At 78, you couldn't possibly begrudge Quincy Jones the right to slow down a little. "Slowing down" for Q means working on just one album project at a time. This powerful career retrospective and interview from The National reveals some things that might make you think twice the next time you want to complain about your workday:

• At age seven, Quincy's grandmother sent him and his brother out to catch, kill, and cook rats. For dinner.

• At age eighteen, Quincy cried in a Harlem alley after handing over all the cash in his pocket to Charlie Parker, who used it to score heroin.

• Frank Sinatra "hired" Quincy as a bodyguard so they could travel together during the era of Jim Crow laws.

Imagine surviving all that, then still having the strength to make such an impact on music and popular culture. Take five minutes to enjoy this insightful profile by Michael Odell.