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“Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

capitalandgrowth.org

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Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#21

Post by Sevaris »

oneiftwo wrote: post #17

Never in my life have I found these totally generic advice collations useful. They're always vague, unfalsifiable, borderline platitudes. They "work" for the same reasons horoscopes work, and I think a sizable minority, if not majority, of people publishing such work are just sociopathic profiteers. This post is an advertisement, but sadly that seems to be the origin of most content on the internet now - at least the…

> Never in my life have I found these totally generic advice collations useful.

I only check the HN comments for posts like this. That's where the real meaty content is where actual programmers/engineers talk about what may or may not have worked for them.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#22

Post by jierenchen »

bluedays wrote: post #11

Yeah, I get this a lot. I spend hours every day dedicated to doing things to improve my skills to become more valuable in IT. People think I'm crazy, but in the time frame I have begun to do this (since my daughter was born) I can now probably run circles around anyone else who would have started at the same time. Hours of dedication, every day, is not normal. It's probably not healthy either, but I got a late start…

The funny thing about knowledge work is that it sits somewhere between additive and compounding.

Additive like: Let's say you shovel sand into a pit and you shovel 1% more than your peers every day for a year. By end of year, you will have shoveled 1% more.

Compounding like: You're a derivatives trader and make 1% more returns every day for a year than your peers. By end of year you will have made 3780% more.

Knowledge isn't perfectly compounding, but it must necessarily build upon previous knowledge. Abnormal levels of investment and dedication in learning definitely pay off in the long run and compound faster than you would think.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#23

Post by peteretep »

stevenjohns wrote: post #19
oneiftwo wrote: post #17

Never in my life have I found these totally generic advice collations useful. They're always vague, unfalsifiable, borderline platitudes. They "work" for the same reasons horoscopes work, and I think a sizable minority, if not majority, of people publishing such work are just sociopathic profiteers. This post is an advertisement, but sadly that seems to be the origin of most content on the internet now - at least the…

As a counterpoint, I’ve found these books to be extremely useful and it has had profound positive impacts on my decisions. It’s not telling you to wake up at 4am because that’s what [unicorn startup ceo] does. The advice given here is how to step back and find solutions, which is great for people who have difficulty arriving at those points. Likening it to horoscopes because it doesn’t work for you is like me dismiss…

Absolutely. I have made a study of self help books, and they’re full simply of ideas, rather than facts. These ideas have been invaluable to me.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#24

Post by zdragnar »

realbarack wrote: post #14
bluedays wrote: post #11

Yeah, I get this a lot. I spend hours every day dedicated to doing things to improve my skills to become more valuable in IT. People think I'm crazy, but in the time frame I have begun to do this (since my daughter was born) I can now probably run circles around anyone else who would have started at the same time. Hours of dedication, every day, is not normal. It's probably not healthy either, but I got a late start…

I'm curious about the timing. Many people seem to find it more difficult to maintain this level of dedication after they have kids. What made things different in your case?

Not OP, but I've had friends in similar situations. When infants, they're pretty easy to keep an eye on while cramming / self-teaching. It's when they start running around more that it becomes harder, especially if you have a significant other who is also busy with work.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#25

Post by sfink »

jressey wrote: post #3

"they channeled their thoughts toward the fundamental details of having a 'good at-bat.'" I'll pass. You can't just use tangential examples of the most successful people. This feels like pop-(pseudo) science.

I won the lottery, and you can too! The secret to my success: always picking 24 for the first number.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#26

Post by switchbak »

OneGuy123 wrote: post #7
chadlavi wrote: post #5

This reads like a very good example of how not to behave if you actually want to be happy

You imply that what makes you happy makes others happy. A programmer who obsessively programms random side projects in his spare time is completely engaged with them and likes to do that because he enjoys it on some level. So if you think that this is worse than watching netflix or wasting time with mundant social interactions...well...I guess that doesn't make you bad. You're just average.

The opposite of being singularly driven in the way you describe is not necessarily 'watching netflix or wasting time with mundant social interactions' (sic).

Do you really think those are the only two options? You've made a strawman out of his (admittedly short) response.

I can imagine someone who pushes themselves outside of work, and also makes time for sports, loved ones, and other intellectual pursuits. Perhaps by cutting down on some of that mundane time wasting you mentioned.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#27

Post by kstenerud »

Another book selling the illusion of control. And this idea of "becoming abnormal" borders on creepy and cultish.

Successful people have the right combination of personal traits for the circumstances they find themselves in. In other words, they got lucky, and that luck will NOT translate to anyone else. And that's really about all you can say about it. Sure, learn some time management and people skills, but the rest is beyond your control, so stop worrying about it and be comfortable in your own skin. You're not going to be wildly successful, but you'll have a far better time being happy. And time is the only thing given in about equal measure.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#28

Post by eeZah7Ux »

bluedays wrote: post #11

Yeah, I get this a lot. I spend hours every day dedicated to doing things to improve my skills to become more valuable in IT. People think I'm crazy, but in the time frame I have begun to do this (since my daughter was born) I can now probably run circles around anyone else who would have started at the same time. Hours of dedication, every day, is not normal. It's probably not healthy either, but I got a late start…

> Hours of dedication, every day, is not normal

It's not the average but perfectly fine.

Re: “Become Abnormal”: traits to cultivate for top performance

#29

Post by adamsea »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #6

who's a super successful normal person then? I nominate Henry Ford, for no particular reason. I sort of think people will find something abnormal about any super successful person, a great success implies greatness and strangeness beyond the success.

Off-topic, but ...

Many normal people are super racist, so, Henry Ford does indeed qualify as a super-successful normal person.

My meta-point, of course, is that while excellence and the desire to achieve it (along with a bit of glory) can be admirable, success in life - in living your life, a good life - is wildly different from the famous people - any of them - whom society presents as a "success."

I'd rather be healthy and have meaningful, healthy relationships and "unsuccessful" than unhealthy and "successful" - and, I think that's _real_ success!

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