You better start running (African proverb)

November 14th, 2008  |  Published in Life, Productivity, Progress, Quotes, Work  |  2 Comments

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.

—An African proverb as quote in Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat (2005), p. 114.

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  1. john Russo says:

    July 18th, 2010 at 5:44 pm (#)

    I have been told by an Ethiopian cab driver in Washington DC that the quote is from Abe Gubegna, an Ethiopian novelist.
    More on him is here. http://books.google.com/books?id=hFuWQmsM0HsC&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=%22I+Refuse+to+be+Born%22&source=bl&ots=0wiEd3oh9V&sig=IkXAAcHQmnWMBYEORwHRhErcGCo&hl=en&ei=EINDTOXRK4n0tgPaoonXDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12&ved=0CEIQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=%22I%20Refuse%20to%20be%20Born%22&f=false

  2. Fred Sinder says:

    October 3rd, 2011 at 8:34 am (#)

    Hello,

    Is this the correct quote?

    It’s only a variation of a punch line for an old joke, but the correct statement is that the gazelle must only run faster than the slowest gazelle to avoid being eaten.

    There’s also the early bird gets the worm, matched by the early worm gets eaten.

    How about working hard, working smart and expect luck. of course, luck won’t happen unless you’re already running when you need it.

    Fred

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