Many people find their day to day life similar to that of a hamster on a wheel; we run after certain things, not understanding that we may never achieve the satisfaction that we so desperately crave. Success is fickle; we must define what it looks like for ourselves, or it may always elude us.

Though Alfred Hitchcock had a series of undeniably successful films in his repertoire, he never took success as an opportunity to rest. The director is known for popular films like Psycho (1960), Rebecca (1940), and Rear Window (1954). A film virtuoso, Hitchcock turned his attention to television, heading the hit series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Despite his extensive resume, the director told The News Tribune that he had no intention of taking a break. “I never take a holiday,” said Hitchcock. “I have a little saying of my own, that all work makes jack.”

However, Hitchcock was far from dissatisfied with his life. He became a creator because he loved film, not because he felt he had something to prove. When questioned regarding actors who seemed to lack any sort of gratification from their craft, Hitchcock was able to offer some insight.

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“It is too bad to see people who have achieved what they set out to achieve, get so little joy from the achievement,” said the director. “I think perhaps this is because there is no lasting satisfaction in attainment by itself. This is a fleeting pleasure. The movie is finished, the reviews are read, and letdown sets in. There is only a terrible fear that perhaps there will not be another good part...We all love that limelight and the expensive living that is part of it. But that’s only a part of it. The big cross to bear is the insatiable ego that has to be fed and fed and fed.”