Why follow your passion is lousy career advice lead the most common piece of wisdom bestowed on new graduates is actually a pretty bad one, says the andreessen horowitz cofounder. The hard thing about hard things deals with the trials that ben horowitz encountered during his career as founder ceo to vc at andreessen horowitz. Building a business when there are no easy answers kindle edition by horowitz, ben. Ben horowitz quotes author of the hard thing about hard. Ben horowitz says instead you should find what youre good at and put that into the world. Following your passion is dead heres what to replace it with. He is the author of the new york times bestseller, the hard thing about hard things, and the upcoming harper business book, what you do is who you are, available october 29th. Ben horowitz is undoubtedly one of the most wellrespected and successful venture. So in that spirit, what id like to give is a few unconventional graduation thoughts and im titling them, do not follow your passion and the world is not going to hell in a handbasket and the class of 2015 is not required to save it.
Id learned the hard way that when hiring executives, one should follow colin powells instructions and hire for strength rather than lack of weakness. What are the strengths and weaknesses of ben horowitzs. Andreessen horowitz s ben horowitz s commencement speech at columbia university. Dont follow your passion, and the world is not going to hell in a handbasket and the class of 2015.
May 28, 2015 so in that spirit, what id like to give is a few unconventional graduation thoughts and im titling them, do not follow your passion and the world is not going to hell in a handbasket and the class of 2015 is not required to save it. According to an upcoming paper in psychological science written by three stanford researchers. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the hard thing about hard things. Ben horowitz, cofounder and partner of famed venture capital firm andreessen horowitz, delivered the commencement address at his alma mater columbia university last month and offered up some pretty unconventional career advice. Cal newport concurs in his book, so good they cant ignore you, named after a quote by actor steve martin. Ben horowitzs commencement speech at columbia university. Building a business when there are no easy answers and his latest, what you do is who you are. Four reasons why recent college grads shouldnt follow their passions. The book gives practical advice on how to grow a company, find the right executives, and deal with the hard decisions along the way. Ben horowitz shares what makes for a great pitch, the qualities of successful entrepreneurs, and why you shouldnt listen to your friends for career advice dan schawbel mar 23, 2020, 5. Ben horowitz has been there and back as the ceo of opsware, product manager of netscape, and venture capital cofounder of andreessen horowitz. Culture is the collective behavior of an organization and whether or not you go about creating one, youre going to get one anyway, argues a16z cofounder ben horowitz.
Seneca, and epictetus to hundreds of thousands of new readers all over the world. Why to not not start a startup by paul graham blog why not to do a startup by marc andreessen blog dont follow your passion by ben horowitz video. Ben horowitz commencement address at columbia university to the fu school of engineering and applied science class of 2015. Through his popular book club and podcasts tai shares advice on how to achieve health, wealth, love, and happiness with 1. Building a business when there are no easy answers a lot of people talk about how great it is to start a business, but only ben horowitz is brutally honest about how hard it is to run one. I think he should not say to don t follow your passion but just follow what has a good market. While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one. The hard thing is laying people off when you miss the big goal. True to form, some of them tried to motivate students with an unorthodox approach, like vc ben horowitz, who told columbia graduates, dont follow your passion. Selfishly, all i can think about is how much he helped me and what a true friend i had in bill. Ben horowitz is the cofounder of a16z, one of the most successful vcs in the usa. The problem is that we dont have much evidence that this is how passion works.
The central theme is that we dont often know what our passion is. Ben horowitz what you do is who you are the tim ferriss. While its true in some cases, it doesnt always or often translate into automatic success in the startup world. This book is a must read for the entrepreneur and for the people who are in their struggling time because it will make your mind to think positive and provide new ways to think positively for the solutions to the problems. This week, he gave a commencement speech at his alma mater, columbia university. Sep 10, 2015 horowitz is the quintessential contrarian, often turning popular advice on its head.
