Those who Shine Brightest Often Burn Fastest
I appreciate Paul Graham's honesty about the harsh realities of startups, but I find his definition of wealth lacking. The idea of joining a startups excites and terrifies me in equal parts. I was more allured in high school, dreaming of hitting it big and ending up with a fat pay check and early retirement. Faced with the realities of breakneck pace of college life, I've greatly soured to the idea. Graham puts it well when he says:
"[Startups] don't change the laws of wealth creation. They just represent a point at the far end of the curve."
The benefits of such an extreme stance on wealth creation only sound appealing until you get a taste of the toll it takes. The idea of selling 200% of your soul to a startup (even for just a few years) is not in my future. The main reason: I don't want to burn out. There are more important things in life that will (hopefully) demand my energy: namely, raising a family. What's the use in growing fabulously rich after college, only to lose valuable time with (and inevitably mistreat) my partner? Why flame out on generating wealth for society instead of saving that time and energy for giving back to my family?
I believe that Paul Graham downplays the importance of immaterial wealth. Although I recognize that it's not the point of his talk (he's lecturing specifically on job searching), but it gave me pause as I considered what wealth I was truly interested in working towards. I would love a long-term, increasingly cushy, and mentally interesting job. I'm happy to retire late if it means I can be present for the important people in my life.
Becoming Your Coworker
It must be spooky season, because this line is terrifying:
"One useful trick for judging different kinds of work is to look at who your colleagues will be. You'll become like whoever you work with. Do you want to become like these people?"
They say you are what you eat, so it makes sense if you become what you spend 40 hours/week with. It's scary to acknowledge the effect that a bad team can have on your personal nature. Wacky coworkers are one of this life's great constants; my only solace comes from the fact that great ones always appear too. Socializing seems like one of the hardest parts of adult life, but I hope to continue to find like-minded societies wherever I end up.
Soothsaying
What's the next big source of wealth? I'd guess IoT connectivity and security, as well as self-hosting. However, I'm not interested in following the trends. I agree with Graham that greatness comes from doing what you love. It made me think of Nikola Jokic, who is notable for his apathy towards basketball. I don't know ball, but apparently he's decent (my brother says something about greatest center of all time). Here he is:
A Happy Man
Unlike most people who excel in what they do, Jokic does not love it. It's noteworthy (and hilarious!) because it's extremely difficult to achieve greatness without internal passion/obsession. I think we should all have our own personal horse racing hobby, but I fear that it's not feasible for the GOATs.