Love

The good folks over at the Robot Co-op are doing interesting things and I expect success from them. However, I think they're going to succeed not just because they've got a cool idea and smart people, but because they've got a great way to work. Listen to Josh give a pitch about the company and he'll get to a "patterns" slide that talks about how they're going to go about tackling their problem. Listen closely throughout the presentation and you'll hear things like:

• Work with people that you like
  
• Work on problems that you love
  
• The etymology of the word "amateur" which is tied to the latin root for love (in some way... I didn't pay that close attention ;)
  
• Figure out how to build something that you'll want to work on if it succeeds.
  

I think the theme that ties this all together is love; love the people you work with (phileo) and love what you do.

I think that this "pattern" is so important that I'd bet that a team of amateurs that loves each other and their project will do a better job than a team of experts that love neither each other nor the work they're doing (modern culture loves these stories; see Miracle, I Am Sam, and Braveheart for a few examples).

One of the things that got me thinking about this was some of the biblical references about love that pop to mind specifically I Peter 4:8; "love covers over a multitude of sins." Clearly the context of that scripture is different than this post, but it got me wondering about this "pattern" Could it be that the best way to acheive "success" in life (both spiritual, and earthly) is love?