Greatness
exploring the foundations of quality and the currents that fight against mediocrity
sari and
Greatness
When I see outsized success I’m aware it’s a result of trying more, sometimes trying and failing for years or in a way that lacks social recognition. When I’m moved to tears by mastery of craft — the elegance of movement, of process, it’s due to devotion of time and spirit. Things don’t just become great by accident. Most times its a long and quiet... See more
Nix 🕊 • highly concentrated effort
If building something great isn’t painful, you’re probably not building the best you can. Arguments, mis-steps, fights, back-tracking, re-discovering, frustration, throwing it away, trying again - these are all painful requirements for build a great product.
Tuomas Artmanx.comThe human species was given this tremendous gift of neuroplasticity, the ability to change ourselves and be better in deliberate ways. My definition of greatness is anyone that’s making that effort, even in a tiny way, just to take this incredible machinery that we were given—our nervous system—and to leverage it toward being better, feeling
... See moreFermat's Library | The Mundanity of Excellence: An Ethnographic Report on Stratification and Olympic Swimmers annotated/explained version.
fermatslibrary.com
On Quality: An Inquiry into Excellence: Selected and Unpublished Writings
goodreads.com
haven't read yet but was recommended on a podcast - excerpts from the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on quality and related concepts. will edit this note with takeaways once i've read.
Reaching 95%-ile isn't very impressive because it's not that hard to do. I think this is one of my most ridiculable ideas. It doesn't help that, when stated nakedly, that sounds elitist. But I think it's just the opposite: most people can become (relatively) good at most things.
Atul Gawande • 95%-Ile Isn't That Good
How Rick Rubin and Kanye West make groundbreaking creative work.
theageofideas.com
Did Steve jobs ever say, "Hey, I want to make a $100 million company?" That was never in discussion. He said, "I want to make insanely great products. Then I want to get really good at marketing because I want everybody in the world to have an Apple device, and the way to do that is to get really good at marketing."