About this quote

Intensity can be useful, but it burns you fast if it has no direction. People who insist on extremes often trade steady gains for dramatic swings. Pick one concrete thing and give it your full attention for a set period — thirty days, a season, whatever fits. If you truly refuse half measures, turn that refusal into focused action instead of a habit of quitting.

When to use it

• When I handed in my notice to work on the app full-time, I said to my partner, 'I want the whole world or nothing.'
• After years of casual dating I told her straight up: 'Either we build a real relationship or I’m done' — that Bukowski line came to mind.
• Before starting marathon training I told my coach, 'I’m all in for the next five months or I’ll sit this season out.'
• I shut down my side gigs to throw every penny and hour at paying off the mortgage for a year; I kept thinking, might as well go all the way or not at all.