“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind... It could mean derision. It could mean mockery—isolation. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like it. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”
Charles Bukowski / Factotum
No more half-assing my way through life, coasting on the familiar college comfort of just "getting by." If I'm gonna put things on the line-- relationships, money, time -- then I have to give 100% and then some. If I don't, then why even try? "Trying" is more than just starting, more than a single attempt, more than just one piece of me my body my mind being put into motion. It is an active effort of every inch and piece of me, a continuous attempt to make that day count. You don't begin saying a joke for nothing; you see it through-- you do it for the punch line and the feeling of what you started being realized. When I look back on the things in my life and say "Well, I tried," I want to know that I really did try; that it's not just an excuse. I want to mean it. Because if I can truthfully say that, if I can believe that I pushed through day-to-day life for something more than just that, then the end result (no matter what it may be) would give meaning to everything else. It would be worth it-- all of it.
So here's to trying.
So here's to trying.
