Mere longevity is a good thing for those who watch Life from the side lines. For those who play the game, an hour may be a year, a single day’s work an achievement for eternity.

Hayes contrasts simply accumulating years with actively engaging in life’s work. “Watching from the sidelines” suggests a passive existence in which longevity is the main measurable good. By contrast, “those who play the game” experience time as intensified by purpose and effort: an hour can feel as weighty as a year when it is filled with risk, concentration, or service. The second sentence elevates meaningful labor over duration—one day’s committed work can outlast the worker by shaping others, creating art, or advancing a cause. The quote thus argues for intensity, participation, and achievement as truer measures of a life than its length.