How to Do Great Work
Paul Graham's essay on how ambitious people do work that expands what others think is possible, from choosing a field and noticing gaps to protecting morale. Founders come away able to apply its tests to what they build and how they work.
4 sections ยท 10 lessons
Course outline
Choosing the Work
- The Four Steps to the Frontier
- Find Your Work by Working
- Choosing Between Two Startup Ideas
The Daily Engine
- Lies That Get You Started
- Work That Compounds
Seeing New Ideas
- Aim for Best, Stay Earnest
- Novel and Obvious: Fixing Broken Models
- Questions and Unfashionable Problems
- Spotting the Idea Others Missed
Building and Persisting
- Big Things Start Small
- Copy Openly, Choose Colleagues
- Never Abandon the Root Node
- Rebuilding After a Flat Launch