I feel I'm doing what I should've done a lifetime ago. For a little while I'm not afraid. Maybe it's because I'm doing the right thing at last. Maybe it's because I've done a rash thing and don't want to look the coward to you.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the relief and courage felt when finally pursuing one's true purpose, despite fears of judgment.
In this quote, Ray Bradbury expresses a profound sense of fulfillment and liberation that comes from finally engaging in what he believes is his rightful path. The feeling of not being afraid, even if temporary, suggests that embracing one's true calling can overshadow anxiety and doubts, while also hinting at the internal conflict of seeking approval from others. The acknowledgment of possibly having acted rashly hints at the complexity of decision-making and the human tendency to seek validation, illustrating that personal truth may sometimes go against social expectations.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about pursuing dreams.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we canβt imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You donβt stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
Before you consult your fancy, consult your purse.
When you feel perpetually unmotivated, you start questioning your existence in an unhealthy way; everything becomes a pseudo intellectual question you have no interest in responding whatsoever. This whole process becomes your very skin and it does not merely affect you; it actually defines you. So, you see yourself as a shadowy figure unworthy of developing interest, unworthy of wondering about the world - profoundly unworthy in every sense and deeply absent in your very presence.
I believe every one of us possesses a fundamental right to tell our own story.
Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.
Distinguish between real needs and artificial wants and control the latter.
Whatever the job you are asked to do at whatever level, do a good job because your reputation is your resume.
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