When you read Charles Bukowski’s, “Roll the Dice,” which opens with the lines:
if you’re going to try, go all the
way.
otherwise, don’t even start.
You might be inclined to think that you need to push harder, to the point of desperation and burning the boats, as if what you’re doing is a matter of life or death.
You could also think the opposite: that your life’s task is just one aspect of your life, and can take many forms. Going all the way means setting yourself up for a marathon, not a sprint. Whether you achieve your goal is irrelevant—the point is not about having gone all the way, it’s about going all the way.
Either way—it’s up to you to decide what it means.
P.S., A happy coincidence: “Roll the dice” is also one of the more popular prompts from Creative Doing.