8 ms·

Don't compare yourself to other entrepreneurs

126 points by herbertl 4y ago

tomrod 4y ago
This feels like an ad for "High Signal" -- but perhaps I am too harsh.
- Nadeus 4y ago
  Yes totally - a lot of "entrepreneurs"/marketers publish these kind of articles as a pretext to promote their own businesses. Which isn't always bad, but in this case it is too blatant.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
throwaway98797 4y ago
always ask what can i learn from my fellow entrepreneurs even if it’s just what not to do no one’s path is easy even if it appears so
- herbertl 4y ago
  Your comment also reminds me of a meaningful, subtle, difference between comparing vs. referencing.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
mizzao 4y ago
Another unintuitive distinction: If you compare yourself to others you can only ever follow in someone's footsteps while becoming second best... But if you compare to past yourself, you can potentially get head and shoulders above the crowd and become the best.
- ianai 4y ago
  Or you might still be “not at their level” but still at your personal best. Be careful about letting external factors and actors impact your own self worth. There will absolutely always be someone who can appear better than you. Take your self worth from inside unless you’re a serial killer or something. Put another way, if you let your personal self worth come from external means then you’re ripe for being manipulated by toxic and malignant sources (people/algorithms).
  - CodeSgt 4y ago
    Where should an aspiring serial killer get their self-worth from then?
- MrDrDr 4y ago
  Reminds me of the poem by Matsu Basho: Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sort.
  - bloak 4y ago
    Or sought.
- GameOfFrowns 4y ago
  >But if you compare to past yourself, you can potentially get head and shoulders above the crowd and become the best. That only helps when you're on an upward (career) trajectory and optimistic. My younger self was healthier, had more energy, more mental acuity, was better-looking, better-liked, less cynical, had more opportunities and more time on earth left to fulfill their dreams as well as enough naivety to believe he could be become the best at something for which other people had a natural aptitude and a twenty-year headstart.
eric4smith 4y ago
Comparison is useful. Because it shows you where are are and where you could go. Life is endless comparisons. It’s like asking me to lose weight without knowing what a skinny (or fatter) person looks like. Life is also endless competition. It’s what drives us. So we compare. We contrast. And where possible, we determine if we should go higher or admit that we can’t go there. But we have standards to live up to. Comparing is what has driven mankind since the beginning of time. Stopping it would lead to decline. We are not all self assured as a market leading company like Apple. Sometimes it’s useful to learn what’s out there so we can aspire to it or recognize our limitations.
- neogodless 4y ago
  This is addressed in part by this section of the article: https://www.petecodes.io/dont-compare-yourself-to-others/#some-reasons-its-good-to-compare-yourself https://www.petecodes.io/dont-compare-yourself-to-others/#so...
- safety1st 4y ago
  If someone's really good at a specific thing you should compare how you do it to how they do it. Like if they have a great sales team you should look at it and ask, what do they do differently, is there something I should copy or adapt. Comparing who you are to who they are is best done sparingly or not at all. It produces a sort of negative energy which some people do have the ability to harness, but it also runs you down.
paulpauper 4y ago
Many of these overhyped entrepreneurs lost gobs of money with crypto over the past year. You see these guys with crypto hashtags on social media profiles s or on resumes. Goes to show how the boring old college route is still hard to beat and one of the best ways to create wealth, and also how quickly fortunes can turn. Markets fall so fast, so no wealth made as prices fall, wages represent accumulated gains. Today's overhyped entrepreneur is tomorrow's big loser after the market falls.
3bproblem 4y ago
If anyone ever learns how to actually stop comparing themselves to others I'd love to hear it. Many of the most well-adjusted, pleasant people that I know still compare themselves to others naturally, it feels like a subconscious behavior almost at the level of breathing or getting hungry. (I liked the article though)
- hatware 4y ago
  In my experience it is the ego that wants to compare. As I've gotten older I've noticed the comparisons have less jealousy and confusion, more envy and understanding of the complexity.
- monting 4y ago
  I'd say practicing non-dualism à la Zen Buddhism helps a lot. In short it helps see through preconceived (or any form of) notions, such that one doesn't become attached, including to the notion of becoming unattached itself. It points outs that the separation of our individual self from others can be seen as illusory, that we're all deeply connected. Sure my left arm is weaker than my right, but that doesn't make it "less important", and in fact thinking in such a way is preposterous. But might be useful in another context such as left/right balance for fitness.
- shishy 4y ago
  I think rather than focusing on "not comparing myself" to others in general I make sure I don't obsess over it when I do... it's kind of inevitable and not something I can perfectly stop doing, but I can certainly control not letting those thoughts overrun everything else I have going on.
- Blackstone4 4y ago
  My view is that we are human and comparison is a subconscious activity like you said. I feel one can become aware of when one is comparing and walk back from it. Being pleased for others people success is helpful here.
  - caloique 4y ago
didgetmaster 4y ago
We live in a competitive/comparison world (sports, wealth, titles, etc.) and the tech industry is no different. Which CPU is fastest? Which programming language is most popular? Which OS has the most users? Nearly every category has a score-keeper somewhere. Where would we be if that competitive behavior didn't drive people to do better? I have a data management project that I regularly benchmark against conventional file systems and databases. I get a thrill when a set of DB queries run 3x or 4x faster than on Postgres or MySQL. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVICKCkWMZE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVICKCkWMZE) But am I satisfied? No! I sit down and try to figure out how to make it even faster, easier, or use less resources.
- ketzo 4y ago
  I don’t think it’s overly pedantic to sat that you’re comparing your product, your work, to others. That’s different (and probably healthier) than comparing your self
  - didgetmaster 4y ago
    That is certainly true, but how many of us tie our self worth to things that we create? If you have a project that you have spent years pouring your heart and soul into, how can you not personally be affected if it succeeds or fails?
uptownfunk 4y ago
If you're still comparing yourself to others - you're a far way from where you have the potential to be
tolulade_ato 4y ago
realreality 4y ago
Don’t try to emulate entrepreneurs; they are sociopaths.
wintorez 4y ago
Don’t compare yourself to others.
Pete-Codes 4y ago
Hey, I wrote that post so thanks to the person who posted it. Seems to have sparked some interesting discussions. The Courage to be Disliked is a game-changing book for me so I'd read that if you liked the article.

