--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well,\" he said, quite seriously, \"it's…" description: "\"“Well,\" he said, quite seriously, \"it's this way: you work because you're afraid not to. You work becuase you have to drive yourself to such a fury to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/thomas-wolfe-4237_every-day_well-he-said-quite-seriously-it-s-this-w_2254014.jpg" --- # Well," he said, quite seriously, "it's this way: you work… ![“Well," he said, quite seriously, "it's this way: you work because you're afraid not to. You work becuase you have to drive yourself to such a fury to begin. That part's just plain hell! It's so hard to get started that once you do you're afraid of slipping back. You'd rather do anything than go…” quote by Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/thomas-wolfe-4237_every-day_well-he-said-quite-seriously-it-s-this-w_2254014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/thomas-wolfe-4237_every-day_well-he-said-quite-seriously-it-s-this-w_2254014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/thomas-wolfe-4237_every-day_well-he-said-quite-seriously-it-s-this-w_2254014.jpg) > ““Well," he said, quite seriously, "it's this way: you work because you're afraid not to. You work becuase you have to drive yourself to such a fury to begin. That part's just plain hell! It's so hard to get started that once you do you're afraid of slipping back. You'd rather do anything than go through all that agony again--so you keep going--you keep going faster all the time--you keep going till you couldn't stop even if you wanted to. You forget to eat, to shave, to put on a clean shirt when you have one. You almost forget to sleep, and when you do try to you can't--because the avalanche has started, and it keeps going night and day. And people say: 'Why don't you stop sometime? Why don't you forget about it now and then? Why don't you take a few days off?' And you don't do it because you can't--you can't stop yourself--and even if you could you'd be afraid to because there'd be all that hell to go through getting started up again. Then people say you're a glutton for work, but it isn't so. It's laziness--just plain, damned, simple laziness, that's all...Napoleon--and--and Balzac--and Thomas Edison--these fellows who never sleep more than an hour or two at a time, and can keep going night and day--why that's not because they love to work! It's because they're really lazy--and afraid not to work because they know they're lazy! Why, hell yes!..I'll bet you anything you like if you could really find out what's going on in old Edison's mind, you'd find that he wished he could stay in bed every day until two o'clock in the afternoon! And then get up and scratch himself! And then lie around in the sun for awhile! And hang around with the boys down at the village store, talking about politics, and who's going to win the World Series next fall!”” [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes work as a compulsive, fear‑driven habit that feels like endless hell, yet it is fueled by a deep laziness and fear of inactivity, using famous over as examples of relentless drive. **In simple terms:** Work becomes an obsessive cycle driven by fear of laziness, not love of work. Key Takeaway Recognize the fear behind overwork and allow intentional rest. Themes work ethic fear addiction productivity rest Mood anxious determined reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - creative projects - high‑pressure jobs - personal health - burnout prevention Key Concepts psychology motivation self‑sabotage cultural myth Questions to Reflect On - What would your life look like if you honored rest as a necessity? - How can you reframe fear of laziness into sustainable productivity? A Different Perspective The narrative glorifies relentless work, ignoring health costs and the value of balanced rest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-work-334688/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Getting started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-started/) [Laziness Napoleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laziness-napoleon-5159587/) [Lazy Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lazy-afraid-5159586/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Started Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-afraid-1995503/) [Thomas edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-edison/) [Work Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-afraid-311818/) [World series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-series/) ## Related quotes > [Families mean work,but they are our great work,and we are not afraid of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-b-beck/families-mean-work-but-they-are-our-great-work-and-we-are-not-afraid/) [Julie B. 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You have to keep the monster in a black and white light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/for-horror-to-work-you-have-to-be-afraid-you-have-to-keep-the-monster/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Certain people have wanted to put me behind bars for a long time now. That's part of my work. If I were afraid, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/certain-people-have-wanted-to-put-me-behind-bars-for-a-long-time-now/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [There's a motherhood penalty because we've been long taught things that are stigmatized about motherhood. 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You'd rather do anything than go through all that agony again--so you keep going--you keep going faster all the time--you keep going till you couldn't stop even if you wanted to. You forget to eat, to shave, to put on a clean shirt when you have one. You almost forget to sleep, and when you do try to you can't--because the avalanche has started, and it keeps going night and day. And people say: 'Why don't you stop sometime? Why don't you forget about it now and then? Why don't you take a few days off?' And you don't do it because you can't--you can't stop yourself--and even if you could you'd be afraid to because there'd be all that hell to go through getting started up again. Then people say you're a glutton for work, but it isn't so. It's laziness--just plain, damned, simple laziness, that's all...Napoleon--and--and Balzac--and Thomas Edison--these fellows who never sleep more than an hour or two at a time, and can keep going night and day--why that's not because they love to work! It's because they're really lazy--and afraid not to work because they know they're lazy! Why, hell yes!..I'll bet you anything you like if you could really find out what's going on in old Edison's mind, you'd find that he wished he could stay in bed every day until two o'clock in the afternoon! And then get up and scratch himself! And then lie around in the sun for awhile! 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