Anatomy of the greats
8 timeless perspectives
While there always exist common traits between people that did great things throughout history, their paths often differ. Through this difference, each develops their own lens for defining ‘what success is.’
Below are 8 perspectives on greatness that together form what I call the ‘anatomy of the greats.’ There’s really nothing common between all these people except for the fact that they have been part of my world – whether through books, documentaries, or software.
These are 8 blueprints that go way beyond conventional wisdom about mastering a domain.
Michael Jordan
“I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Much of MJ's mindset is captured in his documentary "The Last Dance”. It highlights how he spent 7 years of his career doing the same thing everyday before achieving any tangible win, practicing when no one was looking. He made his NBA debut in 1984 but didn't win his first championship until 1991.
Seneca
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. When it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short… Life is long if you know how to use it.”
Aside from the fact that “Stoicism” has been a rising theme across several contexts, I believe it has a lot to offer for the modern day. A good entry point for me was a book called “A little history of philosophy.” You could call it “Philosophy for dummies.” It introduces the hypotheses of several influential philosophers throughout history. The section that resonated with me most was Seneca’s.
Ada Lovelace
"The more I study, the more I learn that science and poetry are not distinct art forms, but rather two sides of the same universal truth. The poetic and scientific aspects of my nature cannot be separated - they strengthen and sustain each other."
The first time I knew about Ada Lovelace was through the book “The Innovators”. Ada Lovelace is the woman who wrote the first computer program in history. She recognized that machines could be used for much more than just calculations. Her notes on the first Analytical Engine provided insights on how creativity and analysis shouldn’t be two separate worlds, but complementary pursuits.
Paul Graham
“There's one case, though, where it's easy to say whether you should work on what interests you the most: if you want to do great work. This is not a sufficient condition for doing great work, but it is a necessary one.”
Paul Graham writes, in what I think is my favorite essay of his. He then continues: “That doesn't mean it's the right advice for everyone. Not everyone can do great work, or wants to. But if you do want to, the complicated question of whether or not to work on what interests you the most becomes simple. The answer is yes. The root of great work is a sort of ambitious curiosity, and you can't manufacture that.”
Ben Horowitz
“The struggle has no mercy. The Struggle is when you wonder why you started in the first place. The Struggle is the land of broken promises and crushed dreams. The Struggle is where your guts boil so much that you feel like you are going to spit blood. The Struggle is not failure, but it causes failure. Especially if you are weak. Always if you are weak.
Most people are not strong enough. Every great entrepreneur went through The Struggle and struggle they did, so you are not alone. But that does not mean that you will make it. You may not make it. That is why it is The Struggle.
The Struggle is where greatness comes from.”
In his book “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”, Ben Horowitz of a16z discusses what it feels like when you’re going through it. It reminds me of a thing I read recently: “It’s impossible to look good when you’re getting better.” Every real win in life is downstream of misery.
Travis Kalanick
"Break things fast. The way to build great things is to try and have as many failures as you can as quickly as you can, but have them be affordable failures."
This defined Travis Kalanick's approach at Uber, to the point that their explosive growth repelled many employees and investors in dismissal of his actions. He’s one of the most debatable CEOs of all time, but the "move fast and break things" approach remains influential in startup culture.
Since the biggest learnings come from repetitions, the way to accelerate learning becomes not only to try as much as possible, but also as fast as possible. Which means more mistakes, which means more growth. Thus “Break things fast”.
David Goggins
"When you think you're done, you're only at 40% of your total potential. Going through life without calluses on your mind is being soft and living a life of lies. Until you experience discomfort in training, you will never unlock your true potential. The pain you are experiencing and running from is your ticket to actually being somebody."
Crazy how this simple concept reveals itself across different domains. The same thing expressed as “The Struggle” by Ben Horowitz, is expressed here by David Goggins as “Intensity”. I believe that Goggins is one of the most intense people on the internet. Yet indeed the kind of “intense” that you’d look up to.
Derek Sivers
"If you're not saying 'HELL YEAH!' about something, say 'no'. When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than 'Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!' - then say 'no.' Most people are living their life avoiding any kind of discomfort, but the best things in life require going through periods of sustained discomfort."
From a short essay dated back to 2018 by Derek Sivers. Cleverly reflects on the fact that every yes is a no, and no is a yes. Time you spend doing one thing is also time you’re spending not doing something. After ruling out your least important desires, and developing an anti-vision towards everything that you don’t want in your life, the fog seems to be clearing.
Thanks for reading!
This is a fascinating post. It's the kind of post that I didn't know I needed to read. First, we share a lot of the same influences and idols. But, you managed to capture probably 4-5 of my my favourite and life-changing passages. Re-reading them was an enormous pleasure. I also would not have expected the concoction of these 8 unrelated individuals to all end up on the same page. By the way, I've watched The Last Dance more times than I care to admit.
Excellent piece. Look forward to reading more of these.
Zeyad, you’ve got a cast of characters here so diverse they’d struggle to agree on a dinner menu, let alone a definition of success.. But that’s the charm - it’s refreshing how you don’t force them to agree, leaving us with the quiet horror that greatness might just be a choose-your-own adventure.