How to Do Great Work
www.paulgraham.com
What are you excessively curious about — curious to a degree that would bore most other people? That's what you're looking for. The first step is to decide what to work on. The work you choose needs to have three qualities: it has to be something you have a natural aptitude for, that you have a deep
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Summary
To do great work, it's important to be curious and explore different ideas. Start small and experiment with various projects or side projects. Being prolific and trying different things increases the chances of discovering something new. However, it's important to understand that not everything will work out, and that's okay. Having a lot of good ideas also means having a lot of bad ones. So, don't be afraid to try and fail, as it's all part of the process of doing great work.
Top Highlights
- What are you excessively curious about — curious to a degree that would bore most other people? That's what you're looking for.
- The first step is to decide what to work on. The work you choose needs to have three qualities: it has to be something you have a natural aptitude for, that you have a deep interest in, and that offers scope to do great work.
- Don't let "work" mean something other people tell you to do
- The way to figure out what to work on is by working. If you're not sure what to work on, guess. But pick something and get going. You'll probably guess wrong some of the time, but that's fine.
- Ambitious people are if anything already too conservative about it. So all you need to do is find something you have an aptitude for and great interest in.
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