I often hear the line “do the mahi, get the treats”.

It turns out, it’s kind of a whakatauki.

“Mauri mahi, mauri ora”
“Through work, we prosper”

In fact, the full whakatauki is:

“Mauri mahi, mauri ora: Mauri noho, mauri mate”
“Industry begets prosperity: idleness begets poverty”

“Do the mahi, get the treats” is pretty catchy, but I wonder if we could just say it in Te Reo Māori. The short version only has three words!

Here’s a file you can print, made by the great people over at Kupu o Te Rā.

The Reo Project | Day 174

Welcome to my little corner of the internet.

I believe that place matters.

Our connection to whatever little corner of the planet we find ourselves in, or choose to place ourselves on, matters.

I'm relentlessly curious and continually learning.

My interests are scattered across topics including property, strategy, acoustics, psychology, theology, systems theory, quantum physics and leadership. I read, listen, watch, and learn about whatever grabs my attention in the moment.

This is a learning experiment.

I come here to try to make sense of something I’ve come across, by writing about it.

I’m immersing myself in a new language.

I’m learning to speak Te Reo Māori, the language of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand and one of our official languages. After spending 2020 studying, I’m figuring out how to keep the journey going outside the classroom.

You’re welcome to follow along.