Maxims:
- Constraints force deep understanding.
- Focus on the step, not the outcome.
- Nothing good has ever been invented by committee.
- Learning is the prize.
- Institutions, by default, reject anything that means existing beliefs are wrong.
- Happiness equals smiles minus frowns.
- Misplaced loyalty is a waste.
- Work alone on what matters if you must.
- Patience is underrated.
- Hold your ideas with the right grip. Let go of incorrect ideas.
- If it’s worth doing, it’s worth giving it 100%.
- Obsession isn’t a problem. It’s an advantage.
- Simplicity has the fewest moving parts.
- Time will do the work for you if you align with how the world works.
- Move with urgency. You can do it much faster than you think.
- Design around engineering, not marketing.
- Optimize for happiness, not fairness.
- You don’t have to run the company to be a co-founder.
- “It takes a lot of work to make something simple.”
- Obsess over customers.
- Don’t accept something because it’s the way it is.
- You win in the dark, when everyone else is partying or sleeping.
- The only way to understand is to get your hands dirty in the work.
- “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
- The best are always learning more.