i think it is often easier to make progress on mega-ambitious dreams. i know that sounds completely nuts. but, since no one else is crazy enough to do it, you’ll have little competition. the best people want to work on the big challenges. that is what happened with google. our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. how can that not get you excited? but we almost didn’t start google, actually, because my co-founder sergey and i were too worried about dropping out of the phd program. you are probably on the right track if you feel like a sidewalk worm during a rainstorm! that is about how we felt after we maxed out three credit cards buying hard disks off the back of a truck. that was actually the first hardware for google. parents and friends: more credit cards always help. what is the one sentence summary of how you change the world? always work hard on something uncomfortably exciting!
as a ph.d. student, i actually had three projects i wanted to work on. thank goodness my advisor said, “why don’t you work on the web for a while?” technology and especially the internet can really help you be lazy. lazy? what i mean is a group of three people can write software that then millions can use and enjoy. can three people answer the phone a million times? find the everage in the world, so you can be truly lazy!
overall, i know it seems like the world is crumbling out there, but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy, follow your curiosity, and be ambitious about it. don’t give up on your dream. the world needs you all!
so here’s my final story:
on a day like today, you might feel 12)exhilarated—like you’ve just been shot out of a cannon at the circus—and even invincible. don’t ever forget that incredible feeling. but also: always remember that the moments we have with friends and family, the chances we have to do things that might make a big difference in the world, or even to make a small difference to the ones we love—all those wonderful chances that life gives us, life also takes away. it can happen fast, and a whole lot sooner than you think.
in late march 1996, soon after i had moved to stanford for grad school, my dad had difficulty breathing and drove to the hospital. two months later, he died. i was completely devastated. many years later, after a startup, after falling in love, and after so many of life’s adventures, i found myself thinking about my dad.