Comment by overload119 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by overload119 | Hacker News Reader

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As a university student I'm surrounded by brilliant people, a lot of whom excel in academics. This has always been really frustrating for me.

I think the takeaway message I've learned from school, and in life, is that there will always be someone who is better than you at something. I'm always envious of my peers who are better at (X), and I forget that if I reflect on my own skills, I'll find (Y) that I can do better.

You'll likely never find someone who is better than you at EVERYTHING.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I think there's a certain beauty in that, because by working together, we get the benefit of being good at X and Y. This is why cofounders who have complementing skill sets are so successful.

Find something you like, and just do it. Connect with people that do things you don't like to do or are not as good at. The rest will fall in place.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” - Albert Einstein

Well said. All I'll add is, thanks to the internet, there is much more comparing going on. An unhealthy amount imho.

This is a great motivator for some people. For others not so much. One needs to figure out where one falls in the spectrum and moderate time spent looking at what the rest of the world is up to accordingly.

I try not to think of it as a motivator or something to make me feel minuscule. I think it's real strength is to remind you that things are possible. You may not have to live up to the other people's heights, but it reminds you that other people have climbed mountains the world didn't even know exists. Reminds you not to keep your own mountains sitting in the back of your mind, even if they're just molehills.

You don't have to think of it as a motivator or something that makes you feel minuscule.

Given the time people are spending on the internet these days, exposed to things no other generation was, much of this happens subconsciously.

I agree on both points.

> Well said. All I'll add is, thanks to the internet, there is much more comparing going on. An unhealthy amount imho.

Amen to that. I usually feel more fulfilled when I restrict my online "achiever" voyeurism -- just enough to be inspired, but not so much that I feel a hopeless mortal among titans.

I found a niche at the intersection of art, music, engineering, and manufacturing. I basically said to myself in 2005, "What am I better at than anyone else?" and proceeded to build my niche into a viable business. At this one thing, I'm confident (not because of my own evaluation, but the judgment of my target market) that I've found something I'm very good at that's worth pursuing. Yes this is very general advice, but it worked for me.... hope it sheds some light.

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