Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?

#101

Post by shostack » Wed, Dec 07, 2016, 7:53 PM UTC

ThomPete wrote: post #83

shostack wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone learning to play guitar this is the hardest part for me. The scales are boring and I want to jump to the fun stuff or learning a song. But then learning that song is a similar process. I have coworkers who are skilled guitarists and it is frustrating to watch them because I know they've put in the hours of doing scales. It is hard to stay motivated when the "wrong audience" is yourself.

Then don't. There are many ways to learn to play music. If you just want to learn to play songs then do that. Don't worry about the scales. Instead of learning scales start jamming with some background music. Start to transcribe some solo you like (don't use tabs) and learn to play that way. If you aren't motivated by playing scales then you shouldn't do it. Make sure that it's always about enjoying music first, then…

That's pretty much how I've been doing it TBH. My mother passed down her old Martin classical guitar and so I've been learning some basic folk fingerstyle patterns which is fun because it gets the finger work in while sounding nice (or will sound nice once I get my speed up).

The most frustrating part is I used to be a section leader when I played clarinet in HS and could borderline sight read at that point. I've forgotten pretty much all my musical knowledge since then (including how to read sheet music), so it has been horribly frustrating to have shadows of memories for how fluent I used to be in this stuff and to have to start from scratch again. That probably makes me much less patient than I normally would be.

Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?

#102

Post by sotojuan » Thu, Dec 08, 2016, 2:29 PM UTC

shostack wrote: post #82

ThomPete wrote: post #46

When I was practicing scales to become a guitarist in my youth, my mom always came in and said "can't you play something we we know". My guitar teacher on the other hand said great and gave me another to practice. You are making the mistake of "playing scales" in front of an audience who expect a performance of a final composition rather than a teacher who can provide feedback on your work in progress. Change the aud…

As someone learning to play guitar this is the hardest part for me. The scales are boring and I want to jump to the fun stuff or learning a song. But then learning that song is a similar process. I have coworkers who are skilled guitarists and it is frustrating to watch them because I know they've put in the hours of doing scales. It is hard to stay motivated when the "wrong audience" is yourself.

This happens to me a lot with programming, where the (maybe poor) analogy is scales being "fundamentals" and songs being "cool apps/libraries". I tend to skip to building cool apps and when the easy parts are done I get lost or the projects becomes a mess.

Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?

#103

Post by pramit » Fri, Dec 09, 2016, 4:57 AM UTC

codegeek wrote: post #37

It is simple. Stop defending yourself. Don't talk to people about what you do unless you really think that there is a need or you know for a fact that they are the right audience. Family and friends are usually not the right audience for this. Tell them something vague like "Trying to do a few things of my own" and keep it to that. Overall, don't sweat it. 99% of people don't get this whole bootstrapper thing. They a…

I agree 110%. 'Stop defending yourself.'

Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?

#104

Post by NumberCruncher » Fri, Dec 09, 2016, 12:08 PM UTC

No one owes you anything. [1]

Your friend and familiy do not have to understand your motivation. They do not have to understand your decision building a product instead of working for a "prestigious company". They do not have to be your friend.

On the orher hand, you do not have to give a fuck about their opinion. The said truth is that there are 7 billion people on earth and you can not make all of them happy with your way of life. But you can make happy yourself.

I read once an articel where someone was asked "And what do you do when the people say you have crazy ideas?". His answer was "I talk to other people!" Do not worry, there are other people out there who understand you. You only have to find them and listen to them instead of the naysayers.

[1] http://www.harrybrowne.org/articles/GiftDaughter.htm