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> He told the interviewers that the "superpower of an entrepreneur" is facing enormous tasks and asking themselves, "How hard can it be?" I get how it could be

> He told the interviewers that the "superpower of an entrepreneur" is facing enormous tasks and asking themselves, "How hard can it be?" I get how it could be possible to be stuck can be on the hamster wheel asking yourself this question over and over for a lifetime chasing fulfillment. However, the guy is worth $35b+... > If the above sounds somewhat negative, Huang's tone in this part of the interview isn't really regretful but more like an impassive observer. He wouldn't willingly follow the whole journey again, saying, "I think it's too much. It is just too much." He references feelings like pain, suffering, shame, and embarrassment. I don't doubt there was fear of failure along the way/close calls, lots of risk and potential/actual cases for shame, etc. I just don't get why he isn't speaking from a position of fulfillment... it's ironic obviously. Why discuss shame when you have so much success to point to? Then again, if he would've said "There were times I felt shame along the way but overall it's been amazing and I'd totally do it again", we wouldn't be here reading the article/headline/comments about it...

m_mueller 3y ago
Maybe there is still more of his East Asian cultural roots in him than people think? It can basically just be part of being politely humble in those sensitivities. Glorifying oneself or one’s in-group is generally not well accepted across East Asia afaik.
- MuffinFlavored 3y ago
  > It can basically just be part of being politely humble in those sensitivities. Saying "if I could take it all back and undo all of the success I've achieved and lives I've touched, I wouldn't do it because it wasn't worth it" seems a bit more than politely humble to me.
- tw04 3y ago
  Have you not followed nvidia? He literally makes himself the center of attention at all times. Any new announcement features a video of him making the announcement. They’re more CEO focused than Jobs lead Apple was.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
    Seems silly to pay a talking head to do the communication, when you have the author itself to communicate the message. And if the author is particularly respected and well spoken, even more silly to not squeeze that asset for all its juice
bobthepanda 3y ago
Is success necessarily happy or fulfilling? There’s a lot of evidence that this isn’t the case.
- armada651 3y ago
  Indeed, to achieve that kind of success sacrifices have to be made along the way; whether in health, friendships or your morals. Some of those choices you may not have been willing to make looking back knowing the full consequences of your actions.
  - Horffupolde 3y ago
    Not really. Perhaps he would have sacrificed those anyway at any other job. So he became such CEO regardless.
wayfinder 3y ago
Reading between the lines, he’s saying his personality isn’t the type to work super hard to make super money. In other words, maybe he could have just been a high level engineer making $300k somewhere and been super happy minus the stress of creating Nvidia. It’s not a general statement. He’s not giving advice.
yowlingcat 3y ago
That's a lot of words to express "cognitive dissonance." I'm pretty sure you know exactly why "he isn't speaking from a position of fulfillment" -- you know very well that he is a human being much like yourself, and despite "the guy is worth $35b+" he puts his pants on one leg at a time much like yourself. Your problem is you cannot conceive that once upon a time he had no more than you. But now he is in a different place. Can you not conceive how and why you would get there yourself? Because if you did, I'm pretty sure you'd phrase this comment in a different manner.
- musicale 3y ago
  > he puts his pants on one leg at a time much like yourself Who are these people who don't know how to put on pants while sitting on a floor/bed/chair/etc.?
  - yowlingcat 3y ago
    > Who are these people who don't know how to put on pants while sitting on a floor/bed/chair/etc.? That is a great point about the neologism. If you're sitting down you can put your pants on two legs at a time. However, there's something quite "everyman" about putting your pants on standing up, because you can do it anywhere. Inside a bathroom? One pants leg at a time. Getting kicked out of someone else's home barely clothed because "someone else" got home? One leg at a time, albeit at a quicker pace. True, putting on pants two legs at a time from a sitting position is ideal, but it is a luxury.
    - musicale 3y ago
      > Inside a bathroom? One pants leg at a time I imagine one might be in a sitting position there as well.
      - yowlingcat 3y ago
        If you're inside a private one? Absolutely. Inside a stall? Danger ahoy. Don't ask me how I know.
arp242 3y ago
> However, the guy is worth $35b+... That on its own seems like a very mixed blessing. On one hand, you never have to worry about money. On the other hand, you will always have to worry about your money. Either way, essentially what he seems to be saying is that it wasn't really worth it. After all, $35b isn't really what makes life worth living for most of us.
- 9991 3y ago
  ??? I have less than a billion dollars, and yet I worry about money a lot. Curious.
  - snovv_crash 3y ago
    So you think if you had a billion dollars you'd worry about money less? You'd just worry about different aspects of money. How not to lose what you have, how you will be constantly approached by grifters, how to keep yourself and your family safe. Different issues, but still worry and still about money. IMO once you're past a certain level it's a lot more about mindset than about what you actually have, right up until you truly stand out from the crowd.
  - arp242 3y ago
    Do you think you can "just" live a normal life with a billion dollars? Being poor sucks and being rich is nice, but being ultra-rich like that is a bit like being a popstar, where things like going out to a shopping centre or having a normal social life become impossible.

