Conviction is the rarest resource in the world.

Not money.

Not intelligence.

Not access.

Conviction.

I’ve met a lot of people who are very intelligent and have an awesome (in the literal sense) arsenal of skills and advantages at their disposal.

But that doesn’t make them dangerous, because they usually don’t know where to go with all of this. (In fact, less “intelligent” and more action-biased people tend to go further because they just go for it without asking so many questions! Like horses with blinders. Ignorance is bliss.)

A smart observer of the world notices opportunities and “markets” everywhere. There are many “big spaces” and “good ideas.” Some say all the good ideas are taken. I think there are too many good ideas.

Because then what?

The danger of approaching opportunities with an investor’s mindset is that you risk becoming paralyzed, aimless, without strong opinion. You will seemingly have too many options and probably not do any of them in a compelling way. You will never go far down one road.

The only way is the artist’s way .

Be visceral about it. Be intuitive and selfish.

Forget all the Fortune and Forbes articles that you’ve read. That’s all porn and mirages.

Choose what you do without first thinking of it as a business.

It’s not a damn startup. At least not in step one.

What is it that you actually want?

Forget about all the other voices.

Start at the very core of your thoughts and desire.

What is it that you believe is absolutely true?

What is wrong about the way things are even though you might be the only one to say it?

You’re not even thinking about market size.

But the funny thing is that the stronger you feel about your point of view, the bigger the “market” is likely to be.

Big markets just mean that a lot of people want what you are making a lot.

If you feel so strongly about your idea, there HAS to be light at the end of the tunnel. The general problem must also be very acute for many other people.

That’s because you’re not as unique as you think you are, and yet you will think very uniquely if you fold back onto yourself and your own fundamental opinions and obsessions.

Your first take on the problem will likely not be perfect, but you will still know with 100% conviction that there is something there. It then just becomes an implementation issue. So you will try another take, and another take, and another take. You will get closer and closer to the truth, because you know that you are heading in the right direction.

Conviction is so, so rare.

Why? Because it is easy to get distracted away from it and to stop believing in the greatness of your own ideas.

Opportunism and meaningless greed are rampant because mimesis is easier than original thought. Especially in a time of excessive venture capital. Why not just take money for yet another version of this idea or that idea? It’s actually easier to convince most investors if it’s not that new.

It’s all too common and boring to look around and copy when there are so many unsolved problems in the world. And there are so many!

As long as there is human suffering, there are good ideas.

Good ideas improve the human condition. (Except for cigarettes, but do you actually want to be in that business?)

Choose the artist’s way.

It’s the most powerful and defensible approach in the world.

(Without even trying.)

John Koenig • Edward Lando

Human Values

How to be More Agentic