#business #knowledge #rationality # [[Epistemic status]] #schroedinger-uncertain # A comfortable salary vs Entrepreneurship >You stand above the rat race and the pecking order, not outside of it, if you do so by choice. Quitting a high-paying position, if it is your decision, will seem a better payoff than the utility of the money involved (this may seem crazy, but I’ve tried it and it works). This is the first step toward the stoic’s throwing a four-letter word at fate. You have far more control over your life if you decide on your criterion by yourself. >~ [[Nassim Taleb|Taleb]] First, [[Seeking discomfort|comfort is harmful]]. Second, you are the average of the five people around you, and only in [[Entrepreneurship]] you can decide with whom you are surrounded. >For most people the best plan probably is to go to work for some existing company. But it is a good idea to understand what’s happening when you do this. A job means doing something people want, averaged together with everyone else in that company. >~ [[Paul Graham]] You get rewarded the average of the people you work with, and you become the average of the people you work with. Third, [[Trade money for time, not time for money, time is finite]]. In [[Entrepreneurship]] you meet a lot of [[Do not rely on authority|independent thinkers]]. Don't you know something that society does badly? A profound problem that you can solve, that could benefit a lot society? ## No risks, no payoff >I think everyone who gets rich by their own efforts will be found to be in a situation with measurement and [[Leverage|leverage]]. Everyone I can think of does: CEOs, movie stars, hedge fund managers, professional athletes. A good hint to the presence of leverage is the possibility of failure. Upside must be balanced by downside, so if there is big potential for gain there must also be a terrifying possibility of loss. CEOs, stars, fund managers, and athletes all live with the sword hanging over their heads; the moment they start to suck, they’re out. If you’re in a job that feels safe, you are not going to get rich, because if there is no danger there is almost certainly no leverage. >~ [[Paul Graham]] ## Failure is painful, except if you are [[Philosophy/Rationality/Models/Antifragility|antifragile]]