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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

#481

Post by chipotle_coyote »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #437
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 like that. Thanks for sharing it. I'm 58. I spent over thirty years, writing and managing software projects that other people generally didn't use well (or mishandled while developing). It was frustrating, but they paid the bills, so there wasn't anything I could do about it. Since leaving my last job, I started to look at working, and immediately , and with extreme prejudice, slammed into the notorious ageism in t…

I won't say ageism the main reason I moved from programming to tech writing, but it's certainly been something on my mind. I look younger than my 53 years, but I'm pretty clearly not in my early 30s anymore. But, I haven't experienced any real ageism in this field, at least yet.

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

#482

Post by DoreenMichele »

jacobwilliamroy wrote: post #458
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people chase money just to chase money, because they think that it will make their life wonderful. And many of them are disappointed when they get money (if they do), because it didn't make their life suddenly wonderful. I think that's the point you're trying to make, and it's a valid one. But you're making it in such an extreme way that it makes you sound completely disconnected from reality. I can want a nicer…

Money has consequences. When rich people get old, they suddenly find themselves surrounded by enemies, conspiring to hasten their deaths. I've personally seen it happen thrice now. And before that I was hearing about it happening to friends of my own well-heeled friends. So I guess I'm just curious to see why people want to put themselves in that position. To me, a nice house and a happy spouse just doesn't inspire m…

There are lots of ways and reasons to kill people. Poor people tend to die a lot younger than rich people and people just tend to not care or notice.

As Cher once said: "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."

Being poor doesn't make the people around you automatically trustworthy. Trust is a chronic challenge in the world. It's not somehow unique to wealthy individuals.

Though you do have a point about "especially for those not good with the legalities of trusts, etc." Most people who win the lottery have their lives ruined by it and end up bankrupt.

But it matters how you get there. If you build a business, you also build business contacts, etc. You end up knowing lawyers and the like because you had need of them along the way to getting rich, unlike someone with a winning lottery ticket. It generally seems to go better.

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

#483

Post by McSwag »

frogpelt wrote: post #470
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like that. Thanks for sharing it. I'm 58. I spent over thirty years, writing and managing software projects that other people generally didn't use well (or mishandled while developing). It was frustrating, but they paid the bills, so there wasn't anything I could do about it. Since leaving my last job, I started to look at working, and immediately , and with extreme prejudice, slammed into the notorious ageism in t…

It's not just in tech. You hear responses from younger generations like "Ok Boomer" to their elders' opinions and it is so cringe-worthy. I don't think everything my parents taught me was perfect or even always correct but there's an irreplaceable amount of wisdom that comes from being alive twice as long.

Every time I hear that phrase I get the cold chill down my spine. It just feels so disrespectful and visceral.

I’m in my 30s and was taught to have basic respect for others. People think my generation is entitled. Man our generation has another thing coming.

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

#484

Post by dplgk »

goatherders wrote: post #190
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #102

I've been mentoring CS college students and new grad SWEs for a while. It's shocking to see how many of them perpetually feel like they're overwhelmed and short on time, yet they can't account for where they've actually spent their time. It's not uncommon for new grad SWEs to complain that an 8-hour work day is somehow consuming 100% of their weekday hours, leaving them without any time to do anything else. On furthe…

100% agree. One of the first things I do when taking over a decent size sales team is install tracking software on their machines. Not because i care that they are on facebook or CNN but so i can SHOW them they are not nearly as productive as they think. My personal theory backed only by my own professional history is that most people are only working about 3 or 4 hours a day, tops. Certain tasks like writing code or…

Seconded. Now that I've installed auto time tracking on my computer, my estimate is that people do 2-3 of solid work a day. The rest of time is eating, reading news, reading/writing email, social media etc. It takes serious effort to put in 8 billable hours.

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

#485

Post by 1DRACOSEA8 »

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…

Did you ask for help? Maybe the business was not scalable.

