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The Top Of My Todo List

paulgraham.com

91–100 of 197 posts

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#91
post #63
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although the trying should lead to some fruition. Always trying but never having succeeded would be a pretty sad way to end up. This awareness gives me the stamina to work through all the details it takes to end up with a polished product.

Sure, though when you start a project often times the goal you set out to reach turns out to be the wrong one. Enjoy the journey and be flexible on the goal. The mere act of trying, produces fruits that you didn't expect. I always loved this quote from Jobs: "...you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." And they very often do. So be sure to start that project, whatever it may be, just take…

Pivoting at the right times can lead to success. But I have seen plenty of people just pivot endlessly, because sometimes that's easier than doing all the drudgery work required to carry an idea out fully.

I know most of us have to "fail" many times before we succeed. But if our failures never lead to any real success, then we are doing something wrong.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#93
>But how do you avoid mistakes you make by default?

For me, this is what mindfulness is all about. A mindfulness practice gradually develops the ability to be in the present moment and be aware of the choices you are making.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#94
I think "say what you think" is fundamentally different than "not suppressing your feelings." I think suppressing your feelings goes deeper, into the inner person and getting in touch with who you really are and why you feel what you feel. But saying what you think is a lot easier. It's what a lot of know-it-all people do. You just say what's on your mind but that doesn't mean you're really paying attention to what you're feeling.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#95
post #47

I wanted to make a poster of this for myself so I did. Sharing in case anyone else might wanna use it, you're more than welcome. All respect to Paul Graham & Bronnie Ware. There's a 26" x 39" poster version, in case you happen to have a big-ass printer around, and an 8.5" x 11" smaller version if you're normal. http://cloud.ejfox.com/G1IE Also available in black: http://cloud.ejfox.com/G1Wm

Thanks! I noticed others in this thread saying it's better to avoid negatives. For example, "Pursue your dreams" instead of "Don't ignore your dreams". Can you make a positive version of this poster?

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#96
post #61

When I first saw the title of this essay, I thought I already knew what I was going to say... Something about how my own todo this now has only one item on it, the single most important thing to do next. I gravitated to this based on the great quote by chess master Jose Capablanca: [When asked how many moves ahead he looked while playing]: "Only one, but it's always the right one." (from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/…

"Always do the right thing" - I can't think of a more concise definition of a mensch.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#97
post #22
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that, more often than not, being happy requires choosing to be happy. There are far too many unplanned moments in life where, even if you've followed the other four rules, you will not be happy unless you actively choose to make lemonade out of your lemons.

That's true. People who say "I'm bored" are usually boring people. Many first- world people who are unhappy on a daily basis just have little sense of agency. This isn't meant to blame those people; many people are told to follow their dreams by adults who have given up on their own dreams. Few people are explicitly taught how to follow their dreams.

And then there's those of us who never really had anything resembling a lifelong dream in the first place. Calling it boredom is an understatement, sounds more like acedia.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#98
I disagree. Strongly.

Following your dreams, not working too much, spending time with family and friends, saying what you think, and being happy, might belong at the top of Paul Graham's todo list. He's already succeeded at what most people struggle at: making a living. He may have forgotten that getting by is hard.

What's so wrong about being a "cog in a machine"? Large organizations exist partly because scale and specialization are useful. People aren't "cogs" out of perversity, but practicality. Sometimes your comparative advantage is in being a good cog. And sometimes being a good cog is admirable. Example: surgeons who specialize in one and only one procedure, doing it exactly the same way every time, have a low failure rate. They save more lives that way. Are they creative? Nope. They follow somebody else's rules. They make themselves as mechanical, as repetitive, as possible. And the guy on the operating table lives.

Paul Graham is in a very unusual profession, where risk-taking is much more of an ideal than it is anywhere else. Also notice that he makes money off of telling other people to take risks. The more people decide to be entrepreneurs, the wider a pool he has to draw from. "Follow your dreams" is a useful meme for people like that; if a hundred people follow their dreams and fail and ruin their lives, PG never hears about it, but if one person follows his dreams and becomes a billionaire, PG might get a share. This isn't meant to vilify the guy; there's nothing wrong with making a living by inspiring people. And I'm sure he would say that he's fighting dangerous opposing memes against ever taking risks. I just think you can't take posts like this at face value.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#99

I disagree. Strongly. Following your dreams, not working too much, spending time with family and friends, saying what you think, and being happy, might belong at the top of Paul Graham's todo list. He's already succeeded at what most people struggle at: making a living. He may have forgotten that getting by is hard. What's so wrong about being a "cog in a machine"? Large organizations exist partly because scale and s…

The easiest example of this can be seen in one of his comments upthread:

> (pg): Sort of. More like working very hard till you achieve financial independence, after which you can do whatever you want. You don't have to stop working; you just never have to work on anyone else's terms.

He states that as if anybody but an extremely lucky few can achieve "financial independence" (his words) before 60. One can say he was speaking to a particular audience, but in truth, the overwhelming majority of folks on HN aren't retiring early either.

It all comes across as wildly out of touch. If it were anyone else, I'd say the new bubble had blinded the author, but pg's been around since before the last bubble. Perhaps shepherding young people through the new bubble is a blinding force as well.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#100
post #41

Hmm. About 2 years ago I bought myself a canvas and wrote on it the following: Live happy, make friends, enjoy. Make those dreams happy It was for much the same reason - to inspire me. However, about 6 months later I thought those idea through and realised that, actually, it was an example of "making me feel better". I could sit and look at this poster and think; "yeh, I'm following my dream, I'm going to be happy".…

I struggle with this from time to time. I'm building a business that I plan/hope will allow me to have the freedom to do whatever I want with my time at some point in the future. Today, however, I work. I work a lot. 12 hours is the low end for a day. I've put work ahead of lot of things. If I were to truly close my eyes and do what I feel like, I'd be headed to a river/lake or getting on a plane. But I have clients,…

My only advice would be: work hard, play hard. It sounds like you've got the work hard part down pat. Take at least a couple weeks off a year. 50 weeks at 12+ hours a day of work is more than 99% of people do. Spend at least 2 weeks at 0 hours a day of work unwinding with your friends on a vacation. Your work will still be there when you get back, and you'll have renewed enthusiasm for it.
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