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# Courage in the face of variance
- URL: https://www.taivo.ai/courage-in-the-face-of-variance/
- Published: 2021-05-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-06-11T07:44:45.000Z
- Author: Taivo Pungas
- Tags: Everything else

Startups have high variance: the top few % reap most of the rewards.  
  
The same is true for artists of all kind, and to a lesser extent, software engineers: some Waymo engineers earn 100x the salary of the lowest-paid programmers.  
  
Risk is usually taken to be bad. But it might not be if you can influence the outcome. If you think -- possibly irrationally -- that you could be in the top 1%, then it's perfectly reasonable to enter a field like that.  
  
In fact, attempting to start a startup, or become a musician, or write books for a living, implies strong self-belief. It betrays an internal belief of yours: "maybe I could be one of the best".  
  
But it's hard. You suffer at the hands of the internal critic. There's a conflict between your current level, and your belief that you could become great. A conflict that's in your mind every day.  
  
Which is why I have immense respect for anyone that tries.