Ernest Hemingway: Leave Some Juice in the Tank
- Jonathan Watts
- Jun 2
- 1 min read
Endurance is the name of the game.
You need a way to work that is repeatable. Not dreadful. Not painful. Not fearful. One you look forward to doing.
Ernest Hemingway got to work right when he woke up, but he didn’t kill himself in the process.
“You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next, and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again."
When you're working, leave some juice in the tank.
The best routine–the best way of working–is one that you can sustain, one that you look forward to doing, one that you don’t dread waking up to. When you burn the candle at both ends, you put the artist inside you in danger.
The work you did because you enjoyed it now becomes the work you dread. Working hard is a requirement, but there’s a difference between working hard and working foolishly. Work hard for moments, because when you leave some juice in the tank, you come back tomorrow with energy and fire in the tank.
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