Live Life With No Ifs

Famed pianist Artur Rubinstein, celebrating his 84^th birthday, said: 

"As long as we have what we have inside, the capacity to love, to work, to hear music, to see a flower, to look at the world as it is, nothing can stop us from being happy...but one thing you must take seriously. You must get rid of the ifs of life. Many people tell you, 'I would be happy - if I had a certain job, or if I were better looking, or if a certain person would marry me.' There isn't any such thing. You must live your life unconditionally, without the ifs."

- Bits & Pieces (April 30, 1992)

Whatever Your Work Is, Do It Happily With Excellence

There is a story that when the famed English architect, Sir Christopher Wren, was directing the building of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, some of the workers were interviewed by a journalist who asked them, "What are you doing here?"

The first said, "I'm cutting stone for three shillings a day."

The second replied, "I'm putting ten hours a day in on this job."

The third replied,  "I'm helping Sir Christopher Wren build the greatest cathedral in Great Britain for the glory of God."

- Robert Fulghum, It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It (Villard Books, 1990)