If you're going to try, go all the way
Otherwise, don't even start
This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives, jobs
And maybe your mind
It could mean not eating 3 or 4 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 (YOU WILL)
Despite rejection and the worst odds
And it will be better than anything else you could ever imagine
If you're going to try, go all the way
There is no other feeling like that
You'll be alone with the gods and the nights will flame with fire
You will ride life straight to pure laughter
It's the only good fight there is
— Charles Bukowski, 1920-1994
