Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Be Relentlessly Resourceful

paulgraham.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 169 posts

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#111

Post by gord »

dbul wrote: post #91

Might I suggest an antonym: Machiavellian. At least in the traditional sense. The Prince is a good start. Those who are looking for "resources" may want to read this -- front cover to back cover. Indiana University sometimes offers a good course called Machiavelli, Marketing, and Management whose seminar leader is a Machiavellian scholar.

Hmm... I guess theres that line between getting things done, co-opting people, selling your idea to them on the one hand and on the other hand theres being a manipulative jerk.

'Michiavellian' has some pretty harsh manipulative connotations for me - surely he was resourceful.. but maybe resourceful without 'being good'...

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#112

Post by froo »

cosmo7 wrote: post #53
froo wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my alltime favourite quotes that I think is relevant is: "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 secr…

That's surprisingly ironic considering Disney's attitude towards the public domain and copyright extension.

... That's actually a result of everything that's happened since Walt's death in 66, especially the terrible reign of Michael Eisner from 84 to 05 which nearly killed Disney's animation.

There's a book called "The Illusion of Life" that was written by Two of the "Nine Old Men" of animation who were with Walt from the early days.

When you read some of the early chapters, Disney held a lot of the values that many Hackers hold including iterating quickly, being open with information (within his own organisation that is) and always pushing the envelope with what was possible.

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#113

Post by sid »

Hi Paul, let me just start by saying your essays are great and a true inspiration.

My team and i are from australia and we have all been working in a 9-5 and also doing our startup which after 1.5 years is almost complete (just a FEW more months). It isnt totally my choice to do a 9-5 but certain things happen in life that require that you have a stable income. Im still relatively young (27 and so is my co-founder.)

To do a 9-5 and working on a startup at the same time takes alot of resourceful-ness. Juggling responsibilities, making deals with the boss such as working from home agreements ;) occasionally telling white lies because of a major release require testing all takes fast talking.

Also getting since money isnt in abundance in our startup, as the money is being used to support family (parents and sister) we have had to come up with alternatives and do alot of our reading to understand the best company structures both for the future and for now from a company structure and taxation point of view.

Finally the coding after work until the weee hours of the morning and then getting up at 8:30 to get ready for work again. There is the relentless drive that you need to have and the resourcefulness to make the best of the money and the situation.

Reading your articles just highlights that currently we have been doing things the right way, and its good to know. We are almost done, company structure, code/application (final stages of testing), business plan, monetization plans ... cant wait to release her out into the wild.

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#114

Post by froo »

jimmyjim wrote: post #61
froo wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my alltime favourite quotes that I think is relevant is: "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 secr…

I would say constancy is more important that confidence. It's simply dull, constant practice that gets you to be perfect in a certain skill, not confidence (and I'm speaking with experience as a hard sciences student). Advice from business-people is inapplicable to us science students most of the time.

Advice from business-people is inapplicable to us science students most of the time.

Walt was an innovator first, businessman second.

Did you know he invented the multiplane camera that revolutionised the Animation industry?

Or perhaps that he insisted on having the pegs on the Animation Discs down the bottom where it was the standard at the time to have them up the top? This was so they could do rolling, a small change but a huge revolution at the time

Every chance he got he tried to push the envelope of what was possible - in fact, this nearly sent him broke in the early days.

I think if Walt was born in this century, you'd see the guy in Silicon Valley doing what a lot of us are trying to do now.

Anyay lastly, I think I should finish this off with another quote of his, which kind of underlines the point I'm trying to make.

"I don't make movies to make money. I make money to make movies"

- Walt Disney

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#115

Post by dbul »

gord wrote: post #111
dbul wrote: post #91

Might I suggest an antonym: Machiavellian. At least in the traditional sense. The Prince is a good start. Those who are looking for "resources" may want to read this -- front cover to back cover. Indiana University sometimes offers a good course called Machiavelli, Marketing, and Management whose seminar leader is a Machiavellian scholar.

Hmm... I guess theres that line between getting things done, co-opting people, selling your idea to them on the one hand and on the other hand theres being a manipulative jerk. 'Michiavellian' has some pretty harsh manipulative connotations for me - surely he was resourceful.. but maybe resourceful without 'being good'...

"At least in the traditional sense." It was subtle, but if you have looked at Machiavelli's original political theory, you notice it has been grossly mischaracterized in today's society. If I were to sum up what Machiavellian means, in the traditional sense, I would say it is prudence, ability, effort, and fortunate circumstance.

In a previous post, pg revealed a situation where applying ideas created more ideas and this is perfect because it has nothing to do with theory, it has everything to do with authentic experience. Great ideas are easy, applying them is a whole different animal.

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#116

Post by owinebarger »

pg wrote: post #30
swombat wrote: post #29

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.

For me, hapless has a connotation of clumsiness. The hapless person goes through life fumbling every opportunity. The opposite is a person adept at taking advantage of every opportunity.

Relentlessly resourceful sounds like a person who makes opportunities or sees them where others don't.

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#117

Post by adrianscottcom »

It's relevant to note that "don't be x" and "be y" are not equivalent even if x more or les = not y...

keith johnstone writes nicely about this as it relates to education in the introduction to the book impro.

hence be relentlessly resourceful is dramatically more useful than don't be x...

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#118

Post by ericwaller »

indiejade wrote: post #79
triplefox wrote: post #28

I can bring it down to one word: MacGyver.

Precisely. Being "relentlessly resourceful" essentially boils down to a highly advanced game of Make Vs. Buy. MacGyver would almost invariably always answer "Make!" PG's article also reminded me of a comment I posted on here awhile go regarding a question somebody asked about "skimping" on certain things: Assuming that by "skimp on" you mean "spend sparingly on a necessity," I'll preemptively refrain from rambling ab…

I think the kind of resourcefulness being discussed is less about "make v. buy" and more about "make/buy v. get for free."

By "get for free" I mean using personal connections, creativity, or whatever else you have at your disposal (maybe university affiliation) to avoid paying at all, either with real money out of your pocket or development and maintenance effort (in the case of software).

Re: Be Relentlessly Resourceful

#119

Post by swagner2 »

Before I become a software CEO I used to race cars. Racing cars is exactly like running a tech company.

It takes a lot of gumption (and some money) to stay competitive.

To quote Malcolm X, "By any Means Necessary."

Post reply on HN