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How to Do Great Work

paulgraham.com

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Re: How to Do Great Work

#151

Post by ren_engineer »

smokel wrote: post #57

I quite like to read an article like this from time to time, because it can be motivating when your ambitions are low. However, I also believe that it can be detrimental and even lead to burn-out or depression if you actually believe that putting in the work, and putting it in in a good way, will lead you to success. This seems like a recipe for disaster. Is it not more likely that most historically successful people…

>Is it not more likely that most historically successful people just stumbled on the promising gaps almost by accident?

to some degree, but it's not like you can luck your way into writing an app by slapping the keyboard. The degree of success might differ, but generally there's some kind of barrier of entry in terms of the work to learn the base skill needed. Right place at the right time is a thing, but plenty of people miss out because they don't even try at all

Re: How to Do Great Work

#152

Post by tinktank »

cookie_monsta wrote: post #38

It feels like this takes a very narrow definition of greatness which is more aligned to innovation and "What will make you famous" or "What will be commercially successful". From plant life and human health all the way up to nation states, there are lots of people doing great work just making sure that things keep running smoothly.

Absolutely. I'm constantly amazed at the clever, resourceful folks beavering away on things that don't have a lot of visibility.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#153

Post by ren_engineer »

MichaelRo wrote: post #137

Well put. But what the article (and others like it) lacks is the fallback, the plan B, the exception handling, what to do if things don't work out as planned. There's a Gauss curve. Simple stuff can be done by any idiot so there's going to be a lot of competition on that. Like picking strawberries, for any position there's 100 Mexicans (in the US) or Eastern European guys (in the EU) willing to do that for cheap. So…

in tech at least even if you fail, you are developing valuable skills that can be used elsewhere. Plenty of failed startup founders end up at other places in engineering or management roles

not creating a billion dollar startup isn't a failure, tons of people in the tech industry retire as multimillionaires essentially working a 9-5. A lot of people on HN seem to think if you don't make the Forbes list you are a failure

Re: How to Do Great Work

#155

Post by zevv »

culopatin wrote: post #93

Ive been conflicted for 12 years now on what field to pursue. I’m between mechanical engineering because of my interest in materials and aerodynamics (I’d love to do research in this field), and software engineering (I don’t know what I’d do research in, but I like the idea of making tools people use). I work in IT/light software dev, and I think I’m inclined towards software because that’s where I’ve been building m…

No need to choose, you can have both - there is this very nice place where software meets hardware; call it embedded, call it robotics, call it industrial automation; this is the place where software actually gets to interface to physics: read sensors, drive solenoids and motors, make things move and act and do things in the real world.

I got into this business 25 years ago and never left. Still loving every single day.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#157

Post by pcthrowaway »

ren_engineer wrote: post #151
smokel wrote: post #57

I quite like to read an article like this from time to time, because it can be motivating when your ambitions are low. However, I also believe that it can be detrimental and even lead to burn-out or depression if you actually believe that putting in the work, and putting it in in a good way, will lead you to success. This seems like a recipe for disaster. Is it not more likely that most historically successful people…

>Is it not more likely that most historically successful people just stumbled on the promising gaps almost by accident? to some degree, but it's not like you can luck your way into writing an app by slapping the keyboard. The degree of success might differ, but generally there's some kind of barrier of entry in terms of the work to learn the base skill needed. Right place at the right time is a thing, but plenty of p…

> to some degree, but it's not like you can luck your way into writing an app by slapping the keyboard

I wish some of the people I've worked with knew this

Re: How to Do Great Work

#158

Post by badpun »

peteradio wrote: post #107
cookie_monsta wrote: post #38

It feels like this takes a very narrow definition of greatness which is more aligned to innovation and "What will make you famous" or "What will be commercially successful". From plant life and human health all the way up to nation states, there are lots of people doing great work just making sure that things keep running smoothly.

Seems well aligned with the dictionary definition of great. If you are maintaining the status quo that is pretty much by definition not great.

great: immense; notable; momentous; exalted; grand

If you can dig ditches faster than anyone else, then you're a great ditch digger, and you're doing great work. Similarly, if you're a surgeon who saves much more lives than the average, you're doing great work. Etc.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#159

Post by ajkjk »

smokel wrote: post #57

I quite like to read an article like this from time to time, because it can be motivating when your ambitions are low. However, I also believe that it can be detrimental and even lead to burn-out or depression if you actually believe that putting in the work, and putting it in in a good way, will lead you to success. This seems like a recipe for disaster. Is it not more likely that most historically successful people…

Anecdotally: I think of myself as one of those people who is by nature driven to do great work. Tbd if it happens. But in my life I see most other people as having written off almost everything I find interesting, all the places where it seems like there is great work to be done if one digs hard enough.

It seems obvious that someone like me, who believes this and is looking and working everywhere, will be the type of person who does the great work, rather than someone who thinks that, ah well, it's probably an accident that others found things and they didn't. Because, seriously.. The gaps are everywhere! in everything! Some of us can scarcely go a day without having an idea that seems to have huge potential and it's a question of deciding what to focus on and how far to go. The problem is never thinking of something that could be great work to do... it's picking which one.

So basically, strong disagree, it's no accident at all.

That said the main reason everyone is writing off all the potential is, yes, lack of ambition, lack of curiosity, lack of perseverance, etc. Can those habits be unlearned? Dunno. Probably. I think most people are 'followers' at heart, and to imagine doing something truly novel is to imagine, ultimately, not trying to do what they're told, not trying to be safe. And the thought gives them intense anxiety so they explain a hundred reasons why they're right, why nothing can be done. Well, from my perspective that's just a matter of perspective.

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