenomenon and not feared too much. We all know that nothing is constant, everything evolves and changes. There are trend lines and seasons that give a framework to our existence but within that, as individuals we are subject to the whims and caprices of chance - or so it seems.

The one thing that is our lifeline in the sea of doubts is hope. We can always hope that things will change for the better, and they usually do. We can be pulled back to the dry land and sunny climes of a happy existence. Hope springs eternal in the human breast.

Gold is the sovereign of all sovereigns

An amusing play on the difference in meaning of sovereign as a monarch or sovereign as a gold piece incorporates a truth: cash is the king of kings.

Without money to pay their supporters, rulers, be they ancient kings or modern democratic governments, all fail.

Another meaning might refer to gold as a store of wealth that governments can not debase by printing money. Over time, gold tends to hold its value and adjust for inflation, whilst fiat money withers away and eventually becomes worthless.

He is a fool that is not melancholy once a day

Gurus abound with good advice on staying positive, banishing negative thoughts and promising everlasting happiness.

So why did the sage who coined this saying think being sad was a good thing?

It raises the question what is sadness, and what is it for?

A spell of melancholy is a time for reflection on the bad things in your life. You could simply try to ignore them, suppressing all thoughts. You could pretend they don't exist. At worst you could be taking pills in an attempt to blot them out.

This sage is encouraging us to face up to our difficulties and attempt to deal with them. After the thunder and rain we get the sunshine and it is them we can enjoy the benefits of a positive attitude.