“Behind every exquisite thing that existed,
there was something tragic.” - Oscar Wilde

Everyone else has an opinion about what you’re doing.
Everyone else has an idea of how you can make it better.
Everyone else thinks you should do x or do y.
Everyone else thinks you should spend more time on it.
Everyone else thinks you should be reaching out to x.
Everyone else thinks the time to do it is now.
Everyone else wants to know when you’re going to sell.
Everyone else wants to know what’s taking so long.
Everyone else happens to always be right.
Everyone else’s intuition is perfect.
Everyone else already wants to talk about your next big thing.

Everyone else only sees the tip of the iceberg.
Everyone else only knows what they’ve been told.
Everyone else hasn’t done what you’re doing.
Everyone else has no idea what it takes.
Everyone else has an opinion.

But everyone else isn’t everyone –
it’s only those who haven’t done it themselves.

Because everyone else that’s actually...

it’s what makes it exciting

it’s what makes you appreciate life

it makes you think of every step

it keeps you in the moment

so you can perform as well as you can possibly perform

it keeps you honest

because you don’t know how it’s going to turn out

but you know you can help yourself make sure it’ll turn out well

do it with the good ones you can’t use — do it instead of hoarding. always look for talented ppl to connect with so you can give them a gift. maybe they recognize you maybe they won’t. nonetheless it moves the ball forward for everyone.

it’s data science. it’s entrepreneurship. it’s no different than looking for gold. the right tools and maps don’t increase your odds of finding it. but they decrease the odds you’ll miss it if you know what to look for

what I did the day I was supposed to walk for graduation from Stern

you can reshape the world you live in with enough effort and pain – as long as you don’t destroy yourself in the process. you can become something great. but the margin is thin and the odds are stacked against you in every way.

diamonds are created under extreme pressure and heat. they’re special because they’re rare — the rarity resulting from most being destroyed during their creation. it takes luck for diamonds to come into existence but when they do they live forever. it will take luck for me as well.

a paycheck factory is a place you go from 9-5 each week day and in return you are paid every few weeks for your time. one of my sources of income is a paycheck factory.

paycheck factories have the following characteristics:

• the work may or may not be meaningful
• your own contributions may or may not be meaningful
• the benefits of working extremely hard are often indistinguishable from not even showing up.
• “maintenance mode” is the overarching strategic business model
• talented prospects are actually turned away; mediocre prospects are welcomed for their penchant for being willingly cheap and unwilling to rock the boat
• organizational initiatives are driven nearly exclusively by fear of below average year end reviews.
• political alliances aren’t to be taken lightly
• innovation is not well understood even in the presence of dictionaries

If your only concern is earning a paycheck, it is a...

is just cool me

it isn’t this simple