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Comment by awb | Hacker News Reader

PG and all investors are incentivized to create environments that produce extreme results. So it makes sense that they want 100 sharp knives knowing that the 10 that succeed will far outweigh the loss on the 90 that don’t.

I agree that meditation makes you sharper, but it does also give you the tools to keep your fire from turning into an inferno. PG wants an inferno because he doesn’t have to deal with the damage afterwards. His losses are limited to his investment. Your losses are unlimited.

If you want to play the odds, meditate and strive for average or above average while being decent to yourself and others. If you want to swing for the billionaire fences then I’m guessing a little extra fire in your belly might help from time to time, but I wouldn’t know, I meditate and am not a billionaire.

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My challenge is there are nerds who meditate especially billionaires. Steve Jobs is the most famous example, but there are a ton more. Meditation Tim Ferris has noted it with some of the most successful people in Tools of Titans, I can name a lot more. This is why it confuses me.

I wonder how many start meditating after their success though. But yeah I think you can definitely be successful and meditate. I think PG and investors in general want to create a pressure cooker to create extreme results.

Which is why I'm curious, I want those results. I mean I've done extreme things such as run Marathons, etc. So I'm happy to stop, just wanted to learn about the other perspective of it being unhelpful.

For me personally I'm probably too on edge and need to slow down (everyone around me tells me that) which is why I meditate daily, but I can see from Paul's perspective if I was to "slow" then it may be harmful. Therapy can also have the same effect.

Thanks for your response.

I guess you'd have to talk to or listen to interviews with billionaires. Somehow I doubt that being more composed and in tune with your inner self would have a negative effect. Any decrease in personal drive is probably accounted for in better relationships with yourself and others. And you need others to help you be successful.

And I doubt meditating is a huge determining factor. Other things like education, domain expertise, support network, professional network, access to capital, luck, etc. are probably going to have a far greater impact on your professional success.

Lol listen to Ray Dalio, meditation is his sole reason he says he succeeded and Marc Beniof mentions it publicly too.

> PG and all investors are incentivized to create environments that produce extreme results. So it makes sense that they want 100 sharp knives knowing that the 10 that succeed will far outweigh the loss on the 90 that don’t.

yeah, because they barely give any money for their equity...

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