Extending yourself through time

A builder's guide to the long-term (or: learning the right lesson from people like Kati Kariko)

Katalin Karikó, 2023 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. © L'Oréal Foundation. Image via https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/katalin-kariko-becomes-fifth-woman-receive-nobel-prize-after-winning-loreal-unesco-women-science

One struggle of ambitious people is that their ambitions exist on long time horizons, with a lot of upfront costs to be paid today for the chance of success that might come years or even decades later.

You want to build a startup? First commit yourself to an indeterminate stretch of hyper-intensive, chaotic, uncertain work for which you bear total responsibility, in hopes that someday you might enjoy the reward of having built something new—and get remunerated accordingly.

You want to become a doctor? First incur massive debt and obligate yourself to thousands of hours of intensive study and years of anonymous apprenticeship, so that someday you can practice as an autonomous physician—and get remunerated accordingly.

Why do we put ourselves through this…