50 Classic Sayings and how they Apply in Programming

Absolutely! Here’s a full list of 43 sayings with their programming twists, including 20 new ones at the end.

Classic Sayings with Programming Wisdom

  1. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
    Don’t risk breaking working code without a clear reason.
  2. Hippocratic Oath – Do no harm
    When maintaining code, avoid causing regressions or side effects.
  3. Boy Scouts – Leave the place better than you found it
    Clean up, refactor, or comment code as you go.
  4. Measure twice, cut once
    Think through logic before writing or deploying code.
  5. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    Avoid monoliths—use modular design to reduce risk.
  6. Rome wasn’t built in a day
    Great software takes time; prioritize sustainable progress.
  7. Too many cooks spoil the broth
    Keep teams and codebases well-coordinated to prevent chaos.
  8. A stitch in time saves nine
    Fix small issues early to prevent major headaches.
  9. Don’t reinvent the wheel
    Use well-tested libraries instead of building from scratch.
  10. The devil is in the details
    Tiny oversights in logic or syntax can cause big bugs.
  11. Garbage in, garbage out
    Bad input leads to bad output—validate everything.
  12. Less is more
    Simple code is often better, faster, and easier to maintain.
  13. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link
    One vulnerable service or function can bring the whole app down.
  14. You can’t see the forest for the trees
    Don’t get so caught in debugging that you miss the real problem.
  15. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
    Testing and code reviews save you from major issues later.
  16. Kill two birds with one stone
    Write smart utilities or abstractions that solve multiple problems.
  17. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
    Preserve good parts of the code while refactoring.
  18. Actions speak louder than words
    Working code is better than a great plan that’s never implemented.
  19. The squeaky wheel gets the grease
    Loud users or bugs tend to get the most developer attention.
  20. Necessity is the mother of invention
    Constraints often lead to the most creative coding solutions.
  21. All that glitters is not gold
    Trendy tools and frameworks may hide long-term downsides.
  22. Slow and steady wins the race
    Consistent development with testing beats rushed work.
  23. You can’t unring a bell
    Bad APIs and public releases are hard to undo—plan ahead.
  24. Don’t bite off more than you can chew
    Break big problems into manageable tasks.
  25. Curiosity killed the cat
    Messing with production without understanding can be dangerous.
  26. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog
    A small script can be incredibly powerful if well-written.
  27. Jack of all trades, master of none
    Avoid bloated code that tries to do everything poorly.
  28. Many hands make light work
    Divide and conquer with team collaboration and version control.
  29. What gets measured gets managed
    Track performance and bugs to improve code quality.
  30. You made your bed, now lie in it
    If you hacked it together, be ready to debug it later.
  31. Better safe than sorry
    Backups, tests, and version control are your safety net.
  32. You can’t have your cake and eat it too
    You can’t have maximum speed, quality, and features all at once—choose wisely.
  33. A watched pot never boils
    Staring at a slow-running process doesn’t make it faster—check your logic.
  34. Burning the candle at both ends
    Long dev hours lead to burnout and buggy code.
  35. Don’t judge a book by its cover
    Ugly code might be functional—and beautiful code might be broken.
  36. Practice makes perfect
    Code, refactor, repeat—skills grow with consistent use.
  37. Every cloud has a silver lining
    Even a major bug can teach a valuable lesson.
  38. It takes two to tango
    Collaboration is key—design, code, test with others in mind.
  39. He who hesitates is lost
    Sometimes overthinking keeps you from shipping—balance is key.
  40. Out of sight, out of mind
    Neglected codebases rot—keep them maintained.
  41. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me
    Learn from past bugs—don’t repeat the same mistakes.
  42. The grass is always greener on the other side
    New tech or stacks might seem better, but come with their own trade-offs.
  43. You can’t please everyone
    Not every feature request or coding style will make everyone happy—optimize for your main users and team.

AHK News 2025-04-03 Why Smart People Never Build Their Own Tools

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy,

Let’s get real. Time is your most precious asset .

Far too many people (especially those who are smart, capable, and resourceful) fall into the trap of thinking they should do everything themselves.

But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, team leader, or a tech-savvy professional, there’s a moment when you have to ask yourself:

What is the return on your time?

Imagine spending 20, 50, even 100 hours building out an automation or tool that kinda works, but lacks reliability, flexibility, or scalability.

That’s time you could have spent doing what you do best — or simply living your life.

Now imagine this: you hire the-Automator.

In a fraction of the time it would take you to cobble something together, you get a powerful, efficient, battle-tested solution built by experts who live and breathe automation.

Not only does it do what you wanted—it goes beyond that.

More features, better performance, cleaner code, and better User Interface.

You get the benefit of hundreds of hours of experience condensed into a tool that makes your life easier right now .

That’s not an expense; that’s high-yield leverage

Think about it—most people get excited over a 10–14% return on their investments.

