How to Do What You Love

There's something so simple and wise and accessible about Paul Graham's writing. I don't really know why he writes about this stuff, but I'm glad he does. How to Do What You Love:

"Although doing great work takes less discipline than people think-- because the way to do great work is to find something you like so much that you don't have to force yourself to do it-- finding work you love does usually require discipline. Some people are lucky enough to know what they want to do when they're twelve, and just glide along as if they were on railroad tracks. But this seems the exception. More often people who do great things have careers with the trajectory of a ping-pong ball. They go to school to study A, drop out and get a job doing B, and then become famous for C after taking it up on the side."

Update: Interesting analysis from Life 2.0: "Alas, although the piece is well thought out and researched, the advice is complex and discouraging."