an alchemical outlook to finding human gold

Guide to finding the best people or becoming one yourself

Proof of Interest < Proof of Work < Proof of excellence < Proof of exceptionalism

This is a hack I use to distinguish the quality of people or improve your own quality as an individual or creator. It is easy to confuse interest, authority, experience and network as indicators of a person's value. These are also the ways most folks would scam/cheat/enroll you in things that promise value but there really isn't any there. So here's a rough guide for finding the best people to be with given an area of interest. At least, the party should have Proof of Interest. Never be the guy who wants to pull somebody to join something and assume they will become your gym buddies or project partners or co-founders. If they themselves have never exhibited interest in the area, best to not invest yourselves in them. Neither to hang out with, work or learn from and nor to teach them anything as well. Proof of interest should be the lowest unit of token somebody deserves anything of worth. You would still find 20-25 folks out of 100 willing to join something or start something either out of FOMO or just because it doesn't make them lose anything but only 2-5 folks may ever translate that interest to work and rest would always remain sitting idly as fence sitters or audience. If you want any kind of value addition or collaboration out of people, you must filter them by next level i.e. proof of work. Look for what they have done, if they have managed to breach the entry barrier anyhow and have something they have produced as a Proof of Work. No proof of work means a rare chance of future value add or contribution from them. If you have proof of work yourself and want to know how to get better, look for people who have reached a status of excellence via their work. Proof of excellence is the result of several iterations over your initial work. It is indicative of whether you can fail as a person and improve or keep up with changing demands and scale. Proof of exceptionalism - This one is special. This is present 1 in a few million people and is the highest quality a person can have or hope to find in somebody else. Getting this proof means that everybody has bet against you or you have chosen to be completely contrary to popular opinion in extreme odds and still come out on top. However, this proof can only be achieved when you have demonstrated the same more than once or twice. This is present in those sportspeople who take completely incomprehensible decisions multiple times and win because of that or people like Elon Musk (ignoring everything else about him) who have successfully built up multiple companies capable of changing the world's trajectory despite being in dire circumstances again and again.

Newcomer Filter: Should we ignore enthusiastic people with zero track record?

Never ignore, but never bet on them either. That gym buddy who suddenly wants to workout daily? Let them first bleed through 3am alarm clocks and sore muscles for three weeks. Excitement is cheap - FOMO-driven interest dies at first resistance. Give collaboration access only when they convert interest to any tangible output, even if it's a half-built prototype or failed first attempt.

Failure Value: Do 10 failed attempts count as Proof of Work?

Only if you still stand at the 11th attempt. Ten exploded drone prototypes become Proof of Work when they lead to eleventh. The world only counts finished marathons, not training runs - but smart runners keep their bloody shoes as receipts. Document your iterations visibly: GitHub commits, prototype photos, burned circuit boards framed on your wall.

Excellence Benchmark: How many redos until excellence?

Wrong question. Excellence isn't about repetition count but pattern disruption. A chef remaking omelets 100 times achieves nothing. A chef who experiments with 100 techniques (sous-vide, flambé, molecular gastronomy) across those attempts? That's the threshold. Excellence emerges when you stop perfecting and start transforming your approach.

Exceptionalism Practicality: Should creators even aim for 1-in-10-million status?

No. Exceptionalism is retrospective glory, never a target. Exceptions didn't wake up wanting to be "exceptional" - they just kept pushing forward with zeal and stubbornness while others wrote think pieces. Chase work that terrifies you, not validation. The few who reach exceptionalism are just those who outlasted everyone else's attention span.

Is this framework just a filter for flaky people?

Yes. All great systems are manipulation engines. The best and the worst of us are all manipulated by the same systems. This filters for better expenditure of energy. You should be able to find the best people to work with and the best people to avoid.