A man who has determined to take the Great Step should leave unresolved all plans for disposing of urgent or worrisome business. Some men think, "I'll wait a bit longer, until I take care of this matter," or "I might as well dispose of that business first." But if you think in such terms the day for taking the Great Step will never come, for you will keep discovering more and more unavoidable problems, and there will never be a time when you run out of unfinished business. Even people with some degree of intelligence are likely to go through life supposing they have ample time before them. But would a man fleeing a fire say to the fire, "Wait a moment please!"? To save his life, a man will run away, indifferent to shame, abandoning his possessions. Is a man's life any more likely to wait for him? Death attacks faster than fire or water, and is harder to escape. - Kenko, *Essays in Idleness*