Ever since Nick told me about Paul Graham, I have been reading everything about him. I mostly agree with everything he says. I especially like the last paragraph of his latest essay about The Hardest Lessons for Startups to Learn:
“So no, there’s nothing particularly grand about making money. That’s not what makes startups worth the trouble. What’s important about startups is the speed. By compressing the dull but necessary task of making a living into the smallest possible time, you show respect for life, and there is something grand about that.”

Earlier in the essay, I read something that really resonated with me:
“I now have enough experience with startups to be able to say what the most important quality is in a startup founder, and it’s not what you might think. The most important quality in a startup founder is determination. Not intelligence– determination. [Investors] like the idea of inhabiting a world ruled by intelligence. ”

It is so true.

Working at Intertrust made me realize that I am not as smart as I thought I was. And I am glad because it’s ok. I didn’t go to the best school and I don’t have a P.H.D. (though I do have a Master). Additionnally I’d say I really know little about Computer Science, for something that I do for a living. But the thing is: I learn and practice everyday. I was not born with the gift of Intelligence but I practiced everyday to try to become the best. It requires determination. That’s why I was able to start TuneTo and why I will be able to start something else again.

Commitment is the key to success in this world.