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You are not 'behind'

zackkanter.com

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Re: You are not 'behind'

#151

Post by tonyedgecombe »

zeta0134 wrote: post #129
songzme wrote: post #110

In April I left google to teach people how to code. I teach for free and I focus primarily on low income adults who are making less than 30k / year in the bay area. Throughout their lives, my students have felt that they were 'behind' and they are not good enough. This mindset creates adults with low self esteem, which then prevents them from learning. Many times, they nod their head in understanding when they really…

It's interesting that you bring up learning pace as such a strong signal. Most of the material I've read focusing on learning types and effectiveness seems to gloss over the speed that one learns (which I imagine must vary with material) and a great deal of coursework is very rigid with regards to schedules. I wonder, ignoring for a moment the practicalities of this, if a freeform educational system, allowing student…

I suspect a lot of students don't have the discipline to cope without a schedule and hard deadlines.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#152

Post by tonyedgecombe »

corey_moncure wrote: post #89
foobarbecue wrote: post #19

Reading this made me realize that my regret usually targets the previous hours or day. Generally, if I look at the last month or year or decade, I'm impressed with what I've accomplished. And yet I'm always disappointed with my immediate past. I think this short-term regret may be the reaction mass I'm igniting to propel me forward. To borrow a phrase from finnthehuman above, this short-term regret is the fire lit un…

I didn't have any regrets until I sat and watched cryptocoin for 6 years and did nothing about it.

On the other hand, I don't regret not gambling on Bitcoin in the last six years. It's an interesting technology but the price is driven by pure speculation rather than any significant demand.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#154

Post by pvdebbe »

Bootvis wrote: post #141
closeparen wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, plenty of people have government pensions. It's just that when city & state governments made those promises, they were lying. It is the will of the people of Illinois, for example, not to pay retired government workers what they're owed, and we'll see that enacted shortly. Social Security will similarly implode when the total needs of Boomers surpass the total income-producing capability of Millenials in the next…

Or you know you could setup a pension system where this hardly happens if at all by ringfencing the funds, allowing limited risk exposure and making sure the plans are well-funded. Countries in Western Europe indeed have managed to do this.

Which countries are you talking about? Finland certainly doesn't implement mandatory govt pensions well.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#155

Post by inimino »

enraged_camel wrote: post #61
nxc18 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Or you could waste a decade chasing fuck-you money, not get it, and be left in the same financial position but ten years older.

The default outcome for startup founders is not "filthy rich" but rather "older and poorer".

Re: You are not 'behind'

#156

Post by maccard »

tigershark wrote: post #150
coldtea wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, a country with actual pension plans, like most of Western Europe at least.

Do you mean like in uk where you get 159.55£ per week after you worked for at least 35 years and you are at least 68 (if they don't postpone it again) ? I hope that I don't have to explain what kind of life you can do in London with that ridiculous amount.

640/month is probably more than a lot of working people have left over after they've paid rent/mortgage, childcare, commuting costs. Not that it's an exorbitant lifestyle, but it's "moderately" comfortable (assuming you own your own home and qwualofy for all the relevant support).

Re: You are not 'behind'

#157

Post by emptyfile »

coldtea wrote: post #115
closeparen wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You probably need at least one million to avoid poverty conditions in retirement.

Or you know, a country with actual pension plans, like most of Western Europe at least.

Hardly any country in Europe has a decent pension plan. The Netherlands has one, Australia, and I guess Norway.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#158

Post by Cthulhu_ »

jaggederest wrote: post #76
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…

I've felt like this my entire life. Turns out for me that it is a symptom of (undiagnosed) ADHD - an execution problem, not a motivational problem. Having gotten that diagnosed, it's a very significant change in my life. To be cliche, the first day of the rest of my life. For many people, "trying to bend their personality into the shape [they] want it to be" is fruitless, totally counterproductive. The first thing I…

I think you've got a good point there. A lot of people feel like they want to change, like they need to be a certain person, do certain things, but what they don't realize is that they don't understand themselves well enough. I had a revelation with coming to terms with being introverted and (probably) a touch of autism (undiagnosed, doesn't really matter tbf - what matters more is understanding the symptoms and personality traits). Once you understand those, and realize that's you, you'll start accepting yourself more, and while you won't be a hipster rockstar just yet, you'll be at peace with it more.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#159

Post by Cthulhu_ »

yogipatel wrote: post #137
jaggederest wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope! I'm with you, noise and interruptions are totally fatal. Things other people think are fine drive me crazy, or worse, are exciting and interesting and ooh shiny look at the time, it's 9pm already. If I didn't work on the internet, I would turn off the internet while I was trying to focus :)

I fantasize about having a job that doesn't involve me sitting on a computer nearly 100% of the time for the same reason. edit: formatting

I get that too sometimes. Watching woodworking videos on youtube is very satisfying. Not something I'd do myself quickly (I'm comfortable with the money I'm making at the moment), but I can imagine it's a very soothing line of work. The videos are often very quiet and focused too, much like software development in the zone - and unlike software developers, artisans are generally left alone with their craft and how they want to work is respected more.

Re: You are not 'behind'

#160

Post by Cthulhu_ »

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.

Wanting to do something vs doing something else are two different things. I want to be rich but I'd rather watch TV.

I think accepting that you enjoy watching TV or other passive means of entertainment is more important than beating yourself up over not doing something more productive.

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