Hapless-ness

It all started with bread-making. Last August I read this great post on bread-making on my friend Laura's blog, complete with pictures of this amazing sourdough boule. I decided (in retrospect impulsively) that I too would master the art of bread-making and picked up a copy of Peter Reinhart's The Breadmaker's Apprentice the following afternoon. Despite my clear lack of artisanal skills, my wife and friends were excited about my sudden interest in making delicious bread, and keen to see some finished product - some perfectly crafted boules and baguettes.

Sadly, I made my way through maybe 50 pages before the tome started to gather dust on the coffee table. July became August, and eventually summer made way for Fall and Fall for Winter -- all without bread. I was short on flour, but long on excuses. I would get to it "eventually" [1].

I didn't think much of it until a few weeks ago when I read an essay by Paul Graham about entrepreneurship. In it he argued that the main quality of an unsuccessful entrepreneur is to be "hapless". Or put differently (in his words) "to be battered by circumstances—to let the world have its way with you, instead of having your way with the world."

It was like a smack in the face. I realized that I was hapless. The world had been having its way with me like an angry drunk or a prison gang. Too much "eventually" and not enough "getting to it". Well, this blog is my way of getting around to the things on my "eventually" list.

First up -- making bread.

Notes:

[1] My friends have started a pool on how old i will be when i finally make bread. I'm 30 and I understand the over-under is at ~35.