61–70 of 106 posts
Xavier looks like Carrot Top
One thing that really pushed me to take the leap was "I have only one life, it is short. It is now or never!" in my mind!
One thing that really pushed me to take the leap was "I have only one life, it is short. It is now or never!" in my mind!
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Seems like a sledgehammer + fly situation. If your job is taking too much out of your spare time and creativity, perhaps the solution is to work less (or work on something less draining), as opposed to calling it quits altogether. I've never seen entrepreneurship as a means to escape a tedious, loathsome working life - it is a means to achieve my dreams, not a refuge from boredom. IMHO if you're striking out on your…
>"Since when? There are lots of jobs, particularly on this side of the country (um, the west) where your performance is judged by your work and not the time on the clock (if you're even clocked!)." I've found that most places expect at least an eight-hour day out of you, whether you're formally "clocked" or not. I think often that a salaried position is seen as an opportunity for exploitation by bosses. My last job w…
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to quit a good job that pays well just to randomly walk around and try to figure out what you want to do doesn't seem wise to me. It seems much wiser to wait till you have an idea that you want to pursue and then quit. If you follow that course, you'll never quit. Because nothing stops you figuring out what you really want to do with your life like being continually busy, chasing someone else's dream. Time flies when…
But this guy wasn't continually busy, he was finishing at 4pm everyday.
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A lot of those laid-off people who "simply stop receiving" their paychecks are losing their houses. And the whole point of incorporation is that if the company goes bust, the owners are not personally liable. The risk-reward incentives for being an employee vs. employer are not quite so simple as you make out.
A lot of those people who are losing their houses are losing them because they treated money they had not yet earned as an asset. Unless your employment contract says you have tenure, you should act as if it does.
Nobody has a guaranteed job for the next 30 years
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Sounds like rationalizing your addiction. Sometimes the fly will only die if hit with a sledgehammer.
I wish this attitude weren't so prevalent on HN - no offense to you, but do you know how pretentious that sounds? People who enjoy working a rewarding job are "rationalizing their addiction"? [edit] Specifically, I object to the false polarization of this topic: working a job means bowing to The Man, working on boring crap with stupid bosses, and other such nonsense. It does a disservice to both people who work at a…
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> That way you have more resources to devote to the idea that you're actually dedicated to. Sometimes the scarce resource is not money, but free time and mental availability. "Randomly walking around" could increase his chances of bumping into a hidden opportunity. I say go for it.
Exactly. I suspect you can't find a dream sitting at a desk. I have plenty of savings, and plenty of earning potential - if I really get stuck (I don't believe likely) I can always pick up another job. Money is a means, not an end.
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Exactly. I suspect you can't find a dream sitting at a desk. I have plenty of savings, and plenty of earning potential - if I really get stuck (I don't believe likely) I can always pick up another job. Money is a means, not an end.
"I have plenty of savings..." I think this is the key. You have two years of runway to figure out what to do next (according to the blog). That money in the bank is a lot more security than any job can offer, by itself. Staying in your job for another two years might be the greater risk, when opportunity costs are taken into account.
"A job is low risk. ... risk is shouldered by the owners of the company, and that’s why they stand to gain (or lose) a lot more." Not true, as an employee you bear all the risk of being laid-off if the company does not do well; but do not benefit from the upside.
Looking at it from another angle, the laid-off employee loses nothing - they simply stop receiving. However, the owners are on the hook if the company goes belly-up The entrepreneurial system is organized so that the risk takers are the money makers when a company succeeds. It doesn't really make sense any other way - why else would someone start a business that might fail and cost a fortune?
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So you are 27 years old (same as me)?! For how long have you been working now? I'm asking, because I am also thinking about when to quit my current job and what to do next. What holds me back are just two things. First, its the paragliding course I already paid for but didn't finish yet. And second its the feeling that leaving my job would be too early right now. I have been promoted as teamleader just one year after…
You will always be able to come up with reasons not to take risks, and they don't have to be particularly good ones as long as they give you an excuse to wait a little longer. There will never be a right moment. I recommend you evaluate whether you're happy with your current situation, and if not, then seek to change it. Your choice isn't simply between keeping the job and quitting it; perhaps you can find a differen…