I have started to believe recently that some pieces of information or situations in life come to you on purpose. There are some work-related identity struggles that I am currently battling with, but this article was really on point for me.
The "know thyself" problem in investing is so underrated 🎯 The investors who get into the most trouble are usually the ones who have never seriously stress-tested their own mental model. They mistake pattern recognition for judgment, and conviction for clarity. The ones who stay sharp over time tend to be genuinely curious about their own blind spots.
The compass metaphor is the right one, and the problem most people have isn't lack of introspection; it's that the instrument they're using to find north is calibrated to their self-concept rather than their actual wiring.
Paul Graham and Palmer Luckey are both pointing at the same thing from different directions, but both still rely on you being able to accurately read your own signals, which is hard when anxiety, social conditioning, and borrowed identity are all running in the background.
BaZi Astrology (Omnigram) takes a different approach; it derives your constitutional makeup from birth data rather than self-report. No questionnaire, no introspection required. The interest-capability convergence you're describing shows up in the chart structurally, before you've had a chance to talk yourself into or out of it.
Great post on one of the great questions we all face.
Two thoughts:
"Know thyself" is great advice. But this a work in process and always will be, as we are continuously changing. We have to commit to ongoing discovery of ourselves.
I vehemently agree with you that following your curiosity vs. following your talents are not mutually exclusive. Curiosity is the driver in a flywheel which creates motivation, talents and so forth. I wrote a post about this a few months ago:
"Palmer’s argument, stripped to its core, is this: don’t follow your dreams. Follow your talents."
Insightful piece, currently at a pivotal point in my career/life...I understand the premise of dreams and talents much better than I did when starting out 8 years ago
One of my favorite pieces of yours, Kyle. Really resonated with me and am sure for many others as well
I have started to believe recently that some pieces of information or situations in life come to you on purpose. There are some work-related identity struggles that I am currently battling with, but this article was really on point for me.
Thank you for sharing inspiration :)
The "know thyself" problem in investing is so underrated 🎯 The investors who get into the most trouble are usually the ones who have never seriously stress-tested their own mental model. They mistake pattern recognition for judgment, and conviction for clarity. The ones who stay sharp over time tend to be genuinely curious about their own blind spots.
The compass metaphor is the right one, and the problem most people have isn't lack of introspection; it's that the instrument they're using to find north is calibrated to their self-concept rather than their actual wiring.
Paul Graham and Palmer Luckey are both pointing at the same thing from different directions, but both still rely on you being able to accurately read your own signals, which is hard when anxiety, social conditioning, and borrowed identity are all running in the background.
BaZi Astrology (Omnigram) takes a different approach; it derives your constitutional makeup from birth data rather than self-report. No questionnaire, no introspection required. The interest-capability convergence you're describing shows up in the chart structurally, before you've had a chance to talk yourself into or out of it.
Great post on one of the great questions we all face.
Two thoughts:
"Know thyself" is great advice. But this a work in process and always will be, as we are continuously changing. We have to commit to ongoing discovery of ourselves.
I vehemently agree with you that following your curiosity vs. following your talents are not mutually exclusive. Curiosity is the driver in a flywheel which creates motivation, talents and so forth. I wrote a post about this a few months ago:
https://nichenavigation.substack.com/p/one-flywheel-to-rule-them-all?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
"Palmer’s argument, stripped to its core, is this: don’t follow your dreams. Follow your talents."
Insightful piece, currently at a pivotal point in my career/life...I understand the premise of dreams and talents much better than I did when starting out 8 years ago
I like this thesis, nice references.
Wrote this piece some year ago: know yourself;
https://nicolasdolenc.substack.com/p/just-thoughts-27-know-who-you-are?r=g3te2&utm_medium=ios