Who Wrote "Enjoy the little things...?"

I received an email this week asking if I am really the author of “Enjoy the little things….” -- the quote at the top of this page. The writer said she had seen the quote attributed to Kurt Vonnegut.

Before I go further, let me point out that “Enjoy the little things…” is one of the most quoted lines of the past 25 years. In several slight variations, it appears over a million times on the internet. It is quoted on more internet sites than any of the Ten Commandments and almost as many times as The Golden Rule.  It has been used on calendars, greeting cards, stationery, t-shirts and novelty items of every sort.  It has been the motto of at least two high school graduating classes. 

I did a Google on “Enjoy the little things…, Vonnegut” and, sure enough, came up with over 10,000 hits. I then did a Google on “Enjoy the little things…, Brault” and came up with 425,000 hits.

I suppose I could count this as 42 to 1 confirmation that I am the acknowledged author of the quote, and put the thing out of my mind -- but experience tells me otherwise. Now that my words have been attributed to a famous person, that person will inevitably become the recognized author of the quote. Eventually, if I am remembered at all for “Enjoy the little things…,” it will be as the fellow who stole it from Kurt Vonnegut.

For the record, I wrote the quote for National Enquirer in 1985. It was reprinted by Reader’s Digest in its September 1986 issue, page 139 (Quotable Quotes). It has since been quoted in many anthologies, most visibly in the popular “Book of Positive Quotations”, Fairview Press, 1997. It is attributed to me in all instances.

I would say to those who are crediting this quote to Kurt Vonnegut, “Please state your source.” If you can locate this quote in Kurt Vonnegut’s writings prior to 1985-6, then by all means attribute the quote to him. But if you cannot reference the quote in Kurt Vonnegut’s writings, or if it appears in his writings after 1985-86, then please attribute properly.


Robert Brault


(Below, Reader's Digest, September 1986 issue)

A Stray Few

"I think all that really happens on Judgment Day is that the Lord thanks you for your service."


"You are never too old to do what you most want to do; you're just too young to know it."


The words of my first confession, "I disobeyed my mother," would suffice for every sin I have committed since.


"No dog is ever fully committed to the proposition that it doesn't bite."


"There is no such thing as the perfect family.  Even if you had the perfect spouse and the perfect kids, you'd have the wrong goldfish."


"There is nothing you can accomplish in life that your friends will not attribute to luck and your relatives to the mercy of God."


"If tomorrow the world were perfect, with what aching nostalgia would we look back on these days of possibility."


~~ Robert Brault

After a Month Off, This is the Best You Can Do?

"What I miss most from childhood is the ability to recognize happiness while it is still in progress."


"As a final request, I would ask my loved ones to skip the first four stages of grief and go right to acceptance."


"We are known to our friends by a look in our eyes that we never see in a mirror."


"Sometimes, to do the right thing, we must keep a promise we never made."


"You can be assured of two things -- that happiness comes with a price and that you have already paid it."


Of late, my desire to step through the looking glass is such that my wife has posted above all our mirrors, "NOT AN EXIT."


"I would ask this of God -- that He sit the Grim Reaper down and seriously discuss punctuality issues."


Turns out nobody fell for my April Fool's Day obituary, maybe because of the last sentence, "In lieu of flowers, send candy."


Confronted with challenge, the pessimist asks, "How on earth...?" The optimist asks, "On earth, how?"


"The willingness to share does not make one charitable; it makes one free."


"No day passes in the human experience that is not another argument for compassion."


"There are so many consolations in life that one must expect there will occasionally be a need for them."


"To be your friend when you need a friend, I must be your friend when you think you don't."


"Come Judgment Day, it will be something of a letdown to learn that one's proudest achievements were only venial sins."


"If you go to bed happy in your relationships, what matters the hassle of the day?"


~~ Robert Brault