Inspirational Quotes by Marty Nemko (American Career Coach)

The most valuable way to spend a dollar? A memo pad. Keep it with you at all times. Think of ideas. Write them down. Implement them.
—Marty Nemko

Talking too much is a career killer. Keep all utterances to <45 seconds &, in dialogue, speak a bit LESS than 50% of the time.
—Marty Nemko

The only God resides within us: It is our wisest attitudes and actions.
—Marty Nemko

I used to think most people are intrinsically motivated to work hard. But I’m finding that many if not most people need monitoring.
—Marty Nemko

You’ll likely learn more of enduring value from an hour of wise googling than from any course.
—Marty Nemko
Topics: Learning, Education

We hear stories of persistence rewarded yet for each of those, hundreds have pressed on only to end up broken and/or broke.
—Marty Nemko

A mantra to cure procrastinators: It needn’t be perfect; it needn’t be fun; it just has to get done.
—Marty Nemko
Topics: Procrastination

It’s easy to be liked: listen more than talk, praise often, and disagree rarely. The question is, is it worth the loss of integrity?
—Marty Nemko

In your desire to stand out from the horde, beware of hyping yourself, your ideas, or taking inappropriately extreme positions.
—Marty Nemko

Key to being liked: While retaining integrity, do more agreeing, amplifying, empathizing. do less arguing, one-upping, yes-butting.
—Marty Nemko

Facing our parents’ aging forces us to confront our own mortality. It reminds us to appreciate and live each moment wisely.
—Marty Nemko

Far more of life’s pleasures are in the process than in the outcome. Be in the moment.
—Marty Nemko

Teamwork is deified. Don’t forget the pluses of individualism: more motivation, bolder/less compromised solutions, speed.
—Marty Nemko

Good conversationalists choose a topic that enables each participant to contribute.
—Marty Nemko

Unefficacious people can’t or CHOOSE TO not bounce back—it’s a good excuse to avoid facing their inefficacy yet again.
—Marty Nemko

Your goal must not be to impress but to accomplish. That usually demands bringing out the best in others.
—Marty Nemko

Don’t give up prematurely. Your continued efforts will iterate, improve based on lessons learned from your past failures.
—Marty Nemko

Winners do not let themselves succumb to anything. They distract themselves by immersing themselves in their most engaging work.
—Marty Nemko

I even take care to tear-off single sheets of toilet paper. Because I’m cheap? No. Because it’ll help the environment? No. I just think wasting is wrong.
—Marty Nemko

Where at all ethically possible, we must give others hope. Without it, a person figuratively or even literally dies.
—Marty Nemko

Giving advice makes the recipient feel less efficacious, so weigh that against the benefit your advice will likely yield.
—Marty Nemko

Might you be wise to focus more on self-acceptance than self-improvement? That might even motivate you to self-improve.
—Marty Nemko

To boost motivation: what’s your next 1-second task? It feels good to get even a tiny task done, make progress, and maybe learn something.
—Marty Nemko

If you want to lock in a new attitude or behavior, say and/or write that and why. Then keep paraphrasing, NOT reading it.
—Marty Nemko

Before making an argument, ask a likely opponent to lay out the counterargument. Your argument can then incorporate that.
—Marty Nemko

Scratch the surface of any thinking ideologue and you’ll find doubts. Ask, “Ever wondered whether the other side might be right?”
—Marty Nemko

It all comes down to this: Do good.
—Marty Nemko

Just because you can prove someone wrong, doesn’t mean you should.
—Marty Nemko

Far better than a course is self-study + a tutor to get you past your trouble spots.
—Marty Nemko

I fear we’ll make everything equal until everyone has nothing.
—Marty Nemko

Telling people I can’t lose weight may make me eat more—to prove myself right. Perhaps if I told people, “‘I’m gonna lose 20.”
—Marty Nemko
Topics: Leaders, Leadership

If your self-esteem is low, perhaps focus on finding work you can succeed at. Real self-esteem comes from accomplishment.
—Marty Nemko

To boost self-esteem: accept you’re flawed like everyone, do what you’re good at, & accomplish: Even little wins boost self-esteem.
—Marty Nemko

Successful, productive people fuel themselves with their work & accomplishment, unsuccessful people through recreation.
—Marty Nemko

Don’t confuse tact with cowardice. Sometimes, it’s wise to speak up boldly.
—Marty Nemko

School can give a false sense of confidence or of loserhood. Too often, school success does not predict life success.
—Marty Nemko

If the risk/reward ratio of taking an action is good, even if you may fail, it’s usually wise to follow Nike’s advice: Just do it!
—Marty Nemko

A desire to “give back” needn’t imply giving to the neediest. It could mean giving to those with the most potential to benefit.
—Marty Nemko

When you think you can nail someone with your argument, take a breath & see if you can phrase it as a face-saving question.
—Marty Nemko

It’s hard to change people’s work style: aggressive vs passive, hardworking vs moderate. So it may be wise to praise their status-quo.
—Marty Nemko

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• Jerry Seinfeld American Comedian
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