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Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#91

Post by michaelwilson »

Long before it was fashionable, I made the jump from the Corporate world to start-ups, mostly because I decided I'd rather be writing code than being a manager in a corporate IT organization.

Years and a few start-ups after that, I landed in a company was slated to have what looked to be a solid IPO, and I got a block of "Friends and Family" stock - shares which can give to whoever you want to purchase at the opening IPO share price.

I believed I owed much of my success to a few of my managers from my corporate days, who taught me as much common sense and good management as anything. Even though I had't spoken to some of them in over a decade, I tracked them down and passed on the opportunity to purchase the shares.

They were astonished to hear from me after so long, and even more astonished by the opportunity. Since they were still in the corporate world, or retired, the shares turned out to an unexpected windfall which had a real impact on their lives.

To this day I'm most happy about that result.

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#92

Post by SeekingMeaning »

lordnacho wrote: post #46

Contacting people who've had an influence on your life is the very thing of living! Here's something I did last year, which I'll be doing again in a few weeks. Back in high school, I had a really great math teacher. He really created excitement about the subject, and he always had extra time to teach extra stuff to us. Just a really cool guy who'd show us Monty Python videos sketches and then some interesting math pr…

That last sentence... As a college student, I’ve never thought about that. It’s crazy to think that the percent difference in age gets smaller over time.

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#93

Post by kingofpandora »

I once emailed the developer of an open-source project that I used extensively while in graduate school. The software wasn't conceived for academic use so besides the simple thank you I also wanted to make the author know that it had applications well beyond what he had intended.

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#94

Post by jlevers »

I do this all the time! I definitely haven't had a 100% reply rate, but I often finish with something like "I know you're really busy -- no need to respond" when emailing someone I don't know. Maybe I should stop doing that.

Regardless, it makes me feel good to know that the people who've had an impact on me know that what they're doing makes a difference. I bet there are a lot of people out there who've done a ton of good, but have never had anyone thank them, and I want to make sure that happens as little as possible.

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#95

Post by dominotw »

michaelwilson wrote: post #91

Long before it was fashionable, I made the jump from the Corporate world to start-ups, mostly because I decided I'd rather be writing code than being a manager in a corporate IT organization. Years and a few start-ups after that, I landed in a company was slated to have what looked to be a solid IPO, and I got a block of "Friends and Family" stock - shares which can give to whoever you want to purchase at the opening…

That is such a cool story. Very good sir.

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#97

Post by mark_l_watson »

I do, and not just the people who had the biggest impact on my life.

My calendar is full of friends and business associates’ birthdays. The occasion of of someone’s birthday is a great reason for a phone call or a long catchup email.

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#98

Post by myself248 »

gspr wrote: post #49

I think this is a great thing to do. I still regret not telling my last elementary school math teacher this. For years I had detested math. Then random events made it necessary for my school to have this alcoholic, probably technically unqualified, 70+ year old wood-shop teacher substitute as our math teacher for like a year. No longer was I chastised for writing ugly and not underlining the final answer. No longer w…

> this alcoholic, probably technically unqualified, 70+ year old wood-shop teacher substitute as our math teacher

There is so much more story here!

That's incredible. In lieu of thanking your late teacher directly, you could pass this message along to the school's current administration. As a direct alumnus rather than a random person on the internet, they may be more receptive to the notion of looking for teachers who are truly interesting. As I'm sure that difference plays out in their classrooms to this day.

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#99

Post by OJFord »

yingw787 wrote: post #89

Woah you inspire me! I have a habit in my habit tracker of reaching out to one person every week via email, mostly developers. I’ve gotten mixed success honestly. Maybe I should try your template, much more succinct than mine :)

What's 'success' here?

Re: Ask HN: Do you ever contact people who have had a positive impact on you?

#100

Post by krustyburger »

officemonkey wrote: post #87

I have a related problem. My tween son and I have been listening to Jack Benny radio programs for approximately two years. They're funny and clean, and mostly not problematic. And they're guaranteed to knock my son out at night. The sad part is every single person associated with the show passed decades ago. We literally have no one to thank. So, thank you Jack, Mary, Dennis, Rochester, Phil, and Don. You too Kenny,…

I grew up listening to Jack Benny, and I was born in the 80s. KNX-1070 in Los Angeles used to play old time radio every single night, with Saturdays dedicated to comedy. It was great and really helped me to bond with my father.

I would caution you against trying to shield your son against “problematic” content, if by that you mean stuff that isn’t up to the precise current standard of political correctness. For one thing, such an effort is doomed to fail. For another, it may keep him from getting to experience some of the best comedy ever. For an obvious example, I’m grateful to have also grown up with the films of Mel Brooks, many of which are about as “problematic” as they come and yet still funny and even profound.

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