A programming language is for thinking about programs, not for expressing programs you've already thought of. It should be a pencil, not a pen.
Paul GrahamRead
What I tell founders is not to sweat the business model too much at first. The most important task at first is to build something people want. If you don't do that, it won't matter how clever your business model is.
Interpretation
Focus on creating a product that meets people's needs before finalizing the business model.
This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing customer needs in the early stages of a startup. Paul Graham advises founders to prioritize developing a product or service that resonates with users over perfecting the business model, as a strong market fit is key to future success regardless of how innovative the business model may be.
In practice
In a pitch meeting, you could use this quote to highlight the importance of customer feedback in product development.
A programming language is for thinking about programs, not for expressing programs you've already thought of. It should be a pencil, not a pen.
Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. I didn't play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals. You've got to have them down before you can even think about playing.
In the real world, those of us who are most productive, successful, and satisfied focus not on fixing feelings or manipulating thoughts, but on what needs to be done-and then doing it-no matter what thoughts or feelings arise.
I don't think any rapper can go back. You can be a car salesman, a bank teller - I mean, really good jobs, and people are still gonna look at you and be like, 'You used to rap; what happened?'
As a fighter pilot I know from my own experiences how decisive surprise and luck can be for success, which in the long run comes only to the one who combines daring with cool thinking.
Don't be misled into believing that somehow the world owes you a living. The boy who believes that his parents, or the government, or any one else owes him his livelihood and that he can collect it without labor will wake up one day and find himself working for another boy who did not have that belief and, therefore, earned the right to have others work for him.
With all humility, I think, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Infinitely more important than the vain attempt to love one's neighbor as one's self. If you want to hit a bird on the wing you must have all your will in focus, you must not be thinking about yourself, and equally, you must not be thinking about your neighbor; you must be living with your eye on that bird. Every achievement is a bird on the wing.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.