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Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

cabada.mx

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Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#181

Post by jondubois »

It's generally not good idea to run two startups at the same time. Especially as a solo founder and especially if the two startups aren't related to each other.

I think maybe the author is a bit too optimistic about everything. Building a successful startup isn't easy. It's extremely hard.

When his game had 100K users, he didn't recognize it at the same, but that was actually a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people. I haven't had such an opportunity yet and I've been programming since I was 14. I've also done it all; online games, web design, ATMEL microcontrollers, content management systems, software developer tools...

You just have to focus on an area and work on it for as many years as it takes.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#182

Post by hasenj »

Denzel wrote: post #78
jmt_ wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've come to realize the same thing. Like the author, I've been programming since I was an early teen and that was pretty much all I did for years. I would love to break into the software market but realized that I only think like an engineer and not so much like a business man. I've been mainly interested in the design, implementation, and theory of software rather than thinking of what software that people would an…

"The E-myth" by Michael Gerber is the single most helpful book I've ever read on transitioning your thinking from engineering-focused to business-minded. Specifically, the difference between the Technician, the Manager, and the Entrepreneur. I read it on the recommendation of an ex-Google engineer turned failed-entrepreneur, here on HN. He said that a The E-myth described all the failures he had encountered trying to…

Sounds very interesting.

Does the book help you acquire the business mindset or does it just show examples of failed businesses with analysis of why they failed?

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#183

Post by totalZero »

ziggystardust wrote: post #105
SallySwanSmith wrote: post #41

Stop living in the past and suck it up cupcake. You've been though interviews that went poorly. Reflect, learn, grow, try again. You're not that good. It's more then just some raw amount of code or random projects that you spew out while interested and then abandon when you're bored. As for the complaining about lack of support. I'm sorry, but you're being supported! You have a roof over your head and food in your be…

It's not a matter of sucking it up. OP clearly has emotional difficulties. It would be nice if OP could share a lil about his relation with his father.

Talking about emotions is barking up a fruitless tree. Better to accept that life is not perfect and find the way forward, despite imperfection.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#184

Post by totalZero »

jondubois wrote: post #181

It's generally not good idea to run two startups at the same time. Especially as a solo founder and especially if the two startups aren't related to each other. I think maybe the author is a bit too optimistic about everything. Building a successful startup isn't easy. It's extremely hard. When his game had 100K users, he didn't recognize it at the same, but that was actually a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most…

It's possible that the game was successful partially because it wasn't laden with attempts at monetization.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#185

Post by mrcabada »

Thank you all for your replies and feedback. There's a lot to learn/meditate from these messages and your own stories. I'm totally having a talk with my dad and I'm moving out of my comfort zone to find what's next with me. To those who sent me an e-mail, I'll get back to you soon.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#186

Post by armandososa »

chillacy wrote: post #156
armandososa wrote: post #130

Dude, your english is not great. I am Mexican myself and believe it or not, that's a big show stopper. I applied to 37Signals back in 2008 or 2009 and my english was so bad that they won't even bother to reply (And they wrote a blog post shortly that they wouldn't even respond to poor communicators :P) That wouldn't explain why the holagus guys wouldn't hire you, tho ;) This is my advice: 1. Forget about going to a j…

Side question: how did you improve your english? Was it deliberate practice or just something you get better at

Most of the media I consume (movies, series, articles, books, podcast) have been in English for the past ~10 years and it did not help much my communication abilities. I actually have a vast vocabulary (sometimes people mock me for using fancy words) but I still struggle writing "natural" english because, for the most part, I still have to translate from Spanish (or Mexican, rather :P) to English in real time.

As for spoken communication, what I needed was a boost of confidence. In my last job I always avoided talking to people because I was too self-conscious of my accent and constant pauses for real-time-translating. Then, one day, a friend noticed it and said to me: "Dude, don't worry about your accent. I live in Manhattan, everybody has an accent here and it's no big deal." And I was like, "yeah". And just like that I started speaking more and slowly became better at it.

So, it was confidence for me.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#187

Post by andirk »

jsprogrammer wrote: post #10

I think this solves most of your problems: only accept bitcoin. You can convert them to dollars when you want and the taxes on that are extremely simple.

Kind of pigeon holed yourself, dont you think? Maybe add a tariff to purchases w/ other currencies or the like, but outright only accept bitcoin? That is badass tho.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#188

Post by ziggystardust »

thesmallestcat wrote: post #127
ziggystardust wrote: post #102

OP maybe suffering from manic depression (note:not depression). The post, like the one linked here and apathy towards family/dad's business, shows a case of depression but the kind of skill OP has demonstrated through projects posted on OPs website shows that OP must have Bursts of mania. Mania is also demonstrated through OPs wish to get placed at companies like Facebook,etc due to heightened self worth. Due to unst…

Please don't do this.

I'm curious to know what you mean by "please don't do this".. I'd really appreciate if you could elaborate for me.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#189

Post by davidjnelson »

kzisme wrote: post #153
davidjnelson wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would appear the draw is the massive (2x?) compensation difference, and getting to do good work rather than "shit fast, shit often" work.

Isn't most of the compensation due you receive going towards just existing (rent/taxes/living expenses) in cities like SF or Seattle with inflated costs of living? I wouldn't say that any company that ~ins't~ a large corporation only has the mindset of "ship fast/ship often"

Sure, even making 400k in silicon valley or sf doesn't go that far if you want to own a decent house without a long commute. For the employee, it would seem silicon valley wages with full remote in an affordable housing area with worse weather might be the best tradeoff.

Hmm, do you know of any specific companies that aren't large that value quality over delivery speed? I guess the key is to look for companies that really measure their key metrics, and ruthlessly iterate on improving them. For instance, if you have a viral growth model, focus on your viral coefficient with tons of a/b testing etc. Using data and metrics goes a long ways! I've observed many companies just "shooting in the dark" which seems a bit odd to me. Not sure how that happens.

Jeff Jordan did a great job at opentable of a/b testing the customer sign up flow and it dramatically increased revenue. That's the kind of leadership companies need more of in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#190

Post by thesmallestcat »

ziggystardust wrote: post #188
thesmallestcat wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't do this.

I'm curious to know what you mean by "please don't do this".. I'd really appreciate if you could elaborate for me.

Don't play armchair psychologist, it's disrespectful if not destructive.
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