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I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

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Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#411

Post by cactus2093 »

boring_twenties wrote: post #407
cactus2093 wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can definitely relate to this. My own journey is, in addition to a couple of stints as a founder that didn't work out, I've worked primarily for other startups as opposed to large companies. After 10 years what I have to show for it is about $35,000 from one moderate sized acquisition of a startup you've definitely heard of but was not especially lucrative for anyone except the founders, some options that I never e…

> It's pretty mind-blowing to realize that the less risky, more tortoise-like approach to a career would have been so vastly more profitable Isn't this the definition of risk? If it was a foregone conclusion that you'd make more money this way, it wouldn't be risky at all.

Sure, not so surprising that the high risk path is risky. What's surprising is the low risk path is so high reward.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#412

Post by greybeard1812 »

Angst about what you've accomplished is about the processes in your mind -- not so much about what you've actually accomplished. For that reason, accomplishments alone won't calm it.

In an odd coincidence, I did happen to complete my PhD before 35. I had also learned fluent though non-native French. I had already met a wonderful girl and had had 7 children with her.

None of that stopped me from having the same feeling that life was passing me by. I still have it all the time. It's a feeling. It can be useful. But feelings don't have to be rational.

I wouldn't be surprised if Musk and Bezos both look at their careers so far and feel frustrated and impatient from time to time either. It's just how (at least some) minds work.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#413

Post by nkohari »

jacobwilliamroy wrote: post #388
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to already have blueprints for the house in order to want the million dollars. Once you get the million, then you have time to look at blueprints.

The dream is so far out of reach, it doesn't even exist. Yet we chase the money anyways. Thank you for explaining.

It really isn't out of reach. You shouldn't chase the money for the money's sake, but it's undeniable that having money avails you to a different lifestyle than not having money.

Poignantly, my wife and I co-founded a startup which was acquired by a company who subsequently went public. We built our house (the first we ever owned, actually!) by selling shares after the IPO.

Is it likely? No. Is it impossible, or somehow out of reach? Absolutely not.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#414

Post by dj_mc_merlin »

greybeard1812 wrote: post #412

Angst about what you've accomplished is about the processes in your mind -- not so much about what you've actually accomplished. For that reason, accomplishments alone won't calm it. In an odd coincidence, I did happen to complete my PhD before 35. I had also learned fluent though non-native French. I had already met a wonderful girl and had had 7 children with her. None of that stopped me from having the same feelin…

> Angst about what you've accomplished is about the processes in your mind

Yes. All of this insecurity and fear about what one has accomplished is nothing more than processes put into peoples' mind as children about what they should accomplish, should be. What is the point of feeling sad about your life?

More importantly, why do they feel sad about their lives? Is it truly their decision, based on what they truly wanted, or an expectation that society (i.e. just other people) imposed on them? I have always lived with a sense that what I chose to do is meaningful and important for no other reason than I chose to do it. Why does one need more of a reason in life to reach goals than that, as long as you can satisfy your basic needs?

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#415

Post by nkohari »

papito wrote: post #138
voidhorse wrote: post #13

Funny piece. It can be so easy to waste time when we have the internet. I think the most dangerous distractions are the ones that feel productive but don’t actually work toward your goals. For example, browsing hacker news. Such an activity is useful every now and then, but at least for myself I often scroll around only to realize later that it was a massive waste of time I could’ve spent working on something I care…

People are now terrified of putting down a screen and being left alone with their own thoughts for more than 30 seconds. It's horrifying what's bouncing around up in that dome, and having to process it. But this is exactly what we did before. We got bored , we were wasting time, we were experimenting, and that's how great ideas came around.