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

#486

Post by xkcd-sucks »

wenc wrote: post #178
pjfin123 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The gamification of Duolingo is something that has really worked for me (as an adult). It has all the parts of an addictive mobile game that keep you coming back: a streak that notifies you if you're in danger of losing it (this is the one that really works for me), social rankings, fun graphics, in game currency. I have a 410 day Spanish streak as of this morning! I took French in middle/high school with the standar…

As a language learner (working on my 8th right now), I dabble in Duolingo from time to time and agree that it provides contact time with the language, and any contact time helps reinforce memory. Language learning in general though, I have found, is not that amenable to gamification. Some learning methods may be more efficient than others, but even with the most efficient methods, real language learning is still inhe…

> Language learning in general though, I have found, is not that amenable to gamification. Some learning methods may be more efficient than others, but even with the most efficient methods, real language learning is still inherently and unavoidably a slog. So if you come across a method that makes it "easy", chances are it's not actually working

Go to a foreign country and try to get laid. Genuine intrinsic motivation, and the difficulty increases with age. If nothing else, this education is good preparation for a career in business

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

#487

Post by [deleted] »

abootstrapper wrote: post #116

Everyone here is reading this article as a cautionary tale on procrastination. To me it’s about the unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves. Maybe that’s due to our fake meritocratic society, or comparisons made on social media, or our parents expectations. I thought I’d be a millionaire by now, changing the world for the better, with a Wikipedia page and a yacht. But what I really want now is to put down the…

[deleted]

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

#488

Post by underwater »

lol636363 wrote: post #452
underwater wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm interpreting the "tortoise" comment as slow and steady, not apathetic to the day job. Personally, I put my creative energy into my 9 to 5 job. Instead of using evenings to start side hustles or to "get ahead" on work, I unwind and get adequate rest. This is so I can be alert and switched on during my regular work hours. I've found stretching myself thin starts to affect me quickly, and I feel like I'm actually op…

I really tried to dedicate myself to my day job but I work in a large IT corp where most people are apathetic to their jobs. Even my managers told me to take it easy, And that's when I tried my best to accept the culture and save my mental energy for personal projects.

It's also a sign that you might not be compatible with that org.

I recently left management in a large org (where I tried to shelter people like you) and am now back in the startup world. It is refreshing to not be fighting the tide continually.

I'm going to do everything I can to avoid companies that see tech as a cost centre or are super bureaucratic in future. Unfortunately difficult in my mid-sized, non US, city.

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

#489

Post by 1DRACOSEA8 »

frankbyte wrote: post #456
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like that. Thanks for sharing it. I'm 58. I spent over thirty years, writing and managing software projects that other people generally didn't use well (or mishandled while developing). It was frustrating, but they paid the bills, so there wasn't anything I could do about it. Since leaving my last job, I started to look at working, and immediately , and with extreme prejudice, slammed into the notorious ageism in t…

You just became the first GitHub profile I follow. Good luck bro! I’m still just 35 but I know I’ll face the same music in 20 years or less.

Dear founders do not listen to these people. Could be contagious.

One simple question, did you start doing the company because you were the best at it, or because you thought you could become the best.

When you know you know, I was born in a sea of Washington Bullets and I have certain sensibilities to electronics and the spectrum. I love Programming and burning the midnight oil. Get out there run and fight like hell, get fit, stay fit. Be a shark

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

#490

Post by souprock »

duderific wrote: post #378
yabai_yatsu wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't get easier, it just gets a different kind of difficult.

I generally agree with you (I have a six and a two year old), but the sleep deprivation when the kids are babies is extremely debilitating. At least that part definitely gets better.

It's not bad if they wake up right next to a breast. Before long, they can feed without waking the parents. The sleep deprivation will be terrible if you have to stand up (get heart going), flip on the lights, walk to the kitchen, fumble around to mix and microwave, walk to the baby, sit with the baby, walk back to the kitchen to clean up, and then head back to bed.
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