--- title: Vincent van Gogh on How to Live description: "A victory achieved after lifelong work and effort is better than one achieved more quickly" canonical: https://time.com/3818242/vincent-van-gogh-on-how-to-live/ author: Shane Parrish article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-22T11:00:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:49:40.179Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Vincent van Gogh on How To Live og:description: "A victory achieved after lifelong work and effort is better than one achieved more quickly" og:url: https://time.com/3818242/vincent-van-gogh-on-how-to-live/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0915a9b28b21d6df/6987eaa735ba6f749ec0ad14/van-gogh.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Self-Portrait, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Vincent van Gogh on How To Live twitter:description: "A victory achieved after lifelong work and effort is better than one achieved more quickly" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0915a9b28b21d6df/6987eaa735ba6f749ec0ad14/van-gogh.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Vincent van Gogh on How to Live by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish May 22, 2015 11:00 AM UTC  Self-Portrait, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889 Self-Portrait, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889De Agostini Picture Library—Getty Images by [Shane Parrish](https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish May 22, 2015 11:00 AM UTC Van Gogh didn’t become popular until shortly after his death. To this day it’s unclear whether his letters drove the initial interest in his art. The anthology [Ever Yours: The Essential Letters](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300209479/farnamstreet-20), contains 265 of Vincent van Gogh’s letters, which is nearly a third of all the surviving letters he penned. On the third of April, 1878, in a noteworthy letter to his brother Theo, van Gogh sheds light on his intentions about how to live. --- > “” --- Vincent believed that one must pay the price to achieve the kind of success that was deserved — “that a victory achieved after lifelong work and effort is better than one achieved more quickly.” --- > “” --- Living means we will inevitably experience sorrow and disappointment. --- > “” --- We must launch out into the great sea of life. --- > “” --- [Ever Yours: The Essential Letters](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300209479/farnamstreet-20) is a collection of some of Vincent van Gogh’s best letters which shed light on a remarkable talent and his artistic notions. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Farnam Street_**](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/)**_._** **Join over 50,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/newsletter/)**.** ### 5 Horrible Habits You Need to Stop Right Now  Do Not Email First Thing in the Morning or Last Thing at Night “The former scrambles your priorities and all your plans for the day and the latter just gives you insomnia,” says Ferriss, who insists “email can wait until 10am” or after you check off at least one substantive to-do list item. Chris Pecoraro—Getty Images  Do Not Agree to Meetings or Calls With No Clear Agenda or End Time “If the desired outcome is defined clearly… and there’s an agenda listing topics–questions to cover–no meeting or call should last more than 30 minutes,” claims Ferriss, so “request them in advance so you can ‘best prepare and make good use of our time together.'” Sam Edwards—Getty Images/Caiaimage  Do Not Check Email Constantly Batch it and check it only periodically at set times (Ferriss goes for twice a day). Your inbox is analogous to a cocaine pellet dispenser, says Ferriss. Don’t be an addict. Tools like strategic use of the auto responder and Boomerang can help. Jetta Productions—Getty Images  Do Not Carry a Digital Leash 24/7 At least one day a week leave you smartphone somewhere where you can’t get easy access to it. If you’re gasping, you’re probably the type of person that most needs to do kick this particular habit. by nacoki ( MEDIA ARC )—Getty Images/Flickr RF  Do Not Let People Ramble Sounds harsh, but it’s necessary, Ferriss believes. “Small talk takes up big time,” he says, so when people start to tell you about their weekends, cut them off politely with something like “I’m in the middle of something, but what’s up?” But be aware, not everyone agrees with this one (and certainly not in every situation), and you may want to pay particularly close attention to norms around chit chat when traveling internationally. 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