Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making - The New York Times bestseller

So when you’re looking at the array of potential careers before you, the correct place to start is this: “What do I want to learn?”

If you’re passionate about something—something that could be solving a huge problem one day—then stick with it. Look around and find the community of people who are passionate about it, too. If there’s nobody else on Earth thinking about it, then you may truly be too early or going in the wrong direction. But if you can find even a handful of like-

And being in that lifeboat with people you deeply respect is a joy. It is the best time you can have at work. It might be the best time you can have, period. And it doesn’t have to end once you’re on dry land.

The only way for me to capture all of it—good ideas, priorities, roadblocks, the dates that people promised to deliver, and the major internal and external heartbeats ahead—was to take notes in every meeting. Longhand. Not on a computer. [See also: Figure 3.5.1, in Chapter 3.5.] Writing by hand was important for me. I wasn’t staring at a screen, ge

This book is for anyone who wants to create something new, who is chasing excellence, who doesn’t want to waste their precious time on this precious planet.

I’ll notice people who come with something interesting to share. Something smart. Especially if they keep coming. If they sent me something cool last week and something cool this week and they keep bringing fascinating news or tech or ideas and they’re persistent, then I’ll start to recognize them. I’ll start to remember them, and respond.

Take whatever job you can at one of those companies. Don’t worry too much about the title—focus on the work. If you get a foot in the door at a growing company, you’ll find opportunities to grow, too.

If you’re going to throw your time, energy, and youth at a company, try to join one that’s not just making a better mousetrap. Find a business that’s starting a revolution.

Just know before you go what you want to learn and the experiences you need for your next chapter.