I got “permission” to be ambitious from Paul Graham’s essays. He definitely seemed like a mysterious old wizard but he also didn’t have to spend any time on me then (though I did eventually get some of his time, many years later in Y Combinator).
I think a lot of people get at least somewhat activated by writing. (i.e. reading HPMOR activated me vis-a-vis “I’m allowed to care about things as ambitious as ‘eliminate death forever’). But I think there’s an additional benefit to them literally sitting down with you and telling you they believe in you. (Imagine Paul Graham literally did that for you, earlier in your career. Do you think that’d have improved your trajectory?)
Hmm, interesting. I suppose it would have, but it is hard to imagine what he could have told me in particular that goes beyond his essays. Maybe looking at the way I think and saying “you seem like the type to be a good startup founder”.
This did prod me to remember a wizard-experience I had in 8th grade. It was with my science teacher. I was one of the better students in his class (possibly the best), and I was at one point crowding him before class, very eager to see the results of a test. He took me aside and said something like “why are you spending so much mental energy on this? You’re smart enough that you’ll always do okay. You don’t need to get all As to be successful” (I don’t remember the exact words). This was enormously impactful on me—I think it immediately reduced my GPA, reduced my stress levels and increased my happiness & life satisfaction.
I really like this!
I got “permission” to be ambitious from Paul Graham’s essays. He definitely seemed like a mysterious old wizard but he also didn’t have to spend any time on me then (though I did eventually get some of his time, many years later in Y Combinator).
Dunno if this helps or hurts your theory.
I think a lot of people get at least somewhat activated by writing. (i.e. reading HPMOR activated me vis-a-vis “I’m allowed to care about things as ambitious as ‘eliminate death forever’). But I think there’s an additional benefit to them literally sitting down with you and telling you they believe in you. (Imagine Paul Graham literally did that for you, earlier in your career. Do you think that’d have improved your trajectory?)
Hmm, interesting. I suppose it would have, but it is hard to imagine what he could have told me in particular that goes beyond his essays. Maybe looking at the way I think and saying “you seem like the type to be a good startup founder”.
This did prod me to remember a wizard-experience I had in 8th grade. It was with my science teacher. I was one of the better students in his class (possibly the best), and I was at one point crowding him before class, very eager to see the results of a test. He took me aside and said something like “why are you spending so much mental energy on this? You’re smart enough that you’ll always do okay. You don’t need to get all As to be successful” (I don’t remember the exact words). This was enormously impactful on me—I think it immediately reduced my GPA, reduced my stress levels and increased my happiness & life satisfaction.