I couldn't wait for the sun to come up the next morning so that

The words of Ben Hogan glow with the fire of devotion: “I couldn’t wait for the sun to come up the next morning so that I could get out on the course again.” These are not the words of a man who played golf as mere profession, but as a calling, as a passion so deep that it tethered his very soul to the rising of the dawn. His statement is not about a game, but about the love of labor, the joy of pursuit, and the sacred hunger that drives a person to wake with eagerness to begin again.

The meaning of this quote lies in the union of passion and discipline. To Hogan, the golf course was not simply turf and holes, but a sanctuary where his spirit came alive. His yearning for the sunrise was the yearning of a heart wholly given to its craft. Many people wake dreading the day; Hogan woke with anticipation, for his work was his joy, and his joy was his work. It is this marriage of love and labor that transforms toil into triumph.

The origin of Hogan’s words can be traced to his legendary career, forged not in ease but in relentless perseverance. Known as one of the hardest-working players in golf history, Hogan practiced with an intensity that few could match. His life was marked by hardship: he came from poverty, survived a near-fatal car crash, and yet returned to dominate the game. His eagerness to rise each morning and return to the course was born not of idle enjoyment, but of a profound belief that mastery comes only through repetition, focus, and the courage to continue.

History provides echoes of such devotion. Michelangelo, consumed by his art, once said he had no time for friends or food because “art drives me.” Beethoven, even as deafness overtook him, could not wait to return to his piano and compose music that would live forever. These great souls, like Hogan, reveal that when passion burns brightly, the dawn is not dreaded but desired, for it offers another chance to create, to perfect, to pursue the work that defines one’s life.

There is also here a lesson about resilience. After Hogan’s car accident in 1949, doctors doubted he would walk again, let alone compete. Yet he returned, training his battered body, and in 1950 he won the U.S. Open in one of the most heroic comebacks in sports history. The man who could not wait for morning was the same man who refused to surrender to night. His joy in returning to the course after his accident was not just about golf, but about reclaiming life itself.

The lesson we draw is timeless: find that which makes you eager for the morning. Life is short, and many drift through their days with dread or indifference. But when you discover the work or the passion that makes you long for the sunrise, you have found the path to greatness. It need not be golf or art or music — it may be raising a family, building a dream, serving others. Whatever it is, pursue it until your heart, like Hogan’s, beats with anticipation for another chance to begin.

So let us take Ben Hogan’s words as both inspiration and command. Do not waste your days in apathy. Seek the course, the craft, the calling that makes the night seem too long and the morning too slow in coming. For in that eagerness lies the secret of mastery, the fuel of resilience, and the joy of living fully. Like Hogan, may we rise each dawn not with reluctance, but with fire in our spirit, saying: I cannot wait to begin again.