Boverbs

Throughout his life, Alex “Bo” Shafer has collected a lot of short phrases of wisdom and/ or humor (much like a proverb) that he uses in his interactions with people, from speaking engagements to everyday conversations. Some of these phrases he created himself, and some of them he may have heard from someone else at some point in time. He chooses not to take credit for any of them, but rather wants them to be shared with everyone as “Boverbs.”

These Boverbs were originally published in a book, and the proceeds of the book were donated to United Way of Greater Knoxville. You can now purchase this book online as an ebook or paperback on Amazon here. Proceeds will continue to be donated to United Way of Greater Knoxville.

  • "Success comes in cans; not in cannots."

  • "The only people who don't have time are dead."

  • "Don't die before you're dead."

  • "The people who have the most birthdays live the longest."

  • "Only one thing gets better with age-your Forgetter. It gets better every year."

  • "When I get to Heaven, the first thing God is going to say to me is, 'Bo, you've got two weeks to gain 20 pounds!’ If that's not Heaven I don't know what is!"

  • "I've got it figured out-in Heaven, ice cream is going to be a vegetable and M&M's are going to be diet pills!"

  • "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape."

  • "We do what we have to do so that we can do what we want to do."

  • "There is a community in every town that has no problems and makes no mistakes. It's called a cemetery."

  • "If something is hard and you really don't want to do it, it's probably the right thing to do."

  • "Success doesn't make you happy. Happiness makes you successful."

  • "How you treat your parents is how you will be treated by your children."

  • "There is only one thing worse than your child leaving home-your child not leaving home."

  • "Never say 'l've got to go to work.' Say 'I get to go to work.'"

  • "We can neglect the ones we love the most to have the things we need the least."

  • "The older I get; the better I was."

  • "When it comes to marriage-if in doubt, chicken out. Don't marry someone because you think you can live with them. Marry them because you can't live without them."

  • "Problems can make you better or bitter-your choice."

  • "Are you a thermostat or a thermometer?"

  • "Are you humbly grateful, or are you grumbly hateful?"

  • "A fish gets caught because he doesn't keep his mouth shut."

  • "Work is hard. If it was easy, they'd call it play."

  • "Complaining is a habit-people will interrupt you while you're complaining to try to out complain you."

  • "Tomorrow is a mystery, yesterday is history, and today is a gift. That's why they call it the present."

  • "When you wake up in the United States, you are about to spend another day in paradise."

  • "We waste more water waiting on hot water than a large portion of the world has-and theirs is dirty."

  • "Good health is guaranteed to be temporary. Spiritual health is guaranteed forever-think about it."

  • "If we spent as much time and effort on our spiritual health as we do on our physical health, our whole world would be better."

  • "The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

  • "Everyone is religious. Whatever controls your life is your religion."

  • "Don't envy what someone else has if you are not willing to do what they did to get it."

  • "When the sun comes out, it changes everything. When the Son comes out (in us), He changes everything."

  • "There's a big difference between knowing about God and knowing God."

  • "God has given us a physical piece of sunshine that we can touch with our finger-they're called teeth. A big smile changes everything!"

  • "We often forget what we should remember and remember what we should forget."

  • "With great privilege comes great responsibility."

  • "The best things in life aren't things."

  • "Don't focus on being blessed. Focus on being a blessing."

  • "If you're doing nothing to change it, that means whatever is happening has your approval."

  • "Stay away from negative people. They will have a problem with every solution."

  • "Trial and error is a good way to find a spiritual gift."

  • "Giving up is a final solution to a temporary problem."

  • "The only life you can enjoy is your own."

  • "Failure teaches us what not to do-which can be more important than knowing what to do."