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We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

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Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#21

Post by g00gler »

svantana wrote: post #14
scandox wrote: post #11

There seems to be an assumption here (which I've seen in many other places) that ordinary people are somehow missing this trick, are failing to grasp this. I think everybody knows this - more or less explicitly perhaps. The fact is we might talk about becoming rich, but most of us don't really want to - not in a real way. Not to become worth "millions" in our sixties like this guy's mentor. People want to live rich,…

Not only that, but saying "rich" is usually shorthand for famous and/or having high social status. The money itself seems to me the least interesting aspect of "making it". Especially in the startup world, what most of us dream of (in my experience), is recognition from our peers, attention, etc, not zeros on a bank statement.

Quoting Talib Kweli, "Give me the fortune, keep the fame".

Though I agree with your sentiment as it applies in broad strokes I'd like to sell some software, make ~$10M, and be a recluse.

I don't even need the $10M, though, I'd be happy to not have to wake up at 7 o'clock, rush to the train, then sit at a desk all day.

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#22

Post by greeble »

g00gler wrote: post #21
svantana wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, but saying "rich" is usually shorthand for famous and/or having high social status. The money itself seems to me the least interesting aspect of "making it". Especially in the startup world, what most of us dream of (in my experience), is recognition from our peers, attention, etc, not zeros on a bank statement.

Quoting Talib Kweli, "Give me the fortune, keep the fame". Though I agree with your sentiment as it applies in broad strokes I'd like to sell some software, make ~$10M, and be a recluse. I don't even need the $10M, though, I'd be happy to not have to wake up at 7 o'clock, rush to the train, then sit at a desk all day.

Debbie Harry sang this in 1989:

"I'll keep the money, you can have the fame"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Want_That_Man

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#23

Post by icebraining »

ikeyany wrote: post #19
agumonkey wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When backed against the wall I have 101% of brain capacity. Otherwise it's 70% at best. And that's when my ISP is down.

Procrastinators will feel vindicated by this.

Calvin: You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.

Hobbes: What mood is that?

Calvin: Last-minute panic.

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#24

Post by sjcsjc »

g00gler wrote: post #21
svantana wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, but saying "rich" is usually shorthand for famous and/or having high social status. The money itself seems to me the least interesting aspect of "making it". Especially in the startup world, what most of us dream of (in my experience), is recognition from our peers, attention, etc, not zeros on a bank statement.

Quoting Talib Kweli, "Give me the fortune, keep the fame". Though I agree with your sentiment as it applies in broad strokes I'd like to sell some software, make ~$10M, and be a recluse. I don't even need the $10M, though, I'd be happy to not have to wake up at 7 o'clock, rush to the train, then sit at a desk all day.

Absolutely agree with this. My time is what I want, not money, though it would be nice.

And being famous would be a nightmare for me.

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#25

Post by sage76 »

tomhoward wrote: post #18
amelius wrote: post #6

I'd add to that: if you always aim too high, take on too difficult tasks, then you'll end up nowhere (but you might learn a lot).

Or: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” [1] I'm not strongly for/against either position: both can be true in different contexts. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/4324-shoot-for-the-moon-eve...

I think shooting for the moon works when there's several rungs of possible results to land on.

In startups, the results tend to be so polarized that shooting for the moon again and again can burn you out.

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#26

Post by d--b »

ugh, I can't stand this.

1. No, it will not necessarily happen. You can focus on one thing and still fail. See the story about the guy who dropped everything to try and be a professional golfer.

2. When you spend 20 years of your life doing that one thing, you'd better succeed because if not, it means you failed everything.

3. You need to define success. Being awesome at one thing is not for everyone. Steve Jobs' last words were about how giving everything to being the best at business stripped him from a good chunk of enjoyable things life has to offer.

4. Some people are excellent at a lot of stuff - Leonardo da Vinci is a good example.

5. Everyone should learn not to expect to become someone exceptional. You'll live happier if you accept the fact that you may never be in the top 0.1% of anything. As a consolation, you'll be like the remaining 99.9% of humanity.

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#27

Post by nxsynonym »

scandox wrote: post #11

There seems to be an assumption here (which I've seen in many other places) that ordinary people are somehow missing this trick, are failing to grasp this. I think everybody knows this - more or less explicitly perhaps. The fact is we might talk about becoming rich, but most of us don't really want to - not in a real way. Not to become worth "millions" in our sixties like this guy's mentor. People want to live rich,…

Agreed. I could easily live an extremely frugal life for the next 30 years to build riches, but then I would forgo 30 years of a life I want to live.

Not to mention I could die half way through those 30 years, and what would I have to show for it? a slightly larger savings account?

Live smart, but live life. Money is not the end goal for me and I honestly feel like people who make their life mission money driven are missing out a huge portion of what life offers.

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#28

Post by SyneRyder »

d--b wrote: post #26

ugh, I can't stand this. 1. No, it will not necessarily happen. You can focus on one thing and still fail. See the story about the guy who dropped everything to try and be a professional golfer. 2. When you spend 20 years of your life doing that one thing, you'd better succeed because if not, it means you failed everything . 3. You need to define success. Being awesome at one thing is not for everyone. Steve Jobs' la…

I think a citation is required for point #3. As I understand it, Steve Jobs' last words were "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow." The best-at-business quote is fake:

http://www.snopes.com/steve-jobs-deathbed-speech/

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#29

Post by snarf21 »

johnke wrote: post #8
rsto wrote: post #2

> it’s much more effective to focus your effort on one thing. This is the gist I got from this post, and while I agree with the statement I think it is too simplistic. I am one of those persons that "have a long list of goals, desires, and wants for your life" as teased in the article. I think it's clear that focus helps to achieve an item on that list. It's the issue of deciding what to focus on, when multiple items…

> Personally, I came to the conclusion that everything I postpone to a later stage in life might just as well never materialise. If I can't live with that thought, then it has to be done concurrently. Sheryl Sandberg recently gave a talk to Inc. where she used the term 'ruthless prioritisation' to describe her decision-making process. It basically comes down to finding the best thing you can do and making a lot of to…

Reminds me of John Doerr's advice on how to be successful: "Be ruthlessly intellectually honest about the biggest threat to your business and marshall all available resources to solve that." Rinse and repeat. The key is not just to do just one thing. You need focus and vision, then you'll get to your most successful as soon as possible.

Re: We Can Achieve Anything If We Stop Trying To Do Everything

#30

Post by maxxxxx »

d--b wrote: post #26

ugh, I can't stand this. 1. No, it will not necessarily happen. You can focus on one thing and still fail. See the story about the guy who dropped everything to try and be a professional golfer. 2. When you spend 20 years of your life doing that one thing, you'd better succeed because if not, it means you failed everything . 3. You need to define success. Being awesome at one thing is not for everyone. Steve Jobs' la…

Point 1 is most important. There is no guarantee for success. You may be doing everything "right" but if you are not at the right place at the right time meeting the right people you can still fail. A lot of life is luck and life is not fair.

Point 5 is also important. By definition we are all average. And things where you are maybe 0.1% may not be things that you have passion for.

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