Work

Your early writing or business will probably suck.

Mine did.

They’ll improve but only if you give yourself permission to suck first.

3. From the age of three to his mid-twenties he learned every aspect of his trade.

Most people with a shred of creative integrity do not succeed right out of the gate. They persist, they work their asses off for decades, until one day it all finally pays off. In your 20s, don’t worry about being known for it, worry about being good at it.

Creation Cost Averaging

The typical large business 20 years hence will have fewer than half the levels of management of its counterpart today, and no more than a third the managers. In its structure, and in its management problems and concerns, it will bear little resemblance to the typical manufacturing company, circa 1950, which our textbooks still consider the norm…

The pianist whose fingers seem supernaturally nimble, the presenter whose message seems viscerally compelling, and the artist whose paintings seem impossibly realistic all wield the same magic: they’ve invested more time than you’d expect.

Treat cognitive context shifts as “productivity poison.” The more you switch your attention from one target (say, a report you’re writing) to another (say, an inbox check), the more exhausted and dumber you become.

“If Stripe is a monstrously successful business, but what we make isn’t beautiful, and Stripe doesn’t embody a culture of incredibly exacting craftsmanship, I’ll be much less happy. I think the returns to both of those things in the world are really high. I think even beyond the pecuniary or financial returns, the world’s just uglier than it needs