6 ms·

I think you may need to forget who the author is for a second and reread this. He admits luck plays a huge role in success [0] (especially if you're using the

I think you may need to forget who the author is for a second and reread this. He admits luck plays a huge role in success [0] (especially if you're using the success of others to measure your own success). He's saying competing with yourself is the best way to measure success and achieve fulfillment. This probably stems from a lot of people using him as a barometer of success in tech. Comparing yourself to others is a great way to be miserable forever. [0] "Besides, you only have limited influence on whether you’re going to succeed at whatever you put your mind to. It’s by no means within your exclusive sphere of control. There are so many things that have to come together at the same time. Only a couple of which you own."

monksy 8y ago
There's many better ways to explain the role of luck in success, but I felt the way he mentions that was an add-on to his whole message of "don't bother." Competing with yourself improves you, not your positioning in the real world. When you improve yourself and the real world is more bountiful, that's a minor side effect purely based on your context and environment. In the whole article, he doesn't bring up examples of others to make his point. His only source in this is himself from his point of view.