Saying—USA

“Just Work.”
Michael first heard this saying in his hometown of Hillsdale, New Jersey.  He played Varsity football all throughout high school, and had a very close relationship with his coach.  His coach had a way with words; his favorite saying was always “just work.”  He would use this all the time; if someone was struggling through a weightlifting session, he would look him in the eyes and tell him to “just work.”  If the team was messing around during practice, his players always got serious when he would tell them that it was time to stop messing around by telling them to “just work.”  Though Mike originally heard this saying exclusively during some sort of sporting event or physical activity, he now applies it to just about everything he does.  As he has explained to me, telling someone to “just work” is like telling them to disregard everything else, all erroneous and potentially detrimental distractions, and just get something done.  He has applied this to a number of situations—from writing a paper to finding a job.  “Just work” is a saying meant to encourage.

Though Michael is unsure where his coach picked up the saying, he understands that other statements that have the same meaning have been around for a while, Nike for example, used to popularize its products with the slogan “just do it.”  To me, “just work” is a terrific saying because it is so versatile yet is simple and to the point, but bears immense significance.