David Heinemeier Hansson has accomplished a lot in his 34 years. He’s the creator Ruby on Rails (the programming language that runs Twitter), a partner at 37signals, a best-selling author, a public speaker, and a race-car driver.
An interviewer asked him what one action hopeful entrepreneurs could take this week to move them towards their goal of earning a million dollars. I’m sharing his response (which has nothing to do with money) here because I think it has application for high school students who are trying to decide which extra-curricular activities to pursue.
Find out what your best idea is and work on that. I think a lot of people have sort of a portfolio of ideas of things they would like to pursue and that is where paralysis lays. When you have a ton of things that you could pursue then there’s a good chance you won’t end up pursuing any of them with sufficient vigor. You need to pick one good idea, your best idea and then give that all you have within the constraints that are available to you. So figure out how you’re going to make your best idea work and figure out what your best idea is and then give it all.”
For high school students, don’t dabble in a number of activities just because you think they’ll help you get into college. Find a few things you really enjoy doing, then dedicate yourself to them. Those—not the résumé fillers—are your best ideas.