True friends support you, no matter what, especially during a depressive episode. If they don't, they are not your friends. It might help to distance yourself, or to learn to ignore them.
Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
81–90 of 104 posts
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#82When 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.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#83When 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.
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 about learning theory or technique.
One of my favorite ways to learn scales was to do patterns in the scales over some chord progression. That ways I was playing little patterned melodies while learning to play the scales.
Also don't confuse learning scales with learning to pick. Most of the times when you hear someone learning scales just going up and down the strings they are really practicing picking technique which is many times harder than to learn the actual scales.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#84I always found the "coder monkey" idea amusing. Programmers are the ones who have the ideas. Your intuition has to be fed data, and the best source of data about what programming can accomplish is having programmed. When I meet people who suggest that programmers are monkeys for hire, I always wonder, am I to understand that being a programmer is somehow a setback in having ideas about what kinds of things programmin…
> Programmers are the ones who have the ideas.
Other people can have ideas too, and they can hire programmers to code it for them. Not sure why you put emphasis on programmers having the ideas.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#85I always found the "coder monkey" idea amusing. Programmers are the ones who have the ideas. Your intuition has to be fed data, and the best source of data about what programming can accomplish is having programmed. When I meet people who suggest that programmers are monkeys for hire, I always wonder, am I to understand that being a programmer is somehow a setback in having ideas about what kinds of things programmin…
> Programmers are the ones who have the ideas. Other people can have ideas too, and they can hire programmers to code it for them. Not sure why you put emphasis on programmers having the ideas.
Because they're aware of what tech can and can't do. Not the grandparent, but it's right there in the post you're replying to.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#86You are the hero. None of your critics are taking action like you. None of them is stepping up like you. None of them are educating themselves like you.
I admire you and I admire that you are taking action.
Programming is HARD. Really hard. It takes years of constant hard work to get good at it. The more code you write, the better you will get.
Business is HARDER THAN PROGRAMMING, without the guaranteed outcome that you get from programming. In business you must simply try and try and keep trying and hope one day the cards fall your way.
And the important thing is that you are trying. Most people don't even try.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#87You are the hero. None of your critics are taking action like you. None of them is stepping up like you. None of them are educating themselves like you.
I admire you and I admire that you are taking action.
Programming is HARD. Really hard. It takes years of constant hard work to get good at it. The more code you write, the better you will get.
Business is HARDER THAN PROGRAMMING, without the guaranteed outcome that you get from programming. In business you must simply try and try and keep trying and hope one day the cards fall your way.
And the important thing is that you are trying. Most people don't even try.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#88I found that when listening to advice, feedback, and praise, what is said is just as important as who says it.
A lot of people say things, both positive and negative. You don't have to accept it all at face value. It's hard at first, but with time, it's possible to tune into this. Accept what people are saying with a smile and a nod, and only take it to heart if it is coming from someone who is qualified to make that sort of statement.
When someone says "That's it? Anybody could have done that in a couple weeks!" and they have never built a thing in their life, just ignore them. As harsh as it sounds, their words are worthless. They may still be good and loving people, but in this case it does not make sense to listen to them.
I'm going through this, but as an experienced developer learning the ropes of SaaS marketing a fledgeling product. It sucks! I know what I am doing right now is sub-par. But these are stepping stones. Some of the feedback I get is harsh, but is easy to dismiss as it is coming from people who do not understand the present situation or don't have the experience to offer the kind of feedback they are trying to offer. On the other hand, a critique coming from an experienced source is worth its weight in gold, even if it stings at first.
Keep at it! It sucks now, and it's possible that what you have built right now is sub-par when compared to everything else out there. But this is just a start. You've come a long way to get here, and if you have a long road ahead. Just keep going and little by little you will get to a point you want to be at.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Programmers are the ones who have the ideas. Other people can have ideas too, and they can hire programmers to code it for them. Not sure why you put emphasis on programmers having the ideas.
Because they're aware of what tech can and can't do. Not the grandparent, but it's right there in the post you're replying to.
I read the "ideas" as having the business ideas, not the implementation detail ideas.
Re: Ask HN: As a single bootstrapper, how do you deal with the pressure?
#901) Don't associate with negative people.
2) Tell them Google and Facebook could be built in a few weeks too. (Mostly accurate!)
3) Consider that you're extremely unlikely to succeed "you against the world" in these circumstances and how you could get some partners on board.