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How to Do Great Work

paulgraham.com

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Re: How to Do Great Work

#32

Post by ianbutler »

scarface_74 wrote: post #8

> Develop a habit of working on your own projects. Don't let "work" mean something other people tell you to do. I spend eight hours+ a day supporting my addiction to food and shelter. Why would I spend my free time working toward “greatness” instead of doing hobbies I enjoy and spending time with friends and family? Any other time I have I’m spending working out and training for runs - neither of which I will ever be…

I enjoy working on my side projects more so than other hobbies, I have fun with them, it's not "work" in the sense as I think you mean. I'm not working towards "greatness" as much as I have ideas for projects that I think should exist and then want to bring them into existence.

I truly and deeply find my chosen projects interesting and stimulating in a way other things aren't.

I don't view work as a bad thing, with the caveat that it has to be productive and interesting work that goes towards something I think is impactful where the definition of impactful is personal.

I'm not saying your way is incorrect or bad or anything, just providing the perspective of someone who spends a lot of time working and how I feel about it.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#34

Post by helicalmix »

badtension wrote: post #22
fnord77 wrote: post #9

also: - Don't have any chronic diseases or pain that will distract or dull your attention - Have a stable source of income or enough wealth to let you try and fail at a lot of things - Have stable family and friends - Don't have optimism beaten out of you at a young age etc

I am amazed how many people take their fortunes for granted and then preach about how they "worked harder than anyone else hence deserve much more than the others". You have to be incredibly lucky to get to that point. In case of chronic illness (like brain fog) you are pretty much destined to fail.

I’m also amazed how people will take a self-improvement article like this, and take it so personally. Like yes, pg was lucky to have a lot of things work out for them, but that doesn’t mean his advice here (which encompasses more than just “work hard”) is invalid for everyone just because it’s invalid for some people.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#36

Post by Swizec »

travisgriggs wrote: post #19

Hmmm… > At 7 it may seem excitingly ambitious to build huge things out of Lego, then at 14 to teach yourself calculus, till at 21 you're starting to explore unanswered questions in physics. But always preserve excitingness. I’m 53 and some of my greatest joys still come from well executed Lego builds. Wonder if I’m stuck in a rut :/

I “rediscovered” LEGO in my early 30’s. Turns out when you’re an adult, LEGO isn’t that expensive and you can just buy a set. Walk into a store and walk out with a brand new set!

It’s an amazing and dangerous freedom. 3 short years later and I have more sets than space.

Now all I need is the time and space I had as a kid to treat LEGO as a tool for invention. Build stuff out of imagination, not a blueprint. Then again, as an adult, I could also get a bunch of power tools and “play with LEGOs” without using actual LEGOs … hmmmm

Re: How to Do Great Work

#37

Post by mmargerum »

scarface_74 wrote: post #8

> Develop a habit of working on your own projects. Don't let "work" mean something other people tell you to do. I spend eight hours+ a day supporting my addiction to food and shelter. Why would I spend my free time working toward “greatness” instead of doing hobbies I enjoy and spending time with friends and family? Any other time I have I’m spending working out and training for runs - neither of which I will ever be…

If your personal projects are "work" then yes do not bother. These are my creative outlet and where I get to enjoy coding again. My day job is massive .net/angular/sql projects that are just meh.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#38

Post by cookie_monsta »

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.

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