"Maybe better founders could have..." Presumably Patrick knows what he means by that, but in case it's not clear, he's describing the empty set. If Patrick and John Collison had to work long hours to build something great, you will too.
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As an empirical matter, it fascinates me that pro athletes are mostly revered for their obsessive competitiveness and work ethic (Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods) but in business it's often viewed a character defect.
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I've never built a company, but I've written two PhDs & a few books. All took mornings/nights/every waking second, but they were all discrete projects, and downtime followed. Perhaps it is the expectation of constant late nights that grates? Totally agree long hours not the goal.
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I think hard work & long hours *can be* intrinsically valuable, and are often necessary, but then number two below, and my family, remind me that on balance it's all about 'working to live, not living to work'
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying …
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The problem comes in sacrificing your life and the lives of those around you to work ineffectively.https://twitter.com/KentBeck/status/769975139836583937 …
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I've been reflecting on this topic recently. Zero chance I'd be where I've gotten without the sacrifices made. The whole "balance" thing seems to be more a balance of how much you want to contribute to the world vs. join a tribe and explore the wilderness.
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Apple is not a startup Being a “mere employee” and being expected to have no personal life is different than being obsessed with your own project.
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There are times in one’s life that heavy dedication to work can make sense. Even working for somebody else.
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You did that for *yourself and not *someone else.
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I don’t understand this: in startups eveyone has equity, if the collective output is going to make the output better, you *are working for yourself*
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