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I know that this is a side issue, but it keeps cropping up as a side issue in pg's essays. I would be interested in a more thorough discussion of this point.
Just a small niggle, but don't you mean "helpless" as opposed to "hapless"? Helpless: "unable to help oneself; weak or dependent" Hapless: "unlucky; luckless; unfortunate." It seems to me that helpless has exactly the definition you seek. "Relentlessly resourceful" founders are able to help themselves, strong, and independent. I know you disagree with the dictionary definition, but could it be that the two meanings m…
No, I meant hapless, but as it's really used, not the obsolete definitions in most dictionaries. Hapless means bad stuff is happening to you. Helpless just means you couldn't defend yourself if it did.
PG, I would be really interested in your experiences teaching people to relentlessly resourceful. How have you brought out resourcefulness in your startup founders?
Me: Why don't you just do x? Founders: Could we really do x? Me: Sure, why not? Can't hurt to try. How hard can it be to do at least version 1 of x? Founders: Ok [dubiously] we'll try it. A few days later: Founders: Pg, check out this demo of x. It was a lot harder than we expected, but we just got it working. While we were working on it, we thought "what if we did y..."
So: is gaining greater confidence in one's ability to achieve stuff part of becoming relentlessly resourceful?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I meant hapless, but as it's really used, not the obsolete definitions in most dictionaries. Hapless means bad stuff is happening to you. Helpless just means you couldn't defend yourself if it did.
Bear in mind some countries still use those 'obsolete' definitions ;) Maybe it's a US/UK thing.
PG, I would be really interested in your experiences teaching people to relentlessly resourceful. How have you brought out resourcefulness in your startup founders?
Me: Why don't you just do x? Founders: Could we really do x? Me: Sure, why not? Can't hurt to try. How hard can it be to do at least version 1 of x? Founders: Ok [dubiously] we'll try it. A few days later: Founders: Pg, check out this demo of x. It was a lot harder than we expected, but we just got it working. While we were working on it, we thought "what if we did y..."
"I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination"
- Walt Disney
Also, perhaps this one might work too, also by Walt.
"Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C's. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way."
- Walt Disney
Isn't the antonym of hapless opportunistic (without its negative connotation)?
i am a web developer & startup founder based in Nigeria, West Africa, a place where there is hardly any electricity, so my startup is run on generators & inverters, broadband isnt available, dialup is the norm here. the computers we use are 5 years old, the list goes on. but i & my team still get stuff done, because of the passion we have and i guess its because we are 'relentlessly resourcefull'. Thanks pg for anoth…
Or at least there's no common antonym of hapless. If we're counting wank words, my dictionary memorizing friend informs me that agented is the antonym of hapless. It means a forceful person who causes change; literally a James Bond-like agent.