This Paul McCartney expression is a keeper.
In the lovely mini-documentary about the creation of the Beatles’ last single, “Now And Then,” the credits have conversation playing – a montage from multiple decades of Beatles session tapes. Near the end, you hear Paul McCartney say, “D-I-N, son – do it now.” Another Beatle (maybe Ringo?) says “do it now” almost in unison.
It seems clear to me that this was an ethos for the Beatles in the studio. Don’t put off the take, do it now. Write the song now. Practice now. It’s a great mantra for living. In almost every case, doing it now is better than doing it later. Having D-I-N as a motivating principle helps. Expressions help.
A little research led me to this interview with Rick Rubin, where Sir Paul explains,
“My dad always said, ‘Do it now.’ And then he said, ‘Do it now, D-I-N.’ And I always though that’s a good name for a record label, DIN, D-I-N.”
Sir Paul even wrote a song in 2018 called “Do It Now” but clearly the expression dates much farther back, and McCartney shared the expression with his legendary bandmates.