Beyond Talent and Grit: The Unsung Ingredient for Great Work
A surprising lesson from bus ticket collectors, by Paul Graham.
We all know that to do great work, you usually need two things: natural talent(being good at something) and determination (working hard).
These seem pretty clear, right?
But what if there's a third, less obvious ingredient that's actually super important?
It's something that, once you notice it, you'll start seeing it in almost everyone who's achieved big things.
This week, i have an essay by Paul Graham.
If you're not familiar with him, Paul Graham is a hugely influential computer scientist, writer, and investor. He co-founded Viaweb (which became Yahoo Store) and, perhaps most famously, Y Combinator, a startup accelerator that has helped launch companies like Airbnb and Dropbox. He's known for his insightful essays on startups, technology, and what it takes to build great things.
In this article, Paul Graham explains his idea using something a little unexpected: bus ticket collectors.
Yes, people who collect old bus tickets! Their seemingly odd hobby actually holds a big clue about what it takes to do truly great work.
Read here: The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius
That’s it for this week.
Have a great Sunday!
Manoj
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