When a highly successful person shares their personal reflections, I think it’s a good idea to read it. If another highly successful person shares their reflections and it contains some of the same themes, I think it’s a very good idea to remember it.
Below are overlapping themes from Sam Altman’s “What I Wish Someone Told Me” and Alexandr Wang’s “What I Learned in 2023“:
On focusing on what’s most important:
SA: Concentrate your resources on a small number of high-conviction bets; this is easy to say but evidently hard to do. You can delete more stuff than you think.
AW: Focus is the only strategy in a power law regime. Power laws dictate that there’s always one outlier that will trump everything else in importance. If that’s true about what you’re working on, then 80% of the battle is finding the right thing to focus on.
On compounding:
SA: Compounding exponentials are magic. In particular, you really want to build a business that gets a compounding advantage with scale.
AW: Focus on compounding activities. Avoid perishable pursuits. Humans often compete over perishable rewards (status, fame, etc.) versus compounding ones (technology, teams, etc.). If you avoid this mistake, you will be unstoppable in 5+ years.
On taking action and pushing forward:
SA: “Inspiration is perishable and life goes by fast. Inaction is a particularly insidious type of risk.” Also, “Get back up and keep going.”
AW: “Winning requires an incredible level of discomfort. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
On moving fast and building momentum:
SA: “Fast iteration can make up for a lot; it’s usually ok to be wrong if you iterate quickly. Plans should be measured in decades, execution should be measured in weeks.”
AW: “Every great human throughout history was incredibly prolific. They were constantly producing, practicing, and perfecting.” Also, “Momentum is a strong force—harness it and you’ll be unstoppable.”
On the fulfillment from working with great people:
SA: “Working with great people is one of the best parts of life.”
AW: “Exceptional people working together is the closest thing we have to a philosopher’s stone.”