Whether something is old or new says nothing of its value to us today. Among quotes from ancient thinkers this become very self-evident. Today I present three quotes that I find very inspiring.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotele

For me this is the essence of Lean. If we create good habits with respects to the work of continuous improvement it will become a natural part of our lives and it will feel less like chore.

“Do nothing that is of no use” – Musashi, Miyamoto, 1645

This quote really made me laugh, it is so direct but through the veils of time we have the reduction of waste, muda, in a nutshell. The less you do of that of no use the more focused you become on what is important.

“You can only fight the way you practice” – Musashi, Miyamoto, 1645

Not that we should see every day as a struggle or a battle. But this is really the Aristotele quote above from the viewpoint of a samurai. The modern truism we hear to this effect would be “Practice makes perfect”.