90% of the advice here is solid, and if you are certain that high-risk high-reward businesses are what you are built for, and you have a safety net, then by all means join sama and the crew.
But there are other good ways to be an outlier success than just being a businessperson. I was reminded of Hamming's "You and Your Research" which offered similar advice for academics. (Ironically, a copy is also hosted by paulg. http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html)
There are many points of similarity, so many that I start to wonder if sama was intentionally recasting its advice for businesspeople.
- be an independent thinker
- be courageous
- work is like compound interest, you need both hard work and talent
- work on small things that could grow to be big things and where you have some angle of attack
- have a network of people.
- be connected to what your colleagues do, but not a trend-seeker
- be emotionally committed
- be a good salesperson
- know your strengths and weaknesses
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But there are some points of difference, like
- you'll do better work in spartan surroundings
- tolerate ambiguity. Believe in your idea enough to go forward, doubt it enough to consider alternatives
- make your work something that can lift others up to do more than you did
- Use the resources of the organization, don't fight it
- Don't be too rebellious or outwardly nonconformist
But there are other good ways to be an outlier success than just being a businessperson. I was reminded of Hamming's "You and Your Research" which offered similar advice for academics. (Ironically, a copy is also hosted by paulg. http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html)
There are many points of similarity, so many that I start to wonder if sama was intentionally recasting its advice for businesspeople.
- be an independent thinker
- be courageous
- work is like compound interest, you need both hard work and talent
- work on small things that could grow to be big things and where you have some angle of attack
- have a network of people.
- be connected to what your colleagues do, but not a trend-seeker
- be emotionally committed
- be a good salesperson
- know your strengths and weaknesses
====
But there are some points of difference, like
- you'll do better work in spartan surroundings
- tolerate ambiguity. Believe in your idea enough to go forward, doubt it enough to consider alternatives
- make your work something that can lift others up to do more than you did
- Use the resources of the organization, don't fight it
- Don't be too rebellious or outwardly nonconformist