--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I work with a great deal of discipline…" description: "\"“I work with a great deal of discipline, although I usually take on more than I can handle and often have to extend due dates. I have always been appal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/mark-helprin-1171_bloody-mary_i-work-with-a-great-deal-of-discipline-a_365705.png" --- # I work with a great deal of discipline, although I usually… ![“I work with a great deal of discipline, although I usually take on more than I can handle and often have to extend due dates. I have always been appalled by bohemianism because of its laziness, disorder, and moral weakness. I understand that this way of living is a response to the fact of human…” quote by Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/mark-helprin-1171_bloody-mary_i-work-with-a-great-deal-of-discipline-a_365705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/mark-helprin-1171_bloody-mary_i-work-with-a-great-deal-of-discipline-a_365705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/mark-helprin-1171_bloody-mary_i-work-with-a-great-deal-of-discipline-a_365705.png) > ““I work with a great deal of discipline, although I usually take on more than I can handle and often have to extend due dates. I have always been appalled by bohemianism because of its laziness, disorder, and moral weakness. I understand that this way of living is a response to the fact of human frailty, but it leans too far in one direction. Being a little more buttoned up doesn’t mean that you’ll get so brittle that you’ll break. Nor does it mean that you don’t understand tragedy, loss, and, most of all, human limitation. I am more than well aware of those things and I feel very strongly, but on the other hand I like to run ten miles and return to a spotless well-ordered room, and I like my shirts heavily starched. When I used to go on a long run on Sunday morning when I lived on the Upper West Side, I would pass thousands and thousands of people in restaurants eating . . . (I won’t say this word, because I hate it so much, but it rhymes with hunch, and it’s a disgusting meal that is supposed to be both breakfast and lunch). There they were—having slept for five hours while I was doing calisthenics and running—unshaven (the women too), bleary eyed, surrounded by newspapers scattered as if in a hamster cage, smoking noxious French cigarettes, and drinking Bloody Marys while they ate huge quantities of fat. They looked to me like a movie version of South American bandits. I would never want to be like that. I prefer to live like a British soldier.”” [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discipline and order are valuable, but excessive rigidity can ignore human frailty and joy. **In simple terms:** Balance discipline with flexibility. Key Takeaway Find a healthy middle ground. Themes discipline order balance human frailty Mood reflective critical Type philosophical self‑analysis When to use this quote - managing workload - maintaining personal standards - allowing leisure - avoiding burnout Key Concepts self‑control work ethic well‑being Questions to Reflect On - Do you over‑schedule yourself? - How can you incorporate spontaneity? A Different Perspective Too much order may stifle creativity and empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bohemianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bohemianism/) [Brunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brunch/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Due date](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/due-date/) [Sunday morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday-morning/) [Way of living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-living/) ## Related quotes > [In 2010, Strikeforce came to Houston, and DC was something like 5-0 or 6-0, and I'd seen him at the expo. I seen him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-lewis/in-2010-strikeforce-came-to-houston-and-dc-was-something-like-5-0-or/) [Derrick Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-lewis/) > [“He was good-looking in a clean way, but he was fat. He looked like he'd eaten Ryan Seacrest for breakfast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-carlino/he-was-good-looking-in-a-clean-way-but-he-was-fat-he-looked-like-he-d/) [Renee Carlino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-carlino/) > [I said to my teacher, 'I can't be a singer because I'm not pretty enough, and I'm fat.' And she looked at me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/i-said-to-my-teacher-i-can-t-be-a-singer-because-i-m-not-pretty/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [Humanity needs a new soil - the soil of freedom. Bohemianism was a reaction, a necessary reaction, but if my vision succeeds then there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/humanity-needs-a-new-soil-the-soil-of-freedom-bohemianism-was-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [How would that premise stand up if he examined it? That was probably why the Communists were always cracking down on Bohemiansism. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/how-would-that-premise-stand-up-if-he-examined-it-that-was-probably/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Open the windows and the doors, she shouted, cook some meat and fish, buy the largest turtles around, let strangers come in and spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/open-the-windows-and-the-doors-she-shouted-cook-some-meat-and-fish/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Art is a barren route, of which glory is the oasis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-murger/art-is-a-barren-route-of-which-glory-is-the-oasis/) Henri Murger > [“…a kind of Calvinist in reverse; that is, he was uncompromisingly bohemian”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/a-kind-of-calvinist-in-reverse-that-is-he-was-uncompromisingly/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [English Bohemianism is a curiously unluscious fruit. ... Inside this hothouse, huge lascivious orchids slide sensuously up the sweating windows, passion-flowers cross-pollinate in wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-coren/english-bohemianism-is-a-curiously-unluscious-fruit-inside-this/) [Alan Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-coren/) > [“I dreamt that I took William Burrough’s penis and tied it up with piano wire. 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My bohemianism consisted of not wanting to get involved with the stupid stuff that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/i-guess-i-was-the-most-unbohemian-of-all-bohemians-my-bohemianism/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [“My environment reflects the life I've led, the places I've visited and the people I've loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-nicholson/my-environment-reflects-the-life-i-ve-led-the-places-i-ve-visited-and/) [Virginia Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-nicholson/) > [And, in the future, while the dumb show of bohemianism plays itself out in the cookie cutter shape of the politically correct martyr/victim, aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-parfrey/and-in-the-future-while-the-dumb-show-of-bohemianism-plays-itself-out/) Adam Parfrey ## More by Mark Helprin > [“Defiance, Catherine, is a gift of God, who is superior to nature. When nature comes to get you, honor God by treating it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/defiance-catherine-is-a-gift-of-god-who-is-superior-to-nature-when/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“In living, one muddles through the years for the sake of those one or two moments which are indisputably great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/in-living-one-muddles-through-the-years-for-the-sake-of-those-one-or/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“Do you know why you walk slowly when you’re old?” “No.” “Because with age you receive the gift of friction. 