How Dreams Shrink
How Dreams Shrink
The alchemy of dreams in the modern work life
Paul Graham, the founder of Y Combinator, wrote a punchy essay titled “Founder Mode”. It is worth reading in full but the key takeaway is to be careful with the advice you take. Second-hand wisdom can be useful but it can also run you into the ground. That’s why prescriptions and playbooks don’t work.
Before discussing the alchemy of floundering dreams, let’s start on a brighter note
A lot can happen over a cup of coffee. Arjun Vaidya explains how as he talks about his investment in Blue Tokai.
Anahita’s work made it to USC.
Vaishnavi started her MBA at Wharton
How Dreams Shrink
One of the most painful aspects of adulting is realizing that the dreams you once cared most deeply about seem out of reach today. This happens not only to people who fell off the track but also to people who seem to get everything right. Of course, some keep expanding the scale and scope of their dreams but unfortunately, they are in the minority.
Dreams often die one day at a time. When we repeatedly face rejections, the gap between expectations and reality widens. A new normal starts to set in. We recalibrate what we can realistically accomplish, and suddenly it is a far cry from our starting point. Then we rationalize our dreams and come up with a more diluted version. This goes on and we are often left with nothing but a reality check.
F. Scott Fitzgerald always dreamed of being a writer. His debut novel, This Side of Paradise, achieved early success, making him an overnight celebrity and secure his place in the Roaring Twenties literary scene. Fitzgerald was seen as the voice of his generation, and he had every reason to believe that his dreams were on track.
However, Fitzgerald’s career was marked by a series of painful disappointments and rejections that slowly eroded his initial hopes. After "The Great Gatsby," considered his masterpiece today, was published in 1925, it received mixed reviews and sold poorly—far below Fitzgerald’s expectations. The lack of critical and commercial success was a severe blow to his confidence, and his dream of being recognized as one of America’s greatest writers began to seem out of reach.