This seems timely in regards to the US Presidential race.
The Right Kind of Stubborn
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Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#12My takeaway: PG sees successful people as stubborn but teachable and open to feedback/discussion/pushback.
Mine was more determination =stubborn + pragmatic. Obstinant is missing the pragmatism
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#13My takeaway: PG sees successful people as stubborn but teachable and open to feedback/discussion/pushback.
I couldn't fully grasp what he was trying to say and your summarization is both shorter and gets the point across better. Thanks
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#14My takeaway: PG sees successful people as stubborn but teachable and open to feedback/discussion/pushback.
“Strong opinions lightly held”?
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#15My takeaway: PG sees successful people as stubborn but teachable and open to feedback/discussion/pushback.
I couldn't fully grasp what he was trying to say and your summarization is both shorter and gets the point across better. Thanks
Persistent = stubborn about achieving a goal = good
Obstinate = stubborn about executing a solution = bad
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#16This seems timely in regards to the US Presidential race.
Not just timely; it's almost literally talking about that in footnote #2.
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#17This seems timely in regards to the US Presidential race.
I also thought of the presidential race when reading through this.
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#18My takeaway: PG sees successful people as stubborn but teachable and open to feedback/discussion/pushback.
I couldn't fully grasp what he was trying to say and your summarization is both shorter and gets the point across better. Thanks
I think these people get high off of their own supply. It’s a word soup of nonsense
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#19> "The persistent are attached to the goal. The obstinate are attached to their ideas about how to reach it."
I didn't know what the word "obstinate" meant so here you go: "stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion."
While PG's quote suggests a clear distinction, it's overly simplistic. Persistence and obstinacy often overlap in practice, sharing traits like energy, imagination, resilience, good judgment, focus on a goal, and listening intently. The issue is that "reason" can be subjective. For example, Copernicus and Galileo were considered obstinate for his heliocentric theory, but history proved him right. This shows that the line between persistence and obstinacy is often drawn in hindsight.
Referencing the Collison brothers highlights a bias towards successful YC alumni. It would be more telling to classify current batch founders as obstinate or persistent and revisit their success in a decade.
Re: The Right Kind of Stubborn
#20He put it very nicely that stubborn people are like a boat under full throttle (will take a while to slow down), and obstinate people are like a boat that has no rudder (unwilling or unable to change direction).
It is a nice distinction coming from someone who is habitually stubborn and can border on obstinate if not checked.