Daily Inspiration: Charles Bukowski on Going All The Way
"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 not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. 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 that. 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 was one intense man, he was a writer with unwavering principles (to be excellent, even if that came at a cost of being a good human). He’s quoted here as saying that it’s better to “go all the way” in your creative pursuits — and risk isolation, degradation, and poverty –than to not give all of yourself to your work. This is coming from the writer who is also famous for saying, “find what you love and let it kill you” which sets the stakes pretty high to begin with. Love him or hate him, the controversial German-American writer delighted and divided his readers with his sharp wit and biting tongue.
"Bukowski #1" by ZachHoskin
