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> Doing something because other people are doing it is the path to misery and competition. So very very wrong. Doing everything everyone else is doing is the
by ZnZirconium 6y ago
> Doing something because other people are doing it is the path to misery and competition.
So very very wrong.
Doing everything everyone else is doing is the road to group membership and social acceptance and great cultural fit and the best jobs and the most lucrative opportunities and loads and loads of money.
Doing things specifically because nobody else is doing them is a ticket to a pit of despair full of poverty and loneliness and isolation.
I know the difference very well because I never do popular things. I always choose unpopular projects that nobody cares about because my attitude is if a project is too popular then too many people are doing it already. I want to do things that nobody else is doing because if not me then nobody else will do them.
Doing something that nobody else is doing is very rewarding. Talking to other people about it is misery. People do not care and you are competing for their attention with other things that they actually care about. And you lose the competition.
- ThrowawayR2 6y agoI kind of agree. Doing things that other people aren't doing (e.g. because it's hard) even though it needs to be done would be a better heuristic and can lead to an interesting career and possibly even success.
- jdcampolargo 6y agoGreat point! I don't disagree. In the same quote, I added a footnote to explain how I was mostly referring to businesses and startups.
- jdcampolargo 6y agoThanks for sharing your perspective and the example about how you choose your projects. I don't disagree with you. This applies to some things but not others. I mostly referred to working on important problems, startups, and businesses. Even in startups and businesses, this can have the opposite effect (like the one you mentioned). In fact, in this very same quote I added a footnote below to explain this. I really liked your perspective about how if you end up being too extreme, you end up competing anyway but this time for the attention.