Sam Altman's advice, career tips, and what to work on

Welcome back to the Z Fellows newsletter! Every Monday we share 3 ideas - to help you build companies, ship products, and create your life's work.

1: The Days Are Long But The Years Are Short

Sam Altman turned 30 and wrote a brief blog post on some life advice he learned.

Here are my favorite pieces:

• Money Solves Money Problems. Whether or not money can buy happiness, it can buy freedom, and that’s a big deal.

• Goals Lead to Clarity. Have clear goals for yourself every day, every year, and every decade.

• Enthusiasm is Underrated. Remember how excited and happy you got about stuff as a kid? Get that excited and happy now.

• Keep Your Eyes Peeled And Your Feet Ready. One of the benefits of working hard is that good opportunities will come along, but it’s still up to you to jump on them when they do.

Source: The days are long but the years are short

2: Running Down A Dream

Bill Gurley is a general partner at Benchmark. He gave this talk in 2018 about how to thrive and succeed in a career you love.

Here are my notes:

• Follow Your Natural Drift. Pick a profession in which you have a deep personal interest. If you don't love it, somebody else will outwork you.

• Be A Student. Hone your craft by learning everything about your field. Work to know more than everyone else.

• Develop mentors. Surround yourself with the smartest people who are doing what you want to do.

• Collaborate. Embrace peer relationships in your field. Share best practices and celebrate accomplishments.

• Stay Locked In. Always be gracious and humble. Give credit to those who helped you along the way.

I highly recommend listening to the full talk.

Source: Running down a dream

3: What To Work On

"What should you do if you're young and ambitious but don't know what to work on? What you should not do is drift along passively, assuming the problem will solve itself. You need to take action.

The way to figure out what to work on is by working. If you're not sure what to work on, guess. But pick something and get going." — Paul Graham

Source: How to Do Great Work

Best of The Week

See you next Monday,

- Jay + The Z Fellows Team

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