Strike while the iron’s hot

Be decisive and seize opportunities as they arise derives from the blacksmith’s forge. If the blacksmith fails to shape the metal while it is soft and glowing hot, he is wasting the opportunity. The origin dates back to at least Roman times. Publius Syrus from the first century BC wrote, “You should hammer your iron when it is glowing hot.” First figurative usage in English is from Chaucer in the 1300s and it also appears in John Heywood Proverbs (1546) “When the iron is hot, strike.”