m_mueller 3y ago

Maybe there is still more of his East Asian cultural roots in him than people think? It can basically just be part of being politely humble in those sensitivities. Glorifying oneself or one’s in-group is generally not well accepted across East Asia afaik.

MuffinFlavored 3y ago
> It can basically just be part of being politely humble in those sensitivities. Saying "if I could take it all back and undo all of the success I've achieved and lives I've touched, I wouldn't do it because it wasn't worth it" seems a bit more than politely humble to me.
tw04 3y ago
Have you not followed nvidia? He literally makes himself the center of attention at all times. Any new announcement features a video of him making the announcement. They’re more CEO focused than Jobs lead Apple was.
- IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
  Seems silly to pay a talking head to do the communication, when you have the author itself to communicate the message. And if the author is particularly respected and well spoken, even more silly to not squeeze that asset for all its juice

bobthepanda 3y ago

Is success necessarily happy or fulfilling? There’s a lot of evidence that this isn’t the case.

armada651 3y ago
Indeed, to achieve that kind of success sacrifices have to be made along the way; whether in health, friendships or your morals. Some of those choices you may not have been willing to make looking back knowing the full consequences of your actions.
- Horffupolde 3y ago
  Not really. Perhaps he would have sacrificed those anyway at any other job. So he became such CEO regardless.

wayfinder 3y ago

Reading between the lines, he’s saying his personality isn’t the type to work super hard to make super money. In other words, maybe he could have just been a high level engineer making $300k somewhere and been super happy minus the stress of creating Nvidia. It’s not a general statement. He’s not giving advice.

yowlingcat 3y ago

That's a lot of words to express "cognitive dissonance." I'm pretty sure you know exactly why "he isn't speaking from a position of fulfillment" -- you know very well that he is a human being much like yourself, and despite "the guy is worth $35b+" he puts his pants on one leg at a time much like yourself. Your problem is you cannot conceive that once upon a time he had no more than you. But now he is in a different place. Can you not conceive how and why you would get there yourself? Because if you did, I'm pretty sure you'd phrase this comment in a different manner.

musicale 3y ago
> he puts his pants on one leg at a time much like yourself Who are these people who don't know how to put on pants while sitting on a floor/bed/chair/etc.?
- yowlingcat 3y ago
  > Who are these people who don't know how to put on pants while sitting on a floor/bed/chair/etc.? That is a great point about the neologism. If you're sitting down you can put your pants on two legs at a time. However, there's something quite "everyman" about putting your pants on standing up, because you can do it anywhere. Inside a bathroom? One pants leg at a time. Getting kicked out of someone else's home barely clothed because "someone else" got home? One leg at a time, albeit at a quicker pace. True, putting on pants two legs at a time from a sitting position is ideal, but it is a luxury.
  - musicale 3y ago
    > Inside a bathroom? One pants leg at a time I imagine one might be in a sitting position there as well.
    - yowlingcat 3y ago
      If you're inside a private one? Absolutely. Inside a stall? Danger ahoy. Don't ask me how I know.

arp242 3y ago

> However, the guy is worth $35b+... That on its own seems like a very mixed blessing. On one hand, you never have to worry about money. On the other hand, you will always have to worry about your money. Either way, essentially what he seems to be saying is that it wasn't really worth it. After all, $35b isn't really what makes life worth living for most of us.

9991 3y ago
??? I have less than a billion dollars, and yet I worry about money a lot. Curious.
- snovv_crash 3y ago
  So you think if you had a billion dollars you'd worry about money less? You'd just worry about different aspects of money. How not to lose what you have, how you will be constantly approached by grifters, how to keep yourself and your family safe. Different issues, but still worry and still about money. IMO once you're past a certain level it's a lot more about mindset than about what you actually have, right up until you truly stand out from the crowd.
- arp242 3y ago
  Do you think you can "just" live a normal life with a billion dollars? Being poor sucks and being rich is nice, but being ultra-rich like that is a bit like being a popstar, where things like going out to a shopping centre or having a normal social life become impossible.