Every time i read a management or selfhelp book, i find myself saying, thats fine, but that wasnt really the hard thing about the situation. Dont follow your passion, says ben horowitz tech in asia. Ben horowitzs commencement speech at columbia university dont follow your passion. Sep 04, 2015 should millennials follow their passion. Ben horowitz advises college graduates dont follow your passion. Ben horowitz is a cofounder and general partner at the venture capital firm andreessen horowitz. Jun 22, 2018 if your college graduation speaker told you to follow your passion, you may want to ignore them. Ben horowitz implies the risk in following your passion is twofold. In the hard thing about hard things, ben horowitz, cofounder of andreessen horowitz and one of silicon valleys most respected and experienced. Your passion is selfcentered crap age of awareness.
He wrote a great little book, called how to fail at almost everything and still win big. Photo of pencil and heart courtesy of shutterstock. What you do is who you are audiobook by ben horowitz. The truth is, many of us dont have one single passion. Follow your passion is crappy advice the minimalists. Ben horowitz on adding value and not following your passion. If you want an easy job, you dont become an entrepreneur or founder, you look for something with less responsibility. Horowitz, cofounder of venture capital firm andreessen horowitz and one of silicon valleys top investors, gave the unconventional advice that our futures shouldnt be shaped by what we love. Why follow your passion is pretty bad advice the muse. New research has come out that dismantles the idea of follow your passion as a recipe for career success.
Ben horowitz author of the hard thing about hard things. If youve ever told someone you dont like your job, chances are the person responded by. His first point was particularly interesting because it conflicts directly with so much wellmeaning advice that recent graduates receive. Thats why ben horowitzs 2015 commencement speech at columbia. Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Ben horowitz s commencement address at columbia university to the fu school of engineering and applied science class of 2015. Ben horowitz graduation speech essay pollution and environment. At some point in your life, youve undoubtedly heard someone say that all you need to do to succeed is to follow your passion. Everything you need to know about the law of attraction doyle, bob, shimoff, marci on. The hard thing about hard things book by ben horowitz. Id love to hear your thoughts on his perspective, it came off really practical and honest to me, and i honestly feel. Most recently, he did this during his commencement speech at columbia university, declaring, dont follow your passion. Follow your passion, find your power free book with 30 day. Building a business when there are no easy answers, is officially out, and its the polar.
Thats why ben horowitzs 2015 commencement speech at columbia university titled dont follow your passion surprised the audience. Ben horowitz what you do is who you are jordan harbinger. Fortunately, my passion for football evolved into a storied career. There is a woman in somalia scraping for pearls on the roadside theres a force stronger than nature keeps her will alive this is how shes dying shes dying to survive dont know what shes made of i would like. A radical approach to happiness by sharon suchoval on may 20th, 2014 3 minute read i manage social media for perficient, but i have a secret to share with you. Develop a passion, dont follow it cal newports seminal book so good they cant ignore you is the leading intellectual ammo for us passion principle deniers. One of the leading vcs in sv, ben horowitz advised the graduating class at columbia university to not pursue their passion. Mark cuban dont follow your passion, follow your effort. Ben horowitz offers essential advice on building and running a startup practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesnt cover, based on his popular ben s blog. Dont follow your passion, and the world is not going to hell in a handbasket and the class of 2015 is not required to save it. Doyle makes it clear that the law is not a personal development tool you can use the right way or the wrong way. Ben horowitz is the cofounder of a16z, one of the most successful vcs in the. Nathaniel is cofounder and ceo of rework, a missiondriven talent firm that connects professionals to hiring managers at companies making social, environmental, and cultural progress. The best business book bill gates ever read, and other.
What you do is who you are by ben horowitz financial times. Ben horowitz managed to navigate and articulate what can be a very complicated world so well and a lot of what he said resonated with me. This means that if your passion has a good market you are good to go. He is the author of the new york times bestseller, the hard thing about hard things. If you read only 10 startup books in 2020, here are my top. May 29, 2015 dont follow your passion published on may 29, 2015 may 29, 2015 1,417 likes 120 comments. On the other hands sources like books or wikipedia do not offer. The more generalised case of dont listen to your friends is think for yourself. In his commencement speech to the columbia class of 2015, ben horowitz demonstrates that not following your passion works. When asked for his best career advice, horowitz said, dont listen to your friend.
