

Ask HN: When you think on success, who is the first person that comes to mind? - echo272


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chroma
Elon Musk. If you read his Wikipedia article[1], it's amazing how much he's
accomplished. Of course, he was lucky enough to be gifted with great
intelligence, a strong work ethic, and a quite a bit of creativity. He's not
someone to compare oneself to, but he is inspiring and I'm very glad he
exists.

1\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk)

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mod
My father, at least for a large time of his life.

He was 21 years old when he saw "The Hustler" in a theater and he went
immediately to the pool hall. He fell in love with the game that day, and now,
50 years later, he still is.

He's managed for most of his life to make a living at it, or at least to be
very active in that scene. He's a very, very accomplished player whose talent
falls just short of the professionals.

He took care to ensure my sister and I were in a stable situation, and was a
single father, raising us both.

Mostly I'm impressed just because on most of the days of his life, he's done
just what he wanted to do. That's a well-lived life, I think.

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mathgeek
I know many people like to think of celebrities or the usual suspects...
Honestly though, I think of my great grandfathers. They both survived World
War II (one in Europe, the other in the Pacific), went on to raise families,
and taught me many of the lessons that made me a better person than I'd
probably have been without them around during my younger years. To me, success
is the small things in life that most people either take for granted or fail
magnificently at while pursuing fame and fortune.

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dropit_sphere
“This is why,” Solon finally concluded to Croesus, “I cannot answer the
question you asked me until I know the manner of your death. Count no man
happy until the end is known.”

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olalonde
Linus Torvalds (just watched some of his talks on YouTube)

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avinassh
Link to those talks?

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jf
Fabrice Bellard

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haidrali
none other than Sergey Brin & Larry Page

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cadalac
Aristotle

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giuscri
what you mean by success then?, course not money nor stuff accomplished.

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joshux
Einstein

