Going the extra mile

I’m a strong advocate of the 80/20 rule.

Sometimes though, the thing is just too important. You need to go all the way to a 100.

I’ve found what is probably my dream internship. And I want to write a killer cold DM that will get me a “YES”.

From past experiences, I know the answer usually boils down to timing: are they looking for an intern or not?

I’ve been amazed by poor students getting internships in the most prestigious places, while top students where rejected by boring companies all because of timing.

I know the final answer will have nothing to do with my message. But I don’t care. I need to do it right.

Jerry Seinfeld: the right way is the hard way.

Sometimes being efficient is just not the objective. Sometimes the work needs to be done the hard way. So here I am, spending weeks writing the damn message.

Look at this playback of Paul Graham writing “Startups in ten sentences”, trying to find the right phrase over and over: 13 Sentences