Grandfather's been dead all these years, but if you lifted my skull, by God, in the convolutions of my brain you'd find the big ridges of his thumbprint. He touched me. As I said earlier, he was a sculptor. 'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he said, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the lasting impact of experiences and the importance of living life fully and embracing wonder.
Ray Bradbury's quote reflects on the profound influence of his grandfather, illustrating how the impressions and teachings of loved ones remain etched in our minds. The exhortation to 'see the world' and 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds' underscores a philosophy of adventure, appreciation for life’s beauty, and a rejection of stagnation and complacency. By encouraging us to fill our lives with wonder and exploration, Bradbury advocates for an engaged and enthusiastic approach to existence, highlighting that true richness can be found in observation and experience rather than material possessions.
In practice
During a motivational speech on life experiences.
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 can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t 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.
The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.
My past is everything I failed to be.
What other people think of me is none of my business. One of the highest places you can get to is being independent of the good opinions of other people.
Just three minutes a day of silence is a wonderful exercise to reset your ears and to recalibrate so that you can hear the quiet again. If you can't get absolute silence, go for quiet; that's absolutely fine.
Effective people stay out of Quadrants III and IV because, urgent or not, they aren't important. They also shrink Quadrant I down to size by spending more time in Quadrant II...Quadrant II is the heart of effective personal management.
If to live is to progress, if you are lucky, from foolishness to wisdom, then to write novels is to broadcast the various stages of your foolishness.
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