Charles Bukowski tried his whole life to become a writer. After school he wrote hundreds of stories in the hopes that they would be published and be recognized, making it into his living, but it never quite happened. Disillusioned, he took a blue collar job in a Post Office, where he worked for 10 years until a serious illness brought him close to death in a hospital. He survived however, and this brush with death made him realize what he really wanted to do in life, what he should’ve done from the beginning, was to keep writing. He quit his post office job soon after and sat himself across from his old typewriter, throwing himself once again in the world of writing. But still, the years went by without finding much success. To survive, he came back to his old job in the Post Office, but the difference now is that he kept writing. Any chance he got before and after his shift, Bukowski was tirelessly writing. Still, the years kept passing him and little changed, he was still just an unknown writer in the eyes of the world. But this would not be the case forever, for his unrelenting persistence would start to pay off. 

Charles Bukowski finally found success with his writing when he was in his 50s, at an age where most other people are considering retirement. But life is only just beginning for Charles Bukowski… After so many failed attempts, he finally has the chance to seize his dreams, and seize it he did. He slowly built an audience of people who were fond of his work, and he found a publisher that was willing to finance and support his career in writing. Finally, after decades of trying and failing, Bukowski is appreciated and well-recognized in the literary world. He is now without a doubt, a writer. With countless hours dedicated to his craft, he believed in himself when no one else would, he kept pushing forward and persevered way past the point where most of us would have given up. 

Bukowski didn’t write because he wanted to get famous or rich, if that was the case he would’ve switched lanes a long time ago. He kept writing because he loves writing, because there’s a story inside him that’s bursting to be released. It doesn’t matter that for the longest time, no one was reading what he wrote, it didn’t matter that he failed to get books published hundreds of times over. What mattered to him was embodying the purpose of his life through his writing. 

Charles Bukowski passed away in 1994, leaving behind a massive catalog of culturally influential literary works. Two words are curiously written on his grave, “Don’t Try.” A strangely pessimistic message from someone who spent all his life trying and eventually succeeding. But I don’t think the phrase is supposed to be taken at face value. The lesson we can take from Bukowski’s life is that the road to achieve our dreams is a long and hard one, full of strife and rejection and pain. We owe it to ourselves to not try to do things half-heartedly or timidly. Don’t try to be someone you’re not, and never compromise who you really are. 

The message Bukowski is trying to say is: If you have to force yourself to want to do the thing, if you’re constantly questioning yourself if it’s worth all the trouble, when you’re doing it out of fear,  obligation, or pressure, then Charles would say “Don’t try.”

But, if a fire burns inside your heart, if the thought of not doing the thing is more painful than the potential failure and rejection you could face, if you would spend your life looking back at what you haven’t done and constantly think, “What if?”, then do it. Pour your entire soul into it, as Charles Buksowski did all his life, never regretting or doubting for a single second. 

“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start.”