I read a quote by Shakespeare the other day and I was surprised by how great it was. My surprise lay not with the meaning but rather just the poetic beauty of the phrasing.

“Things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing”  William Shakespeare, English Playwright, Troilus and Cressida

This sentiment is not new and off the top of my head I can rephrase with a number of common sayings:

• It’s not the destination that matters, it’s the pleasure of the trip
• Getting there is half the fun
• It’s not about winning, it’s how you play the game
• It’s not what you do that matters, it’s how you do it

And the point!

While it seems simple, the way Shakespeare has crafted this message, clear but poetic and lyrical is so much better than the run of the mill sayings.

The meaning is basically the same, albeit with some nuances, but the impact is so much greater.  On reading this quote I was struck by a realization that truly sometimes how you deliver the message can really make a difference in understanding and impact.  The point jumps out.

The Blog or the writing of it?

I have been scribing these random musings for over year now.  Strangely, or perhaps not, my motivation is not the end product (although I am sure they are fabulous).  Rather my joy comes in the writing itself.  What a rush.

And no less a scholar then Shakespeare himself imortalized this truism in a simple statement “Things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing.”