Renzo Piano Quotes

My bike is my gym, my wheelchair and my church all in one. I'd like to ride my bike all day long but I've got this thing called a job that keeps getting in the way.

Golf's my job; it's not my life. It's something I've enjoyed, but I also like to get away from the golf course.

I work even when I am on vacation. You know that line by Stéphane Mallarmé, "All earthly existence must ultimately be contained in a book"? I am the kind of person who finds life interesting only if it is translated into writing, if it is parsed into words.

And when they start riding a lot of them have full time jobs and are taking vacation days to get by. All of a sudden it becomes so addictive because you're out there with a bunch of women just like yourself, well educated, taking your vacation days, not making any real money, but we're having a blast. And that's US cycling.

My first company was MicroSolutions. I worked 20 hours a day. I didn't take a vacation for 7 years. I didn't even take the time to read a fiction book. It was all about work. When I sold it, I promised myself I would never wear a watch and only wear a suit to weddings, funerals and to meet the President.

How many people do you know who are obsessed with their work, who are type A or have stress related diseases and who can’t slow down? They can’t slow down because they use their routine to distract themselves, to reduce life to only its practical considerations. And they do this to avoid recalling how uncertain they are about why they live.

Understanding how to find the magic moments in your daily life is critical. If you subscribe to the philosophy that says, "My vacation will free me from burnout," then you're waiting for a few days out of the year to make up for many days of stress. Instead, you have to be able to take mini-vacations on a daily basis.

I don't have to work another day of my life, thank God, but I'm in a place where I probably work as hard or harder today than I ever have, but I do it because I want to, not because I have to. What is the difference between work and play? I think the difference is purpose. When your vocation becomes your vacation, the old quote, you know that's when you made it.

I think of how most people only get three weeks of vacation a year. And that, for me, seems like it would be really hard. My life feels like a vacation.

The great thing about chefs as celebrities is it gives you a larger stage to let people know how important great food is. You're able to reach a nation. The hardest thing about being a celebrity chef is you go from working 18-hour days in your kitchen to it pulling you out of your kitchen here and there. I used to be in my kitchen six or seven days a week, and for ten years I never even took a vacation.

There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work; and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs.

I love the ocean and have a passion for surfing, even though I'm not very good at it. I like getting out there and paddling around.

A man doesn't have vacation problems: his boss tells him when to take them, and his wife tells him where.

I don’t ever unwind. My work is my peace. If I’m not working I’m not at peace.

I sometimes get tired because I can seldom read a book for pleasure. I'm like the play reviewer who happens to go to a play on an off day and can't help but view it critically.

The man who is so run down that he needs a vacation can never adjust or reform himself in two weeks. What he really needs is to re-transform his life.

I'm a guy who should not have a lot of free time. But when it comes to vacation, I like to pull the plug completely. It's all about my daughter - I'm no longer the star of my own movie.

I couldn't stand to be separated with my wife for months. It became quickly apparent to me that I needed to find a balance between my absolute work obsession and a private life that we could share without my disappearing all the time.

Work is nearly always a torture. If I could find something else I would be much happier, because I could use this other interest as a form of relaxation. Now I cannot relax.

I want people to think of Hawaii and think of palm trees and magical islands and Bruno Mars.

The people who believe that their soul is being crushed by playing a particular role need to take a vacation or check into the looney bin for awhile.

You'd be amazed how much research you can get done when you have no life whatsoever.

Ever bike? Now that's something that makes life worth living!

My manager called me once during one of my vacations and said, "I have a fantastic offer for you. Just hear me out. Don't say no yet." And it was fantastic offer but I said, "Seymour, I'd love to do it, but I really can't. My orchid trees are in bloom. I never leave when my orchid trees are in bloom." He thought it was crazy, but I am very into certain things. If a dog is sick I won't work.

I'm such a workaholic. I'm always thinking about work.