Life Is Too Short

April 28th, 2008 Sean Murphy

A couple of interesting variations on a theme. First off from a Hacker News comment by redorb in response to “Quit Your Job”

“Life is too short to work at a job you hate,
but everyone has to do something someone else is willing to pay them for.”
Sid Emmert

Bearing in mind Barry Moltz’s observation that “Entrepreneurs start businesses because..they have no choice. Passion and energy drive them on good days and sustain them on bad days.” We come to this gem from Evelyn Rodriguez

“Life’s Too Short To Stray Off Your Passion.” Evelyn Rodriguez

which titled a post that contains this observation attributed to James Michener:

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion.

He hardly knows which is which.

He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.

To him he’s always doing both.

It certainly sounds like a great prescription for happy entrepreneurial existence. Since entrepreneurship blends into (takes over?) much of the rest of your life, you might as well enjoy it, and pursue it in ways that are consistent with your values.

One final quote, this one from Benjamin Disraeli’s “Coningsby or the New Generation”

“Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervour.”

Rare is the entrepreneur who can keep his mouth shut or act in a half-hearted fashion: as Keith Herrmann observed about the corporate steeplechase “the difference between a good career and a great one is the ability to leave some things unsaid.” Bold action coupled with frank expression has inadvertently launched many a deeply felt entrepreneurial career.

And as life is too short for long blog posts I’ll stop this one here.

Entry Filed under: Quotes, Rules of Thumb, skmurphy