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  • People opposing this are secretly or subconsciously peddling a folk version of Labour Theory of Value. Great work doesn’t exist. All work is work and the only dimension is time. You should get paid according to your socially necessary hours and be valued according to it.
    by simianwords
  • There’s something cringey about having a zillion dollars and then using your cash soapbox to bloviate to everyone about how to be great-like-me.
    by user3939382
  • good related read: You and Your Research (Hamming)

    https://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html

    by tosh
  • It's a nice post, with a lot of valuable insights. There is one that I disagree with though: "Never abandon the root node".

    There are plenty of instances that show that in reality this is not what happens, and in fact this is often a necessary step of reinventing yourself if things really aren't working for you. The mid-life crisis is a famous example of this, or even the quarter-life crisis. In some specific psychological circles this is referred to as "disintegration". Sometimes carefully backtracking is simply not enough, and growth needs this kind large shock to the system.

    by Archer6621
  • The people qualified to do great work probably don't need the advice. They most likely lack resources (like money or free time), not guidance.

    The people who would benefit from the advice (resourceful people full of free time that are doing nothing meaningful) will likely ignore it anyway.

    by gaigalas
  • > At 7 it may seem excitingly ambitious to build huge things out of Lego, then at 14 to teach yourself calculus, till at 21 you're starting to explore unanswered questions in physics.

    Is this supposed to be relatable?

    by resonious
  • Genuine question, what work has Paul Graham done that can be classified as 'great'?
    by dtj1123
  • When Paul Graham uses a phrase like "great work" I can't help but only consider it as being synonymous to "work that generates a big return for the investor" in his context of Y Combinator
    by bryanph_

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