Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#1

Post by _fvh3 » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 1:53 AM UTC

Do you have a failed business, career, or "general" venture? If so, I would appreciate it if you could provide a brief description or a link to the project, as well as answers to the following questions:

What is the threshold for failure in your specific case?

Was there something that implicitly caused the failure that you have now realised?

Did it result in a net loss in terms of financial investment?

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#2

Post by _fvh3 » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 1:54 AM UTC

By venture I mean something akin to a financial goal

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#3

Post by matheusmoreira » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 2:11 AM UTC

Career. I'm not a failure in general, I'm pretty successful. I consider myself a failure as a programmer though. I failed myself when I was a teenager by quitting and choosing another profession instead. I did it because at the time I thought I was gonna be miserable doing it for a living. These days... I don't know. I suppose I'll forever wonder what could have been.

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#4

Post by codevark » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 2:50 AM UTC

In the late '90s, we were Amazon before Amazon knew what it was doing.

Now I work in IT for a private college. Pay sucks, benefits are great.

I tell a lot of stories to the young folks.

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#5

Post by _fvh3 » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 2:51 AM UTC

HN really be [Dead]-ing the most wholesome posts

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#6

Post by silisili » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 5:41 AM UTC

matheusmoreira wrote: post #3

Career. I'm not a failure in general, I'm pretty successful. I consider myself a failure as a programmer though. I failed myself when I was a teenager by quitting and choosing another profession instead. I did it because at the time I thought I was gonna be miserable doing it for a living. These days... I don't know. I suppose I'll forever wonder what could have been.

Same feeling. I was writing games and small applications C++ for fun as a teen in the 90s. I was so fascinated by it, but found ultimately, it really depressed me. Probably just spending too much time thinking, not socializing, etc.

Didn't touch code or an editor again until 2009 or so, on accident so to speak trying to debug something for the boss. Found out a couple years later that I could get paid to code...had no idea. Then saw what all those kids at Stanford did and were making, and immediately felt like I missed the biggest opportunity of my life.

Oh well. Millions of what could have beens in life, no sense in wondering...

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#7

Post by ipaddr » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 6:19 AM UTC

I see everything as a failure and success. It's a two headed 3d coin and everything depends on where you are looking from and where you are looking to

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#8

Post by level87 » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 6:46 AM UTC

matheusmoreira wrote: post #3

Career. I'm not a failure in general, I'm pretty successful. I consider myself a failure as a programmer though. I failed myself when I was a teenager by quitting and choosing another profession instead. I did it because at the time I thought I was gonna be miserable doing it for a living. These days... I don't know. I suppose I'll forever wonder what could have been.

I did something similar. I spent my 20's and early 30's working as a furniture maker, I loved parts of it but financially it was difficult. When I was younger I spent whole summers coding for fun, all the friends I had at that time are now working at Google and Facebook while I am just getting started again.

I love making things and solving problems, and the medium isn't as important as I once thought. I wish I had realised this earlier and perhaps I would be further along in my career and financially more successful, but life doesn't work like that I guess. I feel like I've done things in reverse as I often read about software engineers romanticising woodwork.

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#9

Post by ManlyBread » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 6:49 AM UTC

Friend told me about Bitcoin in 2009 and I dismissed it as stupid. Tried to get into it in 2012, even mined it for a bit but ultimately stopped and used what I've mined to buy a bunch of useless stuff like Namecoin domains. Dismissed it again when it hit 800$ thinking it can never be be higher. Wrong again.

Basically I tried to hop onto the train several times and each time it felt like I shouldn't (so I didn't), yet at the same time these were the perfect opportunities to do so. If at any point in my life I'd decide to take it more seriously I might have been able to significantly increase my wealth. I wonder if the next best moment to do so is now.

Re: Ask HN: Are You a Failure?

#10

Post by Silverback_VII » Tue, Apr 25, 2023, 7:00 AM UTC

ManlyBread wrote: post #9

Friend told me about Bitcoin in 2009 and I dismissed it as stupid. Tried to get into it in 2012, even mined it for a bit but ultimately stopped and used what I've mined to buy a bunch of useless stuff like Namecoin domains. Dismissed it again when it hit 800$ thinking it can never be be higher. Wrong again. Basically I tried to hop onto the train several times and each time it felt like I shouldn't (so I didn't), yet…

>I wonder if the next best moment to do so is now.

Your post seems like a sophisticated advertisement, and it probably is.