But what’s the ROI on reclaiming your time, reducing your stress, and getting tools that elevate your performance or business?

It’s massive.
And it’s immediate.

Trying to do it all yourself means constantly juggling roles, context-switching, and usually building inferior tools that cost more in the long run.

Instead, hire AHK Gurus who already have the skills, tools, and systems to bring your ideas to life faster and better than you could on your own.

Leverage us. That’s what smart people do .

The-Automator doesn’t just save you time.
We multiply your impact.

So let go of that “I’ll just do it myself” mentality.
✅ Reclaim your time.
✅ Hire smart.
✅ Build better.
✅ Grow faster.

We’re here to help.  You can check out my calendar here

Now on with the show…

Learn how to Master VSCode Make the switch to v2 Intro to AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate ObjectsGUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Access all our Courses; Quit when you want

lifeHackingBaby

World’s Best Clipboard Editor

Last Friday Jean Lalonde joined our AHK Hero call and gave us an amazing walkthrough of his latest tool Quick Clipboard Editor. 

If you’re a Power user then you’ll LOVE this tool!   I extracted the tutorial which you can see here.

It will have you rethinking how you work and wondering how you lived without a clipboard editor!

What’s a Clipboard Editor—and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?
What’s a Clipboard Editor—and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?


Advanced Tips When Sending Messages

Last week Isaias gave Irfan and I a quick lesson to “watch out for” when we’re sending messages.  You can see the video here.

Or go watch our playlist (mostly older AHK V1) on messages here.

Watchout for the Hit Test when Sending Messages
Watchout for the Hit Test when Sending Messages


Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey

During a team meeting Isaias was giving us a little lesson on working with Classes.

You can check out the tutorial here.

Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey
Tips on Extending Classes in AutoHotkey

If your using Functions in AutoHotkey, but not classes, our Objects course is a perfect fit for you!

We cover the basics of using Classes in AutoHotkey as well as introduce people to Functions.

And don’t forget our courses come with a 200% money-back guarantee so you have nothing to lose❗

200% Money Back Guarantee badge with a yellow and green starburst seal for AHK courses


Improving People’s Lives: Story #43

Kenneth Aar, an AHK Hero member, Introduced us to Scribe the other day (check out this video).

We signed-up and are now creating great little tutorials for people for our clients which will greatly reduce the amount of technical support calls they receive!

How This Hidden Tool Makes Documentation Magically Simple
♂️ How This Hidden Tool Makes Documentation Magically Simple


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:

Alt + Shift + Up/Down Arrow – Move selected sentences / paragraphs up or down in most editors


A spot of Humor Dilbert does Tech Support

Dilbert: Reboot
Dilbert: Reboot


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #81

This week I was surprised when we had 490 AutoHotkey files worked on!

I realized much of it was just adding a “Dev Path” to our scripts.

So this week’s episode was a bit shorter than normal.  You can check it out here.


Client’s say…

“My mind is blown” — Kelly Coughlin


Cartoon superhero mascot in green costume beside the bold text AHK Hero on a yellow background AHK Hero

Consider joining the AHK Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.    Currently we have over 393 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

You can watch 1 hour a day for a year and not repeat content! That’s a lot of AHK Learning!

During this Friday’s call we’re planning to discuss:

  • Help AHK Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Using a “Non-space” space to align an image
  • Window tilted: ‘No Active Window!’; GrepWin is your friend!
  • What: A_ThisFunc, -1, -2 mean in a class
  • Likely problem when you have an issue that requires you to restart your script

They also have access to exclusive & pre-released content and a 3 hours a week where we help people with their AHK issues (the Saturday calls are geared towards people new to AutoHotkey.)


️ Quotable quotes

  • It’s easy to see stupid in other people — Dan Kennedy
  • If every request is a five alarm fire, it’s your house that’s gonna go up in flames — Amy Landino
  • Failure is not the opposite of success; It’s a part of it! — Anonymous
  • When experiencing problems with tools, typically you should blame the operator, not the tool — Joe Glines

AHK Newsletter⏩SHARE WITH A FRIEND⏩

Do you know someone that would benefit from learning useful automation tips like the gems in today’s issue?

Take a second and forward this newsletter and bask in the glow of their undying gratitude.  Was this email forwarded to you?

Sign up for this Newsletter here.  We never share your email with anyone.  Ever!


The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan, Rizwan and staff


P.S. As I spell-out in the Intro, I do think anybody reading this CAN (given enough time and effort) do anything they want.  But the truth is most of us already have too much to do!

If you’re needing more time, consider hiring us to solve your automation problems.

I guarantee you’ll be happy that you did!   Check my calendar and book a meeting by clicking here.

What if failure is just the beginning of success?

AutoHotkey Newsletter

Howdy %Name%,

I was listening to a seminar and heard this great quote:

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way — Abraham Lincoln

This is one of my core beliefs and I’m betting it resonates well with you also.

