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You are not 'behind'

zackkanter.com

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Re: You are not 'behind'

#61

Post by enraged_camel »

nxc18 wrote: post #37
jondubois wrote: post #8

For the past 10 years, I only spent about 4 to 8 hours per week on entertainment - All the rest of my time was divided between work and sleep (I only sleep 5 hours per day on weekdays). Financially, I have nothing to show for it unfortunately so I really feel like I'm behind and that I've missed the boat on many things. What makes it particularly difficult is that I was working really hard the whole time - When I rea…

If your worried about money, is suggest getting a job at a decent company (reading between the lines it sounds like you've put your time in ventures) and having a financial plan. A small dose of austerity and planning can make you a millionaire in a short time, with relatively little risk. It won't be more money than you know what to do with, but you'll be comfortable enough to retire and then be as lazy as you want.…

Nah, I want "fuck you money" so that work becomes optional. I want to work on what I want, not what someone else wants. I want to work because I want to, not because I have to.

Retirement isn't good enough. By the time you retire you are in your 60s, which is too late for me.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#62

Post by rifung »

jondubois wrote: post #8

For the past 10 years, I only spent about 4 to 8 hours per week on entertainment - All the rest of my time was divided between work and sleep (I only sleep 5 hours per day on weekdays). Financially, I have nothing to show for it unfortunately so I really feel like I'm behind and that I've missed the boat on many things. What makes it particularly difficult is that I was working really hard the whole time - When I rea…

Well at least you don't have to regret that you failed because you didn't try hard enough. Plus, I'm sure you learned a lot along the way even if things didn't work out. I hope that you found your work fulfilling if not entertaining; if not, perhaps there's something wrong.

Nevertheless for all you know the knowledge you've gained so far will help you achieve the success you desire in the future.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#63

Post by anvandare »

sandcastles wrote: post #53
anvandare wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only person you are ever in competition with is yourself. Our 'competitors' are just the measurements against which we compare and test ourselves. Think of your life as a sand castle. Sure, others have nicer ones (or worse ones), but in the end they will all be swept away by the tide. The existence of other castles in no way diminishes the value of your own. All that matters is that you are happy with the castle…

Did you just make up the sand castle analogy?

To the best of my knowledge, yes. It's possible I once overheard/read it somewhere, and have forgotten the source, but it lingered in my brain somewhere.

In addition, with 100 billion+ people existing throughout the entirety of the human race, it's unlikely I was the first to think of anything I've ever thought.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#64

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

enraged_camel wrote: post #60
coldtea wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What makes it particularly difficult is that I was working really hard the whole time If working hard made a difference by itself, tons of minimum wage workers will be rich by now... > In retrospect, being lazy isn't too bad. Money isn't everything, especially "success" in the BS way the US rat race defines it. You don't need millions, heck not even one million. 99% of the world, and most of the US live their liveσ…

>>99% of the world, and most of the US live their liveσ without ever having one in the bank anyway. Sure, but if you want to have real influence, you need lots of money. We are talking about things like owning media conglomerates and shaping the way the world thinks and behaves. That to me is a lot more interesting than having your own tiny slice of the pie and going through the motions until you die.

I still think it's overrated. Let's take Trump for example - he has both money and power (arguably more than mainstream media since he won in spite of them). Do you think he's happy? He doesn't seem to be. Would even more money and power make him happier? I doubt it.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#65

Post by babaganoosh89 »

tastyface wrote: post #52
jondubois wrote: post #8

For the past 10 years, I only spent about 4 to 8 hours per week on entertainment - All the rest of my time was divided between work and sleep (I only sleep 5 hours per day on weekdays). Financially, I have nothing to show for it unfortunately so I really feel like I'm behind and that I've missed the boat on many things. What makes it particularly difficult is that I was working really hard the whole time - When I rea…

For me personally, "being lazy" is awful because I'm stuck in a constant battle between my personality (which wants to mould to the shape of my couch and watch TV forever) and my mind (which desperately wants to leave a mark on the world). Every day I spend couch potatoing feels like a complete and utter failure of the soul, and it seems like most of my effort is actually spent on trying to bend my personality into t…

What's so great about TV? If you want to do something then do it. Otherwise you didn't want to do it in the first place.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#66

Post by KirinDave »

Articles like this make me uncomfortable, in part because of the huge sum of work I put into making sure I'm abreast of major developments in my field, and learn new fields.

I did this because I am behind (my Christian School was just awful for the most part, physics was God's love and math was for liars and moneylenders), and I'll probably never, ever catch up.

But still, I am trying to improve. But sometimes I talk to folks who don't work as hard at my tradecraft. They make fun of other folks who do. They try and shape the field to suit their lazy "this didn't outright fail so it's success" mindset.

Odds are, if you're a programmer you ARE behind. The field moves fast, no one does post-graduate teaching. Conferences are hit or miss and taught by the same folks. You need to work hard to fix it.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#69

Post by aoeuasdf1 »

babaganoosh89 wrote: post #65
tastyface wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me personally, "being lazy" is awful because I'm stuck in a constant battle between my personality (which wants to mould to the shape of my couch and watch TV forever) and my mind (which desperately wants to leave a mark on the world). Every day I spend couch potatoing feels like a complete and utter failure of the soul, and it seems like most of my effort is actually spent on trying to bend my personality into t…

What's so great about TV? If you want to do something then do it. Otherwise you didn't want to do it in the first place.

People contain multitudes. "You" aren't a single entity which wants or doesn't want things. There is such thing as internal conflict.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#70

Post by wonderbear »

nxc18 wrote: post #37
jondubois wrote: post #8

For the past 10 years, I only spent about 4 to 8 hours per week on entertainment - All the rest of my time was divided between work and sleep (I only sleep 5 hours per day on weekdays). Financially, I have nothing to show for it unfortunately so I really feel like I'm behind and that I've missed the boat on many things. What makes it particularly difficult is that I was working really hard the whole time - When I rea…

If your worried about money, is suggest getting a job at a decent company (reading between the lines it sounds like you've put your time in ventures) and having a financial plan. A small dose of austerity and planning can make you a millionaire in a short time, with relatively little risk. It won't be more money than you know what to do with, but you'll be comfortable enough to retire and then be as lazy as you want.…

> If you're in the bay area, you should probably get out unless you're being paid enough to make it worth it (most aren't).

Agreed.

The number of twenty (or even thirty) -somethings I've met who have been trying to make it in the bay area for years and still don't have more than a few month's worth of expenses saved up worries me. Y'all are in an incredibly vulnerable position, and it's not going to get easier to make wages the older you get.

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