3-2-1: On systems vs. goals, endings, and the importance of leverage

“Endings don't have to be failures, especially when you choose to end a project or shut down a business… Even the best gigs don't last forever. Nor should they.”

“Humans evolved in societies where there was no leverage. If I was chopping wood or carrying water for you, you knew eight hours put in would be equal to about eight hours of output. Now we've invented leverage… As a worker, you want to be as leveraged as possible so you have a huge impact without as much time or physical effort. A leveraged worker can out-produce a non-leveraged worker by a factor of one thousand or ten thousand. With a leveraged worker, judgment is far more important than how much time they put in or how hard they work. For example, a good software engineer, just by writing the right little piece of code and creating the right little application, can literally create half a billion dollars' worth of value for a company. But ten engineers working ten times as hard, just because they choose the wrong model, the wrong product, wrote it the wrong way, or put it in the wrong viral loop, have basically wasted their time. Inputs don't match outputs, especially for leveraged workers. What you want in life is to be in control of your time. You want to get into a leveraged job where you control your time and you're tracked on outputs.”

“If you genuinely care about the goal, you’ll focus on the system.”

“We often avoid taking action because we think “I need to learn more,” but the best way to learn is often by taking action.”

“Improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are.

Endings don't have to be failures, especially when you choose to end a project or shut down a business…

With a leveraged worker, judgment is far more important than how much time they put in or how hard they work.

What you want in life is to be in control of your time. You want to get into a leveraged job where you control your time and you're tracked on outputs.