Taste, Conviction, Elon Musk

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,

... See more

the challenge. What is good? What is interesting? That part of the work is taste. “Taste is what enables designers to navigate the vast sea of possibilities that technology and global connectivity afford, and to then select and combine these elements in ways that, ideally, result in interesting, unique work

Conviction often stands in opposition to market trends. To have conviction before validation may make you seem weird or delusional, but it defines great artists—the ability to appreciate what others overlook or even fight against. To borrow YC parlance, they pursue “low-status things.” Maintaining this vision requires courage, especially when it se... See more

“Starting a company isn’t easy — you need an insane amount of conviction. You don’t have to be sure the product will work, but you do need to believe fully in the mission.”