The Joy of Not Working

A Book for Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked

There is nothing worse than being a doer with nothing to do.

— Elizabeth Layton

Getting fired is nature's way to telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place.

— Hal Lancaster

When I got fired from the government, I should have known at the time that I was destined for much greater things — indeed, it was! I now haven’t worked at a real job for twenty-five years.

— from Real Success WITHOUT a Real Job

Goals

Perfection of means and confusion of goals seem — in my opinion — to characterize our age.

—Albert Einstein

As long as you are going to be thinking anyway, think big.

— Donald Trump

If you don't set goals, you can't regret not reaching them.

— Yogi Bera

If you don't know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.

— Henry Kissinger

I shall make electricity so cheap that only the rich can afford to burn candles.

— Thomas Edison

I want to put a ding in the universe.

— Steve Jobs

I always wanted to be a somebody but I should have been more specific.

— Lily Tomlin

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

Make no little plans: they have no magic to stir men's blood . . . . Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.

— Daniel Burnham

It's just as difficult to reach a destination you don't have, as it is to come back from a place you've never been.

— Zig Ziglar

Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I will give you a man who will make history. Give me a man without a goal and I will give you a stock clerk.

— J. C. Penny

Seek above all for a game worth playing. Such is the oracle to modern man. Having found the game, play it with intensity; play as if your life and sanity depend on it. (They do depend on it).

— D. S. Ropp