How to Do Great Work

Paul Graham

2023

A comprehensive guide to doing exceptional work — find what excites you, dive deep, and push through to the frontiers of knowledge.

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Quotes from this source

7 verified quotes

“Develop a habit of working on your own projects. Don't let "work" mean something other people tell you to do. If you do manage to do great work one day, it will probably be on a project of your own”

“If you don't try to be the best, you won't even be good”

“The temptation to be someone else is greatest for the young. They often feel like nobodies. But you never need to worry about that problem, because it's self-solving if you work on sufficiently ambitious projects”

“You can't have a lot of good ideas without also having a lot of bad ones”

“Take as much risk as you can afford. In an efficient market, risk is proportionate to reward, so don't look for certainty, but for a bet with high expected value”

“If you're not failing occasionally, you're probably being too conservative”

“If a lot of the best people in your field are collected in one place, it's usually a good idea to visit for a while. It will increase your ambition, and also, by showing you that these people are human, increase your self-confidence”