126 points by herbertl 4y ago

tomrod 4y ago

This feels like an ad for "High Signal" -- but perhaps I am too harsh.

Nadeus 4y ago
Yes totally - a lot of "entrepreneurs"/marketers publish these kind of articles as a pretext to promote their own businesses. Which isn't always bad, but in this case it is too blatant.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

throwaway98797 4y ago

always ask what can i learn from my fellow entrepreneurs even if it’s just what not to do no one’s path is easy even if it appears so

herbertl 4y ago
Your comment also reminds me of a meaningful, subtle, difference between comparing vs. referencing.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

mizzao 4y ago

Another unintuitive distinction: If you compare yourself to others you can only ever follow in someone's footsteps while becoming second best... But if you compare to past yourself, you can potentially get head and shoulders above the crowd and become the best.

ianai 4y ago
Or you might still be “not at their level” but still at your personal best. Be careful about letting external factors and actors impact your own self worth. There will absolutely always be someone who can appear better than you. Take your self worth from inside unless you’re a serial killer or something. Put another way, if you let your personal self worth come from external means then you’re ripe for being manipulated by toxic and malignant sources (people/algorithms).
- CodeSgt 4y ago
  Where should an aspiring serial killer get their self-worth from then?
MrDrDr 4y ago
Reminds me of the poem by Matsu Basho: Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sort.
- bloak 4y ago
  Or sought.
GameOfFrowns 4y ago
>But if you compare to past yourself, you can potentially get head and shoulders above the crowd and become the best. That only helps when you're on an upward (career) trajectory and optimistic. My younger self was healthier, had more energy, more mental acuity, was better-looking, better-liked, less cynical, had more opportunities and more time on earth left to fulfill their dreams as well as enough naivety to believe he could be become the best at something for which other people had a natural aptitude and a twenty-year headstart.

