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The Top Of My Todo List

paulgraham.com

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Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#121

Post by nostrademons »

pg wrote: post #66
javajosh wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This implies that you advocate working very hard for what is essentially an early retirement.

Sort of. More like working very hard till you achieve financial independence, after which you can do whatever you want. You don't have to stop working; you just never have to work on anyone else's terms.

If you're prudent with your lifestyles and finances, "financial independence" doesn't have to mean "enough money to last a lifetime." It just means "enough money to last until I have a reasonable certainty of making more money." I know a bunch of people on incomes far lower than a software engineer's that will intersperse work with 6 months to a year of doing something interesting like hiking the Appalachian trail, traveling around the world, or living in Thailand.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#122

Post by yukyukyuk »

alanbyrne wrote: post #79

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…

You have an awesome life, and although I'm not sure I'd enjoy the same things that you do or want your life, I suspect that many would love to have your life.

I don't see how you are refuting the main point.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#123

Post by [deleted] »

ErrantX wrote: post #84
pg wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sort of. More like working very hard till you achieve financial independence, after which you can do whatever you want. You don't have to stop working; you just never have to work on anyone else's terms.

For the majority of people this is unobtainable. Which is where your theory breaks down, I think. Because if a huge proportion of people adopt this attitude and strive for independence, most will fail and be ultimately unhappier for it. Which sounds like I am recommending resigning oneself to never achieving. But really what I am saying is this; figure out realistic goals, add a little bit, then head toward them. Als…

[deleted]

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#124

Post by paulsutter »

srconstantin wrote: post #98

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…

Woah, cowboy.

> if a hundred people follow their dreams and fail and ruin their lives, PG never hears about it

Ruin their lives?

Hundreds of people fail in front of pg all the time. As an entrepreneur you fail in little ways constantly, and in big ways repeatedly. But that's ok. Failing is how we learn.

Can you think of anyone who ruined their life by failing at a startup?

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#126

Post by femto »

pg wrote: post #66
javajosh wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This implies that you advocate working very hard for what is essentially an early retirement.

Sort of. More like working very hard till you achieve financial independence, after which you can do whatever you want. You don't have to stop working; you just never have to work on anyone else's terms.

A question, which hopefully doesn't come across as facetious, as it isn't mean to be: Do you do whatever you want?

I ask this in the context of having been through the start-up mill in the 90s and watched other people make 10 figures off the technology (WiFi) I worked on. I still work 9-5 for someone else, and need to.

Eventually I came to the conclusion that I have to "live for today". If a firm opportunity presents seize it, but don't compromise today in the name of nebulous rewards tomorrow. Don't wait for retirement or financial independence, but try and do stuff now, using the means at my disposal.

I ask this question on the assumption some people here have had the opposite experience and would advocate going out on a limb for future rewards. When it paid off, did the change in circumstances meet expectation? It's always interesting to hear from people who have had a different experience.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#128

Post by pg »

ErrantX wrote: post #84
pg wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sort of. More like working very hard till you achieve financial independence, after which you can do whatever you want. You don't have to stop working; you just never have to work on anyone else's terms.

For the majority of people this is unobtainable. Which is where your theory breaks down, I think. Because if a huge proportion of people adopt this attitude and strive for independence, most will fail and be ultimately unhappier for it. Which sounds like I am recommending resigning oneself to never achieving. But really what I am saying is this; figure out realistic goals, add a little bit, then head toward them. Als