From Rothbard’s biography of Ludwig von Mises, a passage worth remembering:

On the publication of his two books in economic history and on the
receipt of his doctorate in 1906, Mises ran into a problem that would
plague him the rest of his life: the refusal of academia to grant him a
full-time, paid position. It boggles the mind what this extraordinarily
productive and creative man was able to accomplish in economic theory
and philosophy when down to his mid-50s, his full-time energies were
devoted to applied political-economic work. Until middle-age, in short,
he could only pursue economic theory and write his extraordinary and
influential books and articles, as an overtime leisure activity. What
could he have done, and what would the world have gained, if he had
enjoyed the leisure that most academics fritter away?

I vividly remember reading this passage during my first year at GMU.  I’ve never been inclined to fritter, but it’s still been an inspiration.  Academics inclined to lament their lot in life really should ask themselves, “WWMD?”