Carpe Diem

"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." -John Keating, Dead Poets Society

Carpe Diem, an interesting phrase generally meaning "seize the day." It comes from a Latin poem written by Horace that has become sort of a statement of principle for many people. It is generally translated as "seize the day" and literally it means "to pick, pluck, pluck off, cull, crop, or gather", but Publius Ovidius Naso (better known as Ovid) used it to mean, "To enjoy, seize, use, make use of".

In Horace's poem, the long version is "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero", meaning to "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future." His intent was to say that our future is uncertain and we should limit our hope's to a shorter future. In some respects he was speaking to people and business leaders that think short term goals or just the next quarter, so "drink one's wine."

In modern culture, I would argue that the quote above describes its use best. "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary", meaning to use each and every day to do something great. Don't waste a single day waiting for the next day to occur; choose now, not later. Begin to move your life forward, to find your dreams, to have a great and 'extraordinary' life.

The future exists but you have to move towards it. To sit idle and allow the future to find you, it will only find you in the same place, sitting idle. You have the ability to impact your own future. You can impact your own future. So "Seize the day, folks. Make your lives extraordinary."