How To Do Great Work

Paul Graham spent about 10 months writing this, mandatory reading if you want to do something interesting with your life.

You can read it in an hour, which would be time better spent than the same 1 hour in the vast majority of books (even really good books)

Here are the notes I took reading it twice:

  • The way to figure out what to work on is by working. What to work on? If you have to, start by guessing
  • Guideline on picking your projects: whatever seems to you excitingly ambitious
  • The recipe of most great work: work hard on excitingly ambitious projects, and something good will come of it
    • Keep those things constant, worry less about planning
  • There’s technique to working!!
    • Can’t just put up your sail and be pushed by inspiration
  • It being hard to start working is the nature of work, not a flag in your character(!!!!!!!!!!!)
  • “People who do great things don’t get a lot done every day. They get something done, rather than nothing.”
  • Lie to yourself to get started
    • I’ll just exercise for 2 minutes
  • Don’t strive to be anything but the best
    • Easier to try to be the best than merely good
  • Be earnest
  • Be professionally curious about a few topics, and widely curious about many topics
  • Be curious, period
  • To not shut down ideas… think about what you wish someone elsewould explore?
  • New ideas are more about new questions than new answers
  • Being prolific is underrated
  • Error on the side of starting, and start small
  • Some talented people are
    • Being talented is how they got away with being a jerk, notwhat made them great
  • Take care of your morale like a living organism.
    • “It’s the basis of everything”
    • It’s a loop, so switch to easier work if you need to

 
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