An idea isn't worth that much. It's the execution of the idea that has value. If you can't convince one other person that this is something to devote your life to, then it's not worth it.
Interpretation
Ideas are valuable only when they are acted upon and can inspire others.
This quote emphasizes that merely having a good idea is not sufficient; what truly matters is the ability to execute the idea and garner support from others. If an idea cannot engage or convince at least one other person to commit to it, its potential is limited, indicating the importance of collaboration and execution in achieving success.
In practice
In a motivational speech to young entrepreneurs discussing the importance of action.
Usability is not everything. If usability engineers designed a nightclub, it would be clean, quiet, brightly lit, with lots of places to sit down, plenty of bartenders, menus written in 18-point sans-serif, and easy-to-find bathrooms. But nobody would be there. They would all be down the street at Coyote Ugly pouring beer on each other.
There's a subtle reason that programmers always want to throw away the code and start over. The reason is that they think the old code is a mess. [...] The reason that they think the old code is a mess is because of a cardinal, fundamental law of programming: It's harder to read code than to write it.
A user interface is well-designed when the program behaves exactly how the user thought it would.
I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next.
Entrepreneurs constantly confuse what they do with who they are. We're all certainly responsible for what we do, but failing doesn't make us bad people and succeeding doesn't make us omniscient.
The business of feeding people is the most amazing business in the world.
Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
If your job is not making a difference in this world, by all means, get out there and find something else ... You’ll find a sense of making a difference through your work if you simply look for it.
To my mind, the best investment a young man starting out in business can possibly make is to give all his time, all his energies, to work - just plain, hard work.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.