developing a strong mindset
- become very intelligent and hardworking person
- get ready to live an incredibly boring, disciplined, focused life to possibly maintain the extremely low error rate needed to navigate complexity of each battles
- have (develop) high pain threshold
- have the willingness to be different
- be willing to fail in the course of trial-and-error to figure things out
- have high self-efficacy
- be resilient and develop a locus of control
thinking independently
- do new computations of the reality, keep taking risks with plans that have much higher uncertainty and higher risk associated
- agents who are running their own action-selection computation for themselves rather than imitating others (including their past selves) are able to be a lot more responsive to their individual situation
- an agent tries to accomplish a goal by running relatively more of their own new computation/planning relative to pure imitation of cached plans of others or their past selves; they will not discard plans simply because they are unusual.
- learn to think independently. independent thought comes from first principles thinking, independent reflection, curiosity-driven learning, and an intentional information diet.
believing in possibility
- an agent must believe that more is possible, and more crucially they must believe that it is possible for them to cause that more.
- agents strive for more, but the price they pay is a willingness to risk getting even less. if you drop out of college, you make millions of dollars or you might end up broke and without a degree.
- if someone shows up and is sufficiently high-status in your mind, and they tell you that you are capable of great things, they can cause all the following:
- you allow yourself to believe more is possible because the wizard believes it too.
- you believe that you are capable (self-efficacy, locus of control) because the wizard does.
- you are willing to go on your quest despite social opprobrium because now you only care about the society of you and the wizard, not anyone else.
making strategic decisions
- be careful about making decisions on what you work on, who you work with, how hard you work.
- what should i be doing?
- how can i surround myself with the best people possible? raise the bar, go beyond what's possible. try to work with people with high energy, intelligence and integrity
- how can i work harder and smarter? work like a lion. sprint, rest, repeat. be impatient with actions and patient with results
- it's likely good to allocate your agency strategically—minimize it in areas of necessity and amplify it in domains where you want to make a significant impact.
pursuing excellence
- agency requires conscientiousness.
- choose a field, learn enough to get to the frontier, notice gaps, explore promising ones. this is how practically everyone who's done great work has done it.
- remember work ethics eliminate the fear
- even when you get financially stable – don't let the passion, the work ethic, and the obsessiveness go away.
- learn enough to be just dangerous
- relentless focus + improvement at velocity is all you need once you know what people want.
- do irreplaceable work. work on things which without you, wouldn't / couldn't get done by anyone else.
taking bold action
- take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.
- shape rotation requires three essential elements: audacity, ambition, and ability.
- audacity and ambition can't be bought — ability can. if you're able to be "the guy" you can summon anyone and anything into existence through sheer force of will.
- when you mix audacity, ambition, and the ability to inspire others, you become a force of nature. smart people gravitate towards you, each adding their unique insight to the mix. together, you become something greater than the sum of your parts – a power that can bend reality to your will.
- this is what it means to truly master shape rotation – to focus your agency and push the limits of our simulation. in the age of agi, raw skill doesn't mean much anymore. it's taste, your boldness, that makes you stand out.
making an impact
- even with agi, making a profound impact in people's lives still takes hard work and unwavering commitment. while also being humble and genuinely wanting to create value for others.
- the legacy we leave behind becomes the ultimate measure of our worth—not the fleeting accomplishments or accolades gathered along the way, but the indelible mark we leave on the hearts and minds of those we've impacted.
- the world is a very malleable place. if you know what you want, and you go for it with maximum energy and drive and passion, the world will often reconfigure itself around you much more quickly and easily than you would think.