Category: Expectations
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Your first try is a proof of concept
A proof of concept is a test project. The point is to make sure an idea can actually be created in the physical world. Perhaps it’s a prototype, or simply a finalized version of a draft, demo, or sketch. If it’s your first time making something new, treat it like a proof of concept. Make…
Herbert Lui
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Happiness, desires, values, and environments
“Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want,” Naval Ravikant wrote. Sheryl Crow famously sang, “It’s not having what you want/It’s wanting what you’ve got.” Being happy with what you have is a reliable way to find happiness. The problem is it’s not so easy…
Herbert Lui
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A market fueled by purpose
There are a lot of dedicated entrepreneurs who have set up their own dog rescue agencies in South Korea. Each one has, effectively, created their own market. They rescue dogs in troubled circumstances, and match them up with people who want to have a dog in their life. It sounds simple enough, but logistics can…
Herbert Lui
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Creative contribution
Awards and sales performance are the easiest ways to measure creative work. They also frame the creative process as a competition. There are winners and losers in both, and it focuses on results. This isn’t a useful frame for actually making something you want to make, which is what being a creative person actually means.…
Herbert Lui
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Against reality distortion
One of the most intriguing qualities about Steve Jobs is described as his “reality distortion field.” It seemed like he was able to bend reality to his will. For example, with its influence, he occasionally made unrealistic deadlines happen like the original Apple Macintosh computer, or going public with the Pixar IPO right after Toy…
Herbert Lui
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Modest shapes
Whenever I come across an interesting idea, I hear my mind’s chatter, “This would be a great book.” I can envision the book cover with a big, bold, title. The feeling is captivating, almost euphoric; I call it a creative fever. A few moments, or perhaps days, later, I realize that I’m not going to…
Herbert Lui
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Multiple strategies
Advice from a strategist, which resonated with me: You don’t need to pursue one strategy at a time. You can draft up three to five strategies, test them out, and see which ones work. In fact, it’s probably useful to think of more than one path to win. The most effective entrepreneurs and companies generally…
Herbert Lui
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Play the whole game
During the first half of yesterday’s NBA finals playoff game, the New York Knicks were losing by a lot. At one point, they were trailing by 29 points. They were not playing well at all. For context, no team losing by that much has ever come back to win in the finals. They were leading the…
Herbert Lui
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The quality of your decision making process vs. how it turns out
In Thinking in Bets, author and retired poker player Annie Duke believes that good poker players and good decision-makers are comfortable with uncertainty in the world. They accept that they’ll almost never know how things will turn out. “Instead of focusing on being sure, they try to figure out how unsure they are, making their…
Herbert Lui
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No bad beats
In poker, when you have a favorable hand only to get beaten by an underdog, you’ve experienced a “bad beat.” It wasn’t supposed to work out like that; only it did. In The Biggest Bluff, author Maria Konnikova writes about her journey to becoming a professional poker player. She meets champion Erik Seidel, who takes…
Herbert Lui