How to Work Hard

July 2023

If you collected lists of techniques for doing great work in a lot of different fields, what would the intersection look like? I decided to find out by making it.

Partly my goal was to create a guide that could be used by someone working in any field. But I was also curious about the shape of the intersection. And one thing this exercise sh... See more

Although doing great work takes less discipline than people think — because the way to do great work is to find something you like so much that you don't have to force yourself to do it — finding work you love does usually require discipline. Some people are lucky enough to know what they want to do when they're 12, and just glide along as if they ... See more

If you're not working hard, you're probably wasting your time.

The truth is, you should be looking for hard things. The hard things are what keep the competition away. The hard things are what create barriers to entry. The hard things are the things that, once you push through, make it nearly impossible for anyone else to follow.

Or, as I always tell my students: The hardest-working entrepreneur will always bea... See more