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How to do good work (Part 2): “Staying upwind”

dofuong.substack.com · 477 words · saved by 1 readers

In Paul Graham’s “How To Do Great Work”, he talks about the idea of “staying upwind”. Staying upwind means that at each stage of your work, you do whatever seems the most interesting and gives you the best options for the future. In reality, oftentimes we cannot plan too far ahead, or our plan won’t be the same as we want it to be, or our inspirations might shift in the future. Thus, the key to doing good work is to find something that you are genuinely curious about right now and start working on it. You start trying projects, meeting people, reading books, and asking lots of questions. The key is that you start building something, finish this ‘something’, and evaluate how or where you should keep going. Staying upwind doesn’t guarantee a clear plan and direction yet. Working on something you are excited about doesn't mean the journey will be straightforward. Ideas might not turn out the way you imagine them to be. There might be obstacles that stand in your way. New ideas might pop u

In Paul Graham’s “How To Do Great Work”, he talks about the idea of “staying upwind”. Staying upwind means that at each stage of your work, you do whatever seems the most interesting and gives you the best options for the future. In reality, oftentimes we cannot plan too far ahead, or our plan won’t be the same as we want it to be, or our inspirations might shift in the future. Thus, the key to doing good work is to find something that you are genuinely curious about right now and start working on it. You start trying projects, meeting people, reading books, and asking lots of questions.…

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