Excellence in anything is a byproduct of having fun. Fun is a byproduct of understanding. Understanding is a byproduct of going slow. Going slow is a byproduct of curiosity. Curiosity is a byproduct of saying "I don’t know," of shunning beliefs and attending to what is in front, with zero baggage or impositions of your own—shunning the ego in the moment, moment by moment. Excellence comes when each piece is as equal as any other, when preference is shunned, when space is created to allow what is in the moment, without resistance, without insistence.
This is relatable. Once one gets over the frustration of failing and making mistakes (thousands of times in some cases), it becomes fun and easier to stay curious.
I've seen a lot of people play cricket and soccer all their lives, they had a metric ton of fun, and im sure I will not put them close to the word excellent in any aspect of their lives. Im not sure any of the statements you made are agreeable in fact.
I don't think GP is saying that if something is fun you will become excellent at it. Rather, of you want to excel in anything it is a huge advantage if you enjoy doing it, so try to keep it fun.
This book has stayed with me for years. It's a quiet, deeply reflective journey about self-discovery, the search for meaning. What resonated most was this idea that true understanding can't be taught—it must be lived and experienced.
It’s a short read, but one that invites you to slow down. Each time I return to it, I take away something new depending on where I am in life.
I'm a Product Manager turned Coder, I had a strong stint as a PM for 7+ years, at my last company (YC S21) I scaled the DAU from 10k to 250k+ & MAU to 1 million+.
Now I'm looking to get to the fundamentals of building. That's why I have been learning backend development for the past 1 year, you can view my resume for more details on my coding projects and my achievements from 7+ years of PM career.
Can bring a good balance of user centric mindset to feature development. Since I'm sort of rebooting my career here, I'm looking at SD-1 level roles at the moment. Would love to chat about this.
Start by questioning every aspect of your life, your actions, your intentions, your thoughts - why are they the way they are? Books and mental models are mere tools that won't get you anywhere, they just add to the conditioning and the "burden" of knowledge. To find your own philosophy of life you have to start by unconditioning your mind so you can become sensitive to the reality as it is and not what the world around you has taught you.
Just finished it last week, it made me revisit the idea of "What it means to have meaning in life?" and how personal that is, and have a wholesome view of my personality without any prejudice.
If you can, try getting a Sales/Partnership role for an early stage B2B startup. Pitching to CXOs of different bossinesses would push you to be coherent, concise, and confident about what's coming out of your mouth.
