EPTOn May 11 2012 00:49 MightyAtom wrote:
1. The people who don't get the exercise point because they've never worked that hard to really need it when it is essential for their performance, if you're not physically sharp, your work quality suffers. If you only work a hour a day, well, you don't need exercise then.
1. The people who don't get the exercise point because they've never worked that hard to really need it when it is essential for their performance, if you're not physically sharp, your work quality suffers. If you only work a hour a day, well, you don't need exercise then.
I don't actually believe in exercise. From the bullshit theoretical side of things, exercise is a large input of energy that is supposed to increase the generation of energy afterwards. I don't know if the increased generation is enough to make up for the energy lost. I've looked but never found any studies that found exercise objectively increased the amount of energy a person felt overall. There are observational studies that find people who exercise are more motivated and have less risk of getting mental diseases but these link correlations and it is unclear whether there is a cause and effect relationship and if there is one which way it goes.
I believe it's important to have a healthy body but that a healthy body can be achieved from merely eating properly.
If you can find any studies that prove exercise is worthwhile please link them.
2. At age 21 and you talk about loss of ambition, and dreams, well, let me ask you, a very simple question, how many countries have you visited, do you know what a venture capitalist does, or an investment banker or the head of a media agency? Ambition, dreams, they aren't just our own speculation, they develop and mature and grow with the new experiences that we encounter. If at 21 you've already lost your ambition and given upon your dreams, well, they weren't worth very much to begin with if you can lose them so easily or they were based on naive expectations. At 21 you haven't even started working yet for any real period of time.
I would categorize myself under naive expectations. I wanted to make a flying car or something equally big
3. There is no such thing as an average Harvard student, the first thing people ask you in your freshman year is, 'what is special about you?' why because it isn't enough to have good marks, be president of your school, valedictorian, volunteer work, cause everyone does, you have to have something special about you. Go and read 'The Facebook Effect' then come back, you think back when Zuck was doing his thing it was even based on thoughts of MySpace? And comparing now and then when he started, man, it's already ages apart. Timing plays a part, but to attribute this to just luck?
4. If things are so simplistic, why doesn't everyone have a facebook, after all there are thousands of average harvard students out there, and some average MIT students, but none of them are going to IPO at 80 Billion dollars in a few weeks time. I can barely understand what 80 Billion actually represents.
Not everyone has 80billion but there are still companies that start today as 1-3 people that develop a great app. I think if these people went back in time to the time facebook was just starting, they could redesign facebook just like zuckerburg did. Whether they'd have the raw ability to make it look good and the people skills to find investors is another issue, but the overall design isn't difficult with as much effort as 8hours a day 5 days a week. I was trying to tell the other guy that you don't need to be a genius to design a social networking site.
Harvard does accept a number of exceptional candidates. I used to frequent the college confidential forums and I saw tons of amazing people who'd done groundbreaking research or that had won a math Olympiad get in over Valedictorians. But I think it also accepts too many people based on legacy and to a degree affirmative action. In addition, I don't think admissions were as competitive in Zuckerburg's time.
Procrastination doesn't occur because it's a bad habit or tendencies, it is because of a lack of good habits. Good habits that put you in a position to really challenge yourself to know your limits, your true passions and interests and to eventually get that focus and dedication. We don't procrastinate because we have 'procrastinatory tendencies', it is because haven't found a passion or focus and to do that, we need some level of daily clarity, injection of some work for the sake of work and experience.
It is these very basic things that don't solve our issues of focus or procrastination, but allow us a bit more space to develop our capabilities over time, this will naturally draw us into a point of focus and dedication. That time may take a few years, but is is a process. Some people are born organized, they have time to see, to make adjustments are thus are naturally focused as well. Other are not and it is an effort, but if you can level the ground a bit, what you'll find is that once you get that space, your other abilities and outlook kick into play.
I didn't write this to cure anyone's procrastination. I wrote it so you could get to position where if you could increase/maintain your productivity, you'd have space to increase your capabilities and the rest will usually work itself out. But I had to reply to this post in detail because I think it is pretty much the typical mind set of someone who maybe of above intelligence but without any effort is simply at the same spot armed with some speculation and observations, and maybe back in high school or even college that was enough, but in the real world, it ain't nothing but bullshit.
I'm starting to believe that you're right, that I do need to find what motivates me. I heard the same thing from someone else recently.
I thank you for implying that I am above average in intelligence. I don't know how to reply to the rest of your post. I guess it will have to have been enough that I've read it.