eric4smith 4y ago

Comparison is useful. Because it shows you where are are and where you could go. Life is endless comparisons. It’s like asking me to lose weight without knowing what a skinny (or fatter) person looks like. Life is also endless competition. It’s what drives us. So we compare. We contrast. And where possible, we determine if we should go higher or admit that we can’t go there. But we have standards to live up to. Comparing is what has driven mankind since the beginning of time. Stopping it would lead to decline. We are not all self assured as a market leading company like Apple. Sometimes it’s useful to learn what’s out there so we can aspire to it or recognize our limitations.

neogodless 4y ago
This is addressed in part by this section of the article: https://www.petecodes.io/dont-compare-yourself-to-others/#some-reasons-its-good-to-compare-yourself https://www.petecodes.io/dont-compare-yourself-to-others/#so...
safety1st 4y ago
If someone's really good at a specific thing you should compare how you do it to how they do it. Like if they have a great sales team you should look at it and ask, what do they do differently, is there something I should copy or adapt. Comparing who you are to who they are is best done sparingly or not at all. It produces a sort of negative energy which some people do have the ability to harness, but it also runs you down.

paulpauper 4y ago

Many of these overhyped entrepreneurs lost gobs of money with crypto over the past year. You see these guys with crypto hashtags on social media profiles s or on resumes. Goes to show how the boring old college route is still hard to beat and one of the best ways to create wealth, and also how quickly fortunes can turn. Markets fall so fast, so no wealth made as prices fall, wages represent accumulated gains. Today's overhyped entrepreneur is tomorrow's big loser after the market falls.

3bproblem 4y ago

If anyone ever learns how to actually stop comparing themselves to others I'd love to hear it. Many of the most well-adjusted, pleasant people that I know still compare themselves to others naturally, it feels like a subconscious behavior almost at the level of breathing or getting hungry. (I liked the article though)

hatware 4y ago
In my experience it is the ego that wants to compare. As I've gotten older I've noticed the comparisons have less jealousy and confusion, more envy and understanding of the complexity.
monting 4y ago
I'd say practicing non-dualism à la Zen Buddhism helps a lot. In short it helps see through preconceived (or any form of) notions, such that one doesn't become attached, including to the notion of becoming unattached itself. It points outs that the separation of our individual self from others can be seen as illusory, that we're all deeply connected. Sure my left arm is weaker than my right, but that doesn't make it "less important", and in fact thinking in such a way is preposterous. But might be useful in another context such as left/right balance for fitness.
shishy 4y ago
I think rather than focusing on "not comparing myself" to others in general I make sure I don't obsess over it when I do... it's kind of inevitable and not something I can perfectly stop doing, but I can certainly control not letting those thoughts overrun everything else I have going on.
Blackstone4 4y ago
My view is that we are human and comparison is a subconscious activity like you said. I feel one can become aware of when one is comparing and walk back from it. Being pleased for others people success is helpful here.
- caloique 4y ago

didgetmaster 4y ago

We live in a competitive/comparison world (sports, wealth, titles, etc.) and the tech industry is no different. Which CPU is fastest? Which programming language is most popular? Which OS has the most users? Nearly every category has a score-keeper somewhere. Where would we be if that competitive behavior didn't drive people to do better? I have a data management project that I regularly benchmark against conventional file systems and databases. I get a thrill when a set of DB queries run 3x or 4x faster than on Postgres or MySQL. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVICKCkWMZE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVICKCkWMZE) But am I satisfied? No! I sit down and try to figure out how to make it even faster, easier, or use less resources.

ketzo 4y ago
I don’t think it’s overly pedantic to sat that you’re comparing your product, your work, to others. That’s different (and probably healthier) than comparing your self
- didgetmaster 4y ago
  That is certainly true, but how many of us tie our self worth to things that we create? If you have a project that you have spent years pouring your heart and soul into, how can you not personally be affected if it succeeds or fails?

uptownfunk 4y ago

If you're still comparing yourself to others - you're a far way from where you have the potential to be

tolulade_ato 4y ago

realreality 4y ago

Don’t try to emulate entrepreneurs; they are sociopaths.

wintorez 4y ago

Don’t compare yourself to others.

Pete-Codes 4y ago

Hey, I wrote that post so thanks to the person who posted it. Seems to have sparked some interesting discussions. The Courage to be Disliked is a game-changing book for me so I'd read that if you liked the article.