Meditation is also a great way to force yourself to be alone with your thoughts. However, speaking from experience, that can lead to some uncomfortable truths -- so it's good to be prepared.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#416

Post by djsumdog »

lol636363 wrote: post #271
bstar77 wrote: post #245

I was incredibly driven about 7 years ago... I was a founder of a startup and had really lofty aspirations. I told my wife that it was very possible that we would be millionaires by the time we hit 40. Fast forward to today and that did not happen. The startup is no more, but mainly due to burnout. We made money and did well, but not well enough. I never made my millions, but did have a substantial aqui-hire opportun…

For last few years, I have been telling myself to take it slow and do what you are doing now. I got a easy but a boring job. I figured this way I will save all my mental energy for my projects after work. But this is slowly burning me out. The boredom of not doing any real work for 8 hours is soul killing. I do a lot of busy red tape work but it is not intelluctly stimulating. So now I will do 180 and quit my job in…

I've done this twice:

https://battlepenguin.com/philosophy/perspective/a-tale-of-t...

Once was backpacking for 11 months with only two bags. The second was 5 months in a car. I did learn a lot both times, but I never got fully independent and it may have set me back some.

Still in retrospect, it was a great journey and I'm still glad I made the attempt.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#417

Post by kjgkjhfkjf »

It's funny to see this in The New Yorker, because I was under the impression that The New Yorker was an elite publication where all writers aspired to be published.

Perhaps this is supposed to be the joke, since the article is labeled as humor, but I don't think that being a writer, even in the New Yorker, has the same prestige nowadays that it used to have before media became "democratized", so the joke is actually quite sad.

Realistically, the author probably should have been smart enough to realize that careers in the arts are the domain of the idle rich, and learned how to code.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#418

Post by bumby »

praveen9920 wrote: post #285
bstar77 wrote: post #245

I was incredibly driven about 7 years ago... I was a founder of a startup and had really lofty aspirations. I told my wife that it was very possible that we would be millionaires by the time we hit 40. Fast forward to today and that did not happen. The startup is no more, but mainly due to burnout. We made money and did well, but not well enough. I never made my millions, but did have a substantial aqui-hire opportun…

> take advantage of bursts of motivation I understand this but most of the time I am excited about that new awesome idea that popped into my head. How do you focus on one thing without getting deviated?

Discipline > Motivation

Motivation invariably wanes

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#419

Post by klipt »

cactus2093 wrote: post #405
bstar77 wrote: post #245

I was incredibly driven about 7 years ago... I was a founder of a startup and had really lofty aspirations. I told my wife that it was very possible that we would be millionaires by the time we hit 40. Fast forward to today and that did not happen. The startup is no more, but mainly due to burnout. We made money and did well, but not well enough. I never made my millions, but did have a substantial aqui-hire opportun…

I can definitely relate to this. My own journey is, in addition to a couple of stints as a founder that didn't work out, I've worked primarily for other startups as opposed to large companies. After 10 years what I have to show for it is about $35,000 from one moderate sized acquisition of a startup you've definitely heard of but was not especially lucrative for anyone except the founders, some options that I never e…

> never sold any stock

> less risky

Never selling stock is pretty risky. Sure in retrospect there's been a huge bull run in tech which made those stocks go up crazily, but most of the people I know in FAANG recommend selling your RSUs and buying index funds like VTI instead to diversify because who knows?

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#420

Post by saiojd »

core-questions wrote: post #49
renjimen wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m very nostalgic about the countless hours I frittered away on video games and the internet as an adolescent. Part of me thinks it made me the person I am today, who I am proud of. I recently joined a Counter Strike team with work and had some of the most fun times I can think of recently. I compare that with the time I put aside to learn 3D modelling, which was fun in its own way but required more self motivation…

> It made me question what society accepts as a valid way to spend spare time Well, to be brutally honest with you, it's one thing for you to be proud of yourself for playing video games, but why would anyone else see that as something pride-worthy? Typically, one takes justifiable pride for accomplishments that stand up to external scrutiny. That usually comes in the form of the accomplishment having an element of s…

Lots of us here have wasted our youth playing games and are uncomfortable with the fact that it was, indeed, a waste.
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