Let there be more biographies of failures
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Let there be more biographies of failures
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Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#2This post is more historical and highbrow than my usual tastes, but one of my favorite such reads in the tech space, at least, was "Boo Hoo: A dot.com Story from Concept to Catastrophe" about the development and failure of boo.com - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boo.com - a British e-commerce business that burnt through $135m of VC money in 18 months. Worth a flick through if you get the chance, and it's almost like a period drama now given how 1998 was on the Internet compared to now.
Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#3I really enjoyed this story because it introduced me to an interesting person I had never heard about.
I did not enjoy the last paragraph where it tried to shoehorn a bunch of bizarre lessons learned from this story, some of which didn't make sense and at least one seemed contradictory.
Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#4Yes. Also in sports journalism, I'm not really interested in the stories of people who finished first, second or third. I want to read about those who always finish 10th place or lower. Their struggle must be much more interesting.
Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#5[deleted]
Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#6Yes. Also in sports journalism, I'm not really interested in the stories of people who finished first, second or third. I want to read about those who always finish 10th place or lower. Their struggle must be much more interesting.
It's out of print, but if you can get your hands on a used copy, Rob Trucks' Cup of Coffee might be right up your alley. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/476455.Cup_of_Coffee
Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#7This post is more historical and highbrow than my usual tastes, but one of my favorite such reads in the tech space, at least, was "Boo Hoo: A dot.com Story from Concept to Catastrophe" about the development and failure of boo.com - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boo.com - a British e-commerce business that burnt through $135m of VC money in 18 months. Worth a flick through if you get the chance, and it's almost like…
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Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#8Yes. Also in sports journalism, I'm not really interested in the stories of people who finished first, second or third. I want to read about those who always finish 10th place or lower. Their struggle must be much more interesting.
as a basketball fan, i'm fascinated by the players barely hanging on to a roster spot on any given team. the storylines vary widely, from veteran there to teach the youngsters, to scrappy upstart who barely made the cut, to the sibling of a star player.
in the nba, these are guys who are literally better than 99.9999% of the planet, and yet, they often seem to be treated like hangers-on rather than some of the best.
Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#9> The real benefit that reluctant young lawyers like Otlet get from their career is boredom. Their minds wander.
This reminds me of Einstein's stint as a patent clerk where he "hatched the most beautiful ideas [1]". Sometimes a boring job is simply a means to an end -- time to let one's mind wander and pursue one's raison d'etre.
1: https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/einstein/life-and-times/car...
Re: Let there be more biographies of failures
#10You shouldn’t be afraid of failure, but it’s a bad fetish. If failure can help future endeavors great, but there’s nothing inherently interesting about failing a lot.