Competition Is for Losers


Avoid competition.

Stop copying what everyone else is doing, and trying to do it better than them. Real out-sized gains come from not-competing on the same terms as everyone else. Someone will always be better at it than you.

If you work at a for-profit company, fix the things that no one else is fixing. Fix the unpopular problems.

There’s an idea of Table Selection from poker, where you’re advised to choose your opponents carefully. That means you shouldn’t compete against the best people. You don’t need to get good at doing difficult things if you get good at avoiding difficult things. If you want to win, pick an easy table and nail your execution.