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This essay seems to be somewhat at odds with http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html from January 2005. Now, PG argues that discipl
by bigmac 17y ago
This essay seems to be somewhat at odds with http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html from January 2005.
Now, PG argues that discipline is an important component of determination. For startups, determination is called "the most important predictor of success."
In the earlier essay, these comments were made:
Now I know a number of people who do great work, and it's the same with all of them. They have little discipline. They're all terrible procrastinators and find it almost impossible to make themselves do anything they're not interested in. One still hasn't sent out his half of the thank-you notes from his wedding, four years ago. Another has 26,000 emails in her inbox.
I'm not saying you can get away with zero self-discipline. You probably need about the amount you need to go running.
PG, does this difference in opinion represent increased wisdom due to the experience gained from doing YC rounds? Or is it simply a nuanced or superficial difference?
- pg 17y agoI talk about this in the last two paragraphs. You need more discipline in a startup, because you have to work on what other people need rather than what you want.
- gcheong 17y agoIf we assume the best case is when what you want to do also solves a need for other people and the worst case is when a need is solved for other people but is something you have no desire to do, where do you see most startups falling on this spectrum?
- ananthrk 17y agoChanced upon this comment from PG made long ago. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=179201 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=179201