Dont follow your passion published on may 29, 2015 may 29, 2015 1,417 likes 120 comments. Why one of silicon valleys top investors says dont. Why one of silicon valleys top investors says dont follow your passion. The overriding point he makes in it is that passion is overrated and that goals are for losers. Building a business when there are no easy answers by ben horowitz starting at. Ben horowitz on adding value and not following your passion as ive written here, i dont generally watch videos of talks as i think theyre largely a waste of time. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. If you want to follow their lead, the question is where to start. Ben horowitz s advice was strongest when sharing these three fundamental principles. In 2015, ben horowitz gave a commencement address at columbia university entitled dont follow your passion.
Apr 10, 2017 here is the full transcript of 80,000 hours cofounder benjamin todds tedx talk presentation. Building a business when there are no easy answers. Jul 30, 2019 maybe the advice, follow your passion is simply overrated, that it may be a terrible advice for some, because it implies that we all have one. But its exactly what investor ben horowitz told columbia university graduates. Because our passions, like boyfriends, can change over time, and we should follow what were good at. Thats why ben horowitz s 2015 commencement speech at columbia university titled dont follow your passion surprised the audience. What i didnt learn in school youve probably guessed it is anything but textbook answers to helping you find success in life after graduation. I think ben has beknownst or unbeknownst to him taken a good few clues from scott adams cartoonist. Meanwhile, terri trespicios says that the pressure to follow your passion is a dangerous idea.
Jul 05, 2018 new research has come out that dismantles the idea of follow your passion as a recipe for career success. Dont listen to friends so true as a blue collar entrepreneur. May 11, 2017 dont follow your passion, but instead follow your why. Follow your passion, find your power is a downtoearth, nohype, motivational approach to taking control of your life and getting the things you want.
Hi sam i have been meaning to tell you but we have not bumped into each other recently. About dont follow your passion, follow your effort mark cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, wrote this blog post on march 18th, 2012, encouraging readers to follow their effort over. Jun 26, 2017 ben horowitz is a founding partner of andreessen horowitz, a venture capital firm that rethinks how to grow startup companies. If you don t know a certain topic you should make yourself want to know about it, learn about it, find and solve its problems. Ben horowitz s commencement speech at columbia university dont follow your passion. Its not a piece of advice normally shared, whether youve just graduated or have been working for 30some years. What i didnt learn in school october 27, 2015 another inspirational and awesome speech by ben horowitz in the 2015 columbia uni engineering class convocation speech. Thank you for your book recommendation of the hard thing about the hard things. Weve seen a lot of good rebuttals to the follow your passion advice over the past few years.
For some of us who dont have one, we just need to find what were good at and put in effort to be better at it. I became the direct embodiment of following your passions and chasing your dreams and i believed it wholeheartedly. In may 2015 he gave an inspiring commencement speech at. Ben horowitz is the cofounder and general partner of andreessen horowitz, a silicon valleybased venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs building the next generation of leading technology companies. Excerpt from dont follow your passion by ben horowitz.
Ben horowitz s new book on entrepreneurship and company building, the hard thing about hard things. Passion asks what has the world got to offer that fits my interests. Following your passion is dead heres what to replace. Born in london, england, ben horowitz was raised in. All my life, i had the dream of playing professional football. The hard thing isnt setting a big, hairy, audacious goal. May 29, 2015 ben horowitz s commencement address at columbia university to the fu school of engineering and applied science class of 2015. Here are a few inspiring commencement speech quotes from notable entrepreneurs and business leaders, and the lessons they seek to impart. More information ben horowitz s commencement address at columbia university to the fu school of engineering and applied science class of 2015. Ben horowitz is a founding partner of superstar venture capital firm andreessen horowitz, and the author of nyt best seller the hard thing about hard things. Jun 01, 2015 ben horowitz s commencement address at columbia university to the fu school of engineering and applied science class of 2015. I fucking love bhorowitz s onpoint advice i recall going to an event with him and lars dalgaard at the launch of his book where he recommended using profanity. Cal newports seminal book so good they cant ignore you is the leading intellectual ammo for us passion principle deniers. Ben horowitz what you do is who you are lessons from.