One of the most popular series in Finish Line history has been readers' favorite aphorisms.

• Why it matters: Big ideas can be conveyed with few words — and we've heard from more than 1,000 readers across the U.S. and beyond, each sharing the one-line mantras that guide their lives.

Here's our third installment of your bite-size wisdom:

💐 "My father taught me, 'Send your flowers today.' He meant don't wait for the funeral to tell people you love and appreciate them." —Nancy Jordan, Naples, Fla.

🔭 "Everything is going to be OK in the end. And if it isn't OK, then it probably isn't the end." —Tom Fish, Houston

🎺 "There is an old mariachi tune, 'El Rey' (The King), that has a very useful saying within its lyrics: 'No hay que llegar primero, pero hay que saber llegar.' Translated: You don't have to finish first, but you must know how to finish (and, by extension, finish). I counted upon that saying many times during my 36-year tour in the U.S. Navy. —Sam Perez, Washington, D.C.

🧠 "Out of breakdowns come breakthroughs." —Nancy Zwiers, Long Beach, Calif.

💬 This one changed my life for the better, and it still rules: 'Say what you mean, mean what you say, just don't be mean when you say it.'" —Lisa Calicchio, Ortley Beach, N.J.

👰 "From a dad to his daughter who underwent a sudden and unexpected breakup: 'What's amazing is that some guy in the world just won the lottery, and he doesn't even know it.' He does now, and the wedding is this month!" —Michael Stroman, Essex, Mass.

🪑 "'It's not what's on the table, it's who's in the chairs.' Take any excuse to get together with little or no fuss." —Ellen Johnston, Viera, Fla.

🏄 "My husband Paul had a professor who said, 'She who dies with the most experiences wins.' We adopted that as a family motto. Not all of the experiences are pleasant; some you definitely wouldn't choose. But you can learn and grow from both the good and the bad." —Claire Gillaspey, Sioux Falls, S.D.

📝 "When my father died at age 58 in 1998, my two younger brothers and I came up with a list that we called "Everything We Need to Know We Learned from Dad." Our mother prominently included the list in our father's obituary and on the back page of the program at his memorial service."

• Two lessons from the list: "Tell the truth, keep your promises, and say you're sorry. … Be a good friend, especially to your siblings." —Mark Daly, Hopkins, Minn.

Catch up on the first and second installments of one-liners.

People fish standing on a seawall as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean off the coast of Perth, Australia, today.