Steam, like Rome, wasn’t built in a day. And just like the ancient city itself, for many of us, it feels like it’s always been a part of our lives. Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve, the company that made Half-Life, Portal, and PC’s biggest gaming storefront, gave a rare interview and shared a tip for how to succeed: surround yourself with people you can trust.
In an interview with YouTuber Zalkar Saliev (spotted by our friends at PC Gamer), when asked how to succeed, Newell says, “The tactics I would suggest are: make sure that you have people around you that you can trust, that you can have transparent communications with and just engage with them to sort of think about how you can get better.”
It sounds like simple advice, but often simple advice is the best. If you can’t rely on the people around you to be honest, how will you ever know if what you’re doing is actually any good? I’d rather get constructive feedback than insincere praise any day of the week.
Unfortunately, “it’s never, like, ‘follow your passion,'” Newell continues. “Sounds like a great idea, but lots of people follow their passions right into a crater, you know?” Passion is obviously important, but it’s not always enough, especially in this day and age.
But, don’t just take Newell’s word for everything. He adds: “And then there’s a selection bias, or a survival bias, where people who are successful then go back and say ‘it’s because I wear a yellow shirt. Everybody should wear a yellow shirt!’ And it’s correlation, it’s not causation.”
Take lessons from success stories like Valve and whatever else inspires you, but make sure you’re tailoring advice to fit your unique situation, not just following what others did and expecting the same results.
And while you’re here, check out the best Steam games you can play today.
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