Live data from Hacker News

The Top Of My Todo List

paulgraham.com

101–110 of 197 posts

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#101
Hunter S. Thompson is the only one who had it right.

> Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#103
Here is my advice to change your defaults.

You want to lose weight? Throw away all your junk food. You want more time? Get rid of your TV. You want to be with your family more often? Live close to them.

I don't have practical advices for how to not ignore your dreams, not suppress your feelings, not neglect your friends, and not forget to be happy. But I am sure there can be similar advices for these, I just lack the creativity.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#104

5 most common regrets reflect what most people do. If majority of people worked as entrepreneurs not cogs they would have different list of 5 regrets. But they would still have list of 5 most common regrets. Only different ones. I think that people when they die usually regret the way they lived because they all dreamt about something different. The only way not to regret anything is never dream and be happy with wha…

>> The only way not to regret anything is never dream and be happy with whatever hits you and with whatever comes out of your efforts. It is also non-accidentally the only way to live for a religious person. The thought that you can regret anything does not bring you closer to the heaven. God gives God takes - you just keep the books.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#107

I disagree. Strongly. Following your dreams, not working too much, spending time with family and friends, saying what you think, and being happy, might belong at the top of Paul Graham's todo list. He's already succeeded at what most people struggle at: making a living. He may have forgotten that getting by is hard. What's so wrong about being a "cog in a machine"? Large organizations exist partly because scale and s…

> What's so wrong about being a "cog in a machine"?

Wanna live to work or work to live? I know that cooperate america tends towards the former, and much of the world is following that great success story. But, there is really not much point. In the end you're just as dead.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#108
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I struggle with this from time to time. I'm building a business that I plan/hope will allow me to have the freedom to do whatever I want with my time at some point in the future. Today, however, I work. I work a lot. 12 hours is the low end for a day. I've put work ahead of lot of things. If I were to truly close my eyes and do what I feel like, I'd be headed to a river/lake or getting on a plane. But I have clients,…

That's awesome; I'm glad you've come back with an opposite viewpoint. I think the takeaway is that different things work for different people. It could be that you would spend your life intensely happier if you just let go right now. And equally I could spend my life much happier if I took a grip. If anything I'd say let go of the regret - you've picked this path so live it and love it :) And if you can't, maybe my w…

I agree, if your work fulfills you, work. If you hate what you do, do something else. But I think a lot of this "live your dreams, die with no regrets" is a bunch of pie-in-the-sky psychobabble. Utopias don't exist in this life, and chasing them often leads to a bad end.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#109

What's so bad about being a cog? I work 9-5 for a large company (100,000+ employees). I clock on each day, they pay me a great daily rate and I enjoy the work that I do. Work doesn't define who I am and I am definitely not unfulfilled. I take French classes, dabble in photography and build the occasional web app. Once a month I take a 3 day weekend and go somewhere I've never been before. So far this year I've been t…

In some ways being a european cog is better than being an american cog. I wish Geneva, Brugge, Rejkjavik, and Madrid were weekend destinations for me! I also wish I had a european-cog vacation allotment!
Post reply on HN