It’s one of the reasons people come to use AutoHotkey.

AutoHotkey users are people that “get things done”!

It’s one of the reasons everyone in the AHK hero club get’s along so well together.

We know there isn’t just one solution, there are many!  And the “best one” is more about the person developing the script than it is about the problem itself.

We always make sure the solution we propose is “within reach” of the developer.

As I tell our clients for our “done for you” work, you determine what needs to be done and we’ll “get you there”.

Mastering Mental Resilience: The Art of Unshakable Strength

I remember Napoleon Hill talked a lot about doing what is hard.

I decided to create an LLM Podcast on this topic which you can listen to here.

They discuss how Resilience isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something you develop.

Now on with the show…

Learn how to Master VSCode Make the switch to v2 Intro to AutoHotkey Intermediate AutoHotkey Intermediate ObjectsGUIs are Easy w/AutoHotkey Access all our Courses; Quit when you want

Advanced Hotkeys & Key Combinations

Here’s an extract from our AHK hero call last week.

We discussed how to create advanced hotkeys using very interesting key-combinations and how easy it is to add more when you think you’re running out.

Advanced Key Combination Hotkeys – AHK Hero Extract
 Advanced Key Combination Hotkeys - AHK Hero Extract


Cool alternative to Hotkeys & HotStrings

As I mentioned above, during the AHK hero call we covered some advanced Hotkeys.

It reminded me of this video where we showed how powerful the InputHook is.

Discover the Ultimate User Input Hack! So freakin cool❗
 Discover the Ultimate User Input Hack! So freakin cool❗


Updates to Quick Clipboard Editor

Jean Lalonde, author of Quick Access Popup, released an update with some very cool features to Quick Clipboard Editor.  You can check them out in this video.

This Friday Jean is going to attend the AHK hero call to give a deeper-dive and answer questions.

Quick Clipboard Editor v3 – More editing power with Scintilla
Quick Clipboard Editor v3 – More editing power with Scintilla


Great Tips for Working with Code and AI

I was watching a video from Open AI and had an epiphany that I then talked through with Isaias in this video.   If you’re using AI to help you code, you need to see this!

Cool tips and concepts for working with Code and AI
Cool tips and concepts for working with Code and AI


Improving People’s Lives: Story #42

One of our clients is crazy busy.  In order to save her time, I went through and pre-populated Prompt Assistant to provide relevant Bookmarks, Text Snippets, and Links to Zoom meetings.


What we’re reading


AI / Chat GPT-3 News / Usage


⚡️Productivity tips:  MS Word

In MS Word you can use Ctrl + Shift + C to Copy formatting (use Ctrl + Shift + V to paste it)


A spot of Humor

Sometimes my dogs give me the same problem as seen here

Monk Jackhammer Scene
Monk Jackhammer Scene


What we utomated this week with AutoHotkey #80

Another heavy client-focused week.  This week we had 114 AutoHotkey scripts which I walk through in this video.

What we automated with AutoHotkey #80
What we automated with AutoHotkey #80


Client’s say…

I’m astonished at what we’ve done with my reports! — Michael N. (Radiologist)


Cartoon superhero mascot in green costume beside the bold text AHK Hero on a yellow background AHK Hero

Consider joining the AHK Hero club! Members receive 25% off courses, consultations, tutoring, done for you project work, etc.    Currently we have over 390 hours of recordings teaching AutoHotkey that is exclusive to AHK Hero members❗

During this Friday’s call we’re planning to discuss:

  • Help AHK Hero Members with their Questions & Code
  • Jean Lalonde demonstrates updates to Quick Clipboard Access
  • Weird character in Microsoft Edge Title
  • Using SendMessage to automate Listviews
  • Using Shellhooks verse creating a child window or Popup
  • After using a Win command, what you DON’T need to provide
  • When you have an issue that requires you to restart your script

They also have access to exclusive & pre-released content and a 3 hours a week where we help people with their AHK issues (the Saturday calls are geared towards people new to AutoHotkey.)


️ Quotable quotes

  • Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve — Napoleon Hill
  • Decisions without actions are worthless — Dan Kennedy
  • Excuses are simple lies we first tell ourselves then others — Joe Glines
  • Soon companies will have 2 employees: 1 man 1 dog.  The man is there to feed the dog. The dog is there to keep the man from messing with the AutoHotkey script — Joe Glines

AHK Newsletter⏩SHARE WITH A FRIEND⏩

Do you know someone that would benefit from learning useful automation tips like the gems in today’s issue?  Take a second and forward this newsletter and bask in the glow of their undying gratitude.  Was this email forwarded to you?

Sign up for this Newsletter here.  We never share your email with anyone.  Ever!


The-Automator

Joe, Isaias, Irfan, Rizwan and staff


P.S. As I mention in the intro, we’re amazing at implementing!  We’ve yet to have a challenge that we cannot solve.

If you’re struggling with something why not look at my calendar and book a call.