
“I Guess That’s What You Do When You’re in College.” - jdcampolargo
https://www.juandavidcampolargo.com/blog/college-first-principles
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ZnZirconium
> Doing something because other people are doing it is the path to misery and
> competition.

So very very wrong.

Doing everything everyone else is doing is the road to group membership and
social acceptance and great cultural fit and the best jobs and the most
lucrative opportunities and loads and loads of money.

Doing things specifically because nobody else is doing them is a ticket to a
pit of despair full of poverty and loneliness and isolation.

I know the difference very well because I never do popular things. I always
choose unpopular projects that nobody cares about because my attitude is if a
project is too popular then too many people are doing it already. I want to do
things that nobody else is doing because if not me then nobody else will do
them.

Doing something that nobody else is doing is very rewarding. Talking to other
people about it is misery. People do not care and you are competing for their
attention with other things that they actually care about. And you lose the
competition.

~~~
ThrowawayR2
I kind of agree. Doing things that other people aren't doing (e.g. because
it's hard) even though it needs to be done would be a better heuristic and can
lead to an interesting career and possibly even success.

~~~
jdcampolargo
Great point! I don't disagree. In the same quote, I added a footnote to
explain how I was mostly referring to businesses and startups.

