From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

This is the correct verbiage and is one of the pillars of NJC's embracing of "I Do NOT Suffer Fools Gladly" attitude...

Note: Sourced by the master NJC "tree"