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They had no music;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/they-were-dancing-around-the-fountain-arm-in-arm-in-an-old-dutch/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [For what can be imagined more beautiful than the sight of a perfectly just city rejoicing in justice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/for-what-can-be-imagined-more-beautiful-than-the-sight-of-a-perfectly/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I follow my own nose. So I read things that are different. People will always say to me, "Have you read Robert S. Bosco's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/i-follow-my-own-nose-so-i-read-things-that-are-different-people-will/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“If all the months and all their days could be like June weather in New York, there would be paradise on earth. Often, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/if-all-the-months-and-all-their-days-could-be-like-june-weather-in/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“At least until there are new lakes in the clouds that open upon living cities as yet unknown, and perhaps forever, that is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/at-least-until-there-are-new-lakes-in-the-clouds-that-open-upon/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [You will most appreciate 'Freddy and Fredericka' if you are familiar with the story of the Fall, the Good Hermit, 'Tom Jones,' 'Huckleberry Finn,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/you-will-most-appreciate-freddy-and-fredericka-if-you-are-familiar/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [their powerlessness, innocence, and imagination fused to enable them to turn time inside out, travel on the wind, and enter the souls of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/their-powerlessness-innocence-and-imagination-fused-to-enable-them-to/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > ['Freeing' a literary work into the public domain is less a public benefit than a transfer of wealth from the families of American writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/freeing-a-literary-work-into-the-public-domain-is-less-a-public/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) [Explore all 279 Mark Helprin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## More Bloody mary quotes > [“Deciding that he was essentially useless, I made him a large glass of sangre del tigre- "blood of the tiger"- a lethal Bloody Mary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-ballis/deciding-that-he-was-essentially-useless-i-made-him-a-large-glass-of/) [Stacey Ballis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-ballis/) > [“What about the whiskey?" Jack said as they ran. "Won't it keep them out?" The Green Maidens don't drink anything but blood." Bob's disembodied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-livingston/what-about-the-whiskey-jack-said-as-they-ran-won-t-it-keep-them-out/) [Lesley Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-livingston/) > [Ted Kennedy is endorsing John Kerry and I'm wondering, do you really want the endorsement of a guy with a Bloody Mary mustache?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/ted-kennedy-is-endorsing-john-kerry-and-i-m-wondering-do-you-really/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [I make a Bloody Mary at home with a dash of fish sauce, a little bit of coconut, and some lime juice. It gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maneet-chauhan/i-make-a-bloody-mary-at-home-with-a-dash-of-fish-sauce-a-little-bit/) [Maneet Chauhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maneet-chauhan/) > [“It's this or a short hospital stay," she said, greeting Scarlett with a raised glass of a deep red liquid with a celery stalk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/it-s-this-or-a-short-hospital-stay-she-said-greeting-scarlett-with-a/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [In Hong Kong, Dallas, or at home —and regardless of whether or not I have been to bed — breakfast is a personal ritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/in-hong-kong-dallas-or-at-home-and-regardless-of-whether-or-not-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [I think getting drunk is the key to flying comfortably. A couple of bloody marys or several glasses of champagne, and suddenly it's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-peet/i-think-getting-drunk-is-the-key-to-flying-comfortably-a-couple-of/) [Amanda Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-peet/) > [Drunkenness was in good repute in England till "Bloody Mary" frowned upon it; it remained popular in Germany. 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My Mom, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/thanksgiving-is-the-day-when-you-turn-to-another-family-member-and/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [I just started making Bloody Marys. I always thought they looked gross, then I tasted one. There's an art to it, from the Tabasco…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-reid/i-just-started-making-bloody-marys-i-always-thought-they-looked-gross/) [Tara Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-reid/) > [Well, it's a Bloody Mary morning, my baby left without warning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/well-it-s-a-bloody-mary-morning-my-baby-left-without-warning/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [Kings and queens might do wicked things, but they don't nag. One thing I like about Bloody Mary: she never said a word about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/kings-and-queens-might-do-wicked-things-but-they-don-t-nag-one-thing/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) Browse all 43 Bloody mary quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I work with a great deal of discipline, although I usually take on more than I can handle and often have to extend due dates. I have always been appalled by bohemianism because of its laziness, disorder, and moral weakness. I understand that this way of living is a response to the fact of human frailty, but it leans too far in one direction. Being a little more buttoned up doesn’t mean that you’ll get so brittle that you’ll break. Nor does it mean that you don’t understand tragedy, loss, and, most of all, human limitation. I am more than well aware of those things and I feel very strongly, but on the other hand I like to run ten miles and return to a spotless well-ordered room, and I like my shirts heavily starched. When I used to go on a long run on Sunday morning when I lived on the Upper West Side, I would pass thousands and thousands of people in restaurants eating . . . (I won’t say this word, because I hate it so much, but it rhymes with hunch, and it’s a disgusting meal that is supposed to be both breakfast and lunch). There they were—having slept for five hours while I was doing calisthenics and running—unshaven (the women too), bleary eyed, surrounded by newspapers scattered as if in a hamster cage, smoking noxious French cigarettes, and drinking Bloody Marys while they ate huge quantities of fat. They looked to me like a movie version of South American bandits. I would never want to be like that. 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