Reading rank 257
How to Do What You Love
, subject: Finding fulfilling work, 2006
Paul Graham's essay treats finding work you love as a question to settle at the moment you choose what to work on.
69
Coverage Score
7
Scored evidence
About this work
In this January 2006 essay Graham argues that enjoying your work is a condition of doing it well, and that prestige and money pull people toward jobs they do not love. He describes two routes: gradually reshaping a job, or funding loved work with another job.
Why read it
Best if you are deciding what project to pursue, or want to test whether work already underway is work you love.
Key themes
- Finding work you love starts with the project
- Reading it again once work is underway
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #191, #217, #275, #276, #314
This record is supported by 7 public evidence rows linked to original Founders episodes.
- Naval Ravikant (A Guide to Wealth and Happiness) — David recommends this Paul Graham essay by name, calling it fantastic and personally influential.
- Estée Lauder — David praises Paul Graham's essays generally and says this essay paired well with Gurley's talk.
- Paul Graham — David says this essay changed his life.
- Paul Graham’s Essays Part 2 — David says he discussed this essay in more depth on the prior week's Founders episode.
- Paul Graham (How To Do Great Work) — David reads Paul Graham’s How to Do What You Love and uses its passage on finding work one loves to frame project choice.