Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

Post by Hates_ » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 10:48 AM UTC

crankin wrote: post #299

I have found that all the best advice I've received centers on how to focus your attention. As humans when we can give something our full attention it's almost impossible that what we are doing won't bear fruit. Here are some axioms around that idea that if you implement you will progress. - Time is not your most valuable resource. Your attention is. - Focus your attention only on things that have disproportionate re…

Post by sanjayio » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 11:44 AM UTC

swyx wrote: post #505

ghstcode wrote: post #73

Before spending the last money I had on a coding book, the cashier could see my hesitation and said "don't worry, investing in yourself is never a waste of money". It had a profound impact on me.

i mean, the cashier also had a vested interest in selling you books and no qualms about taking the last money you had

Post by Hates_ » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 11:55 AM UTC

blaser-waffle wrote: post #490

kevin_vanilla wrote: post #363

Meta-advice: When reading advice collection posts such as this one, find the first one that really resonates with you, then stop reading. The brain can't absorb several life-changing concepts within a few minutes of another. After stopping and thinking deeply about one bit of advice and ideally doing something else for a while, you can come back if you want.

alternative: copy-paste the ones that speak to you into a document or something, and the review it every few years. i've got an internal, personal 'wikiquote' doc of stuff that I like, and i make a point to review it, add to it, and meditate on its contents periodically.

Post by nicolas_t » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 12:44 PM UTC

afarrell wrote: post #2

“Leave someone better than you found them.” It led to me staying faaaaar too long in an unhealthy relationship, trying to cure problems that I imagined myself responsible for causing. Sometimes you need to forgive yourself and move on. The Pottery Barn Rule and the Boy Scout Rule apply to things, not people.

Post by leobg » Sun, Oct 30, 2022, 12:59 PM UTC

wahnfrieden wrote: post #518

leobg wrote: post #506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hm. Wouldn’t call that lack of self awareness. Thanks for the source. Quote: > Frankly, I hate doing mgmt stuff. I kinda don't think anyone should be the boss of anyone. But I love helping solve technical/product design problems. What I hear is that he doesn’t like playing the boss. And that he would very much prefer a company to work like interconnected computers in a network, with no hierarchy. He aspires to having…

Oh my wording was bad I did mean that he has self awareness, and that self awareness matters little compared with the power held There’s nothing necessary about subjecting people to boss-control and even if he knows that, it’s more favorable to him personally. It’s a myth that doesn’t fit the evidence that it’s the only way to productively structure society/orgs at scale