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Ask HN: What was your biggest life lesson in 2015?

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Re: Ask HN: What was your biggest life lesson in 2015?

#33

Post by hluska »

amelius wrote: post #16
kiraken wrote: post #2

I learned that freelancing is only 10% coding and 90% people skills

Suggestion: pay somebody to do the people-part for you.

Or, work on getting better with people?? I'm serious, being 'good with people' is a skill just like writing code.

Re: Ask HN: What was your biggest life lesson in 2015?

#34

Post by lazyjones »

I learned several things the hard way this year:

- stay away from people who have shown bad character traits in the past (e.g. cheating, violence, drug abuse...) even if they downplay/justify it and behave reasonably towards you for a long time

- Severe health issues can creep up on you even if you have no symptoms and live a reasonably healthy life (no smoking/drinking/weight/obvious environmental issues). I apparently lost either the genetic or Chernobyl lottery and had a rare tumor removed that nearly left me quadriplegic. My typing speed is now approx. 1/5th of what it was before and my hands ache all day, but fortunately I can still walk and do most things like before.

Re: Ask HN: What was your biggest life lesson in 2015?

#36

Post by eli »

mettamage wrote: post #6
kiraken wrote: post #2

I learned that freelancing is only 10% coding and 90% people skills

Would that mean that a freelancer with subpar coding skills and good people skills would be more successful than a freelancer with good coding skills but subpar people skills? If so, is it because of what you said or not? If not, then why not and how come your 10% coding and 90% people skills still holds true according to you? Just a curious question :)

Good software development is about people skills. No matter how good a coder you are, you can't possibly deliver what the client wants if you don't understand the problem.

Re: Ask HN: What was your biggest life lesson in 2015?

#39

Post by codegeek »

I alwasy knew this but 2015 really confirmed it for me. My dad passed away this year. Life is short. Don't sweat the small stuff that wouldn't matter in the long run. Try to be happy with whatever you can. Yes, plan for things and work hard. But don't forget to party harder. Life is short. Did I say that already ?

Re: Ask HN: What was your biggest life lesson in 2015?

#40

Post by skrebbel »

mettamage wrote: post #6
kiraken wrote: post #2

I learned that freelancing is only 10% coding and 90% people skills

Would that mean that a freelancer with subpar coding skills and good people skills would be more successful than a freelancer with good coding skills but subpar people skills? If so, is it because of what you said or not? If not, then why not and how come your 10% coding and 90% people skills still holds true according to you? Just a curious question :)

Yes. In my freelancing life, I met plenty of people where we both agreed I was the better coder by far, but the other charged a higher rate. My people skills are pretty good, for engineer standards. But theirs were better :-)
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