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There is a false dichotomy here. Talented people who have seized the right opportunity can get overwhelmed or disorganized like everyone else. I've always assum
by jonathanstrange 7y ago
There is a false dichotomy here. Talented people who have seized the right opportunity can get overwhelmed or disorganized like everyone else. I've always assumed that all those tips for getting organized, getting this done, etc., are primarily intended for talented people who otherwise already know what they're doing.
> No level of hard work or organization will substitute for talent and opportunity
I find that very doubtful. A certain level of talent is needed, there is no doubt about that. Beyond that level, though, it seems to me that focus and continuous dedication (aka, hard work) in combination with being at the right place with right people at the right time are the most decisive success factors in any endeavour. Bill Gates is the perfect example. He has been working like crazy in his early years, was basically on the job all the time.
- babygoat 7y agoWhy doubtful? Bill Gates is incredibly talented, and being in the right place at the right time is more or less the definition of opportunity.
- sk84life 7y agoWell, offtopic a bit but.. People say you never know what they have to sacrifice for they success. Listening lately news about Bill and he's circles of friends.. I can honestly say I am not surprised why these certain billionaires are never prosecuted of anything..
- dullgiulio 7y agoWhat are you trying to imply? Microsoft paid hefty fines for its monopolistic behavior...
- dredmorbius 7y agoI suspect: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/business/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/business/jeffrey-epstein-... GP shouldn't insinuate vaguely, IMO.
- eloff 7y agoTo be such an extreme outlier success as Bill Gates took extreme talent, extreme, all-consuming hard work, and extreme privilege and opportunity (luck) all combined in a perfect storm. He still would have been successful without all of those things together, but not at the same level.
- ajslater 7y agoThis is approximately the correct breakdown. Its interesting that ⅔ of the combo could be lumped into different kinds of luck. You can't do much about your inherited or birth situation, but the extremely successful people I know usually have a very fortunate background and also worked hard to expand their future luck surface so that when outrageous opportunity lightning was looking to strike somewhere, they had an outsized chance to be the spot.
- aglavine 7y agoLeonardo Da Vinci is a good counter example. He wasn't organized at all and neither were his collaborators. A lot of his science breakthroughs went on unknown until somebody else totally unrelated did the same.
- _jal 7y agoCounter example of what? > A lot of his science breakthroughs went on unknown I suppose if one's goal is solipsistic research, that would be fine. (We know that wasn't Da Vinci's goal, though.) To put it a different way, suppose I have solved AGI and never told anyone. ... What good have I done?
- vastoi 7y agoDepending ones feelings about AGI, you might have saved the humans from extinction by keeping it to yourself.
- ramblerman 7y ago> it seems to me that focus and continuous dedication (aka, hard work) Some might say the ability to focus to that extent is a talent too. I personally think it's all a mix of nature and nurture, and you can't put anything 100% in one category or the other.