“Everyone knows that to do great work you need both natural ability and determination. But there's a third ingredient that's not as well understood: an obsessive interest in a particular topic.”
Paul Graham
Paul Graham's essay "The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius" offered me fresh insights in my ongoing quest to do great work as an entrepreneur. Here are some of the key ideas:
- Throughout history, people who have done great work have had an obsessive interest in something that matters to them even when it seems pointless to others. They ventured down unpromising new paths, not knowing the outcome. This uncertainty typically deters most people from trying new approaches, but it is precisely these uncertain, hidden paths that contain the most transformative answers.
- The journey to discoveries, new ideas, or inventions is rarely linear. Trying out new experiments and hypotheses that initially seemed promising can turn out to be every bit as disappointing. This means the path to triumph comes with much effort and time wasted.
- Thomas Carlyle famously defined genius as "an infinite capacity for taking pains.” However, this definition differs from the Bus Ticket Theory of Genius in two areas. Graham says the infinite capacity for taking pain comes from the individual’s pure interest, not diligence, and the infinite capacity for taking pain is for something that truly matters.
Figuring things out 💭
2024 was all about figuring things out.
I spent hundreds of hours refining my ability to craft compelling proposals, debugging complex technical challenges, and developing strategies to deliver results that made clients say, 'Wow, that's possible!’.
This also meant we had to lead with curiosity and perseverance. Curiosity to try new things when faced with a problem, and perseverance to endure the try-fail loop until we found success.
Looking back at the last decade of my life, I can see a pattern of taking calculated risks, and trying new things which led me to form this solid mindset of: “I don’t know how yet, but I can figure it out.”
Writing from conversations
Some of my best ideas to write about comes from interesting conversations. I noticed this during my daily evening walks with my partner, where I almost always come up with interesting things to say. These evening walks are also a time for me to vent, brainstorm ideas and summarize him a chapter of the book I read that morning.
These ideas are not forced; they come naturally as I walk and observe things around me.
David Perell articulated it beautifully in one of his articles, “Talking to myself can be generative, but most of my new ideas come from conversations with friends.”
Vision Boards
Vision boards are powerful!
I have seen 80 percent of everything I put on my vision board for 2024 come to life. I use it as more than just a collection of images; it serves as a guide for how I want to design my year.
While not everything was achieved—and that's perfectly normal—the board served as a compass, guiding my life.
I create my vision boards on Pinterest every year! It is a simple but powerful way for me to visualize how I want to live my life that year.
Vision board for 2025 created on Pinterest
A few important achievements in 2024 🏆
- Landed our first 10 major clients within just 6 months for my B2B product studio Foam On Latte Inc.
- Visited some mind-blowing places with my partner - Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Ankara
- Achieved my physical strength goals
- Achieved my goal of waking up before sunrise and established a consistent routine
- Improved my mental health
- Maintained a daily reading habit of at least 10 pages first thing in the morning
Looking forward in 2025 🚀
Business
I want to make 2025 the best year yet for my business. I have big goals of attracting more clients, building amazing products and writing publicly about them.
Writing
Every Wednesday, I will be posting a new blog on ShotPress that blends deep dives into tech and entrepreneurship with personal insights from my own journey. Subscribe here!
Social Media
It was quite difficult to maintain a consistent posting schedule in 2024. However, that is about to change in 2025. I am challenging myself to post at least one mini vlog every week in January to start off the year.
If you are a founder or just interested in startups, tech, or product in general, don’t hesitate to reach out at hello@foamonlatte.co
Until next time!
References:
- The Bus Ticket Theory of Genius: https://paulgraham.com/genius.html
- Talking Can Cure Writer’s block: https://perell.com/note/talking-can-cure-writers-block/
