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John Carmack on dealing with the dark times of a startup
Legendary programmer John Carmack is asked how he dealt with the dark times of building companies like id Software and Armadillo Aerospace. He replies:
“I’ve never been in a really dark place. I can’t necessarily put myself in anyone else’s shoes — I understand a lot of people have significant challenges with their mental health and wellbeing. I’ve been super stressed . . . Ive had plenty of times where I’m very unhappy and miserable about something, but it has never hit me like I believe it ends up hitting some other people. I’ve borne up well under whatever stresses have fallen on me.”
John believes the reason for this is because his response to stress has been to just focus on his work and making progress:
“I’ve always coped best when all I need to do is usually just bear down on my work. I pull myself out of whatever hole I might be slipping into by actually making progress. Maybe if I was in a position where I was never able to make that progress, I could’ve slid down further. But I’ve always been in a place where I say, ‘Ok, a little bit more work. Maybe I’m in a tough spot here, but I always know that if I keep pushing, eventually I break through.’ I make progress, and then I feel good about what I’m doing. That’s been enough for me so far in my life.”