Today, I read an incredibly deep and useful essay by Paul Graham – https://www.paulgraham.com/superlinear.html. It brings more fresh ideas than a dozen standard self-help books.
The author uncovers principles about activities that can yield significantly more than what is invested in them. Clearly, knowing how to identify such activities is a game-changer. It’s akin to having the ability to pick lottery numbers that will win.
Graham outlines several sound principles and examples. He also notes that working in a field with superlinear returns is not for everyone. However, after giving the concept some thought, I realized that there is at least one area with superlinear returns in which practically everyone is involved.
That area is our relationships with other people.
The outcomes of our social interactions vary greatly. Spending an hour on a date can lead to vastly different results: you could simply pass the time, or you could find true love. A manager might hold a meeting with their teammate and uncover flaws in company policy that harm every aspect of corporate life. Or, they might just spend an hour in shallow conversation.
Moreover, due to the very complex nature of social interactions, any conversation, no matter how ordinary, could change our lives.
You can see why it’s truly worthwhile to value every conversation and every person we meet, to be ready to invest some effort in understanding what’s going on in the moment and how we could contribute to the moment.
Often, the results depend on how much empathy, honesty, or courage we embody. If we manage to reach a certain threshold of a particular quality, we could win a friend or secure a dream job. Both are life-changing events!
Thank you for the insights, they are impacting my day-to-day life beautifully.
Thank you Keziah!