@zachpogrob
Obsession beats discipline - go all-in on your craft until you either die or get reborn.
Low cost-of-living cities destroy ambition and deprive the world of greatness.
The Reasoning
Environmental pressure and peer quality matter for growth. Low COL removes the pressure that drives output. You become the average of your environment, and low COL attracts lower ambition.
What Needs to Be True
- Financial pressure genuinely drives higher output
- High COL cities attract more ambitious peers
- Environment shapes ambition more than internal drive
Counterargument
High COL creates survival stress that blocks creation. Some people thrive with less pressure. Remote work enables access to ambitious networks from anywhere.
What Would Change This View
Seeing consistently great work emerge from low COL environments at same rate as high COL hubs.
Implications for Builders
Choose location based on peer quality, not cost
Accept higher costs as investment in environment
Moving to save money might cost more in lost potential
Example Application
“Moving from cheap city to NYC creates pressure and exposure that elevates output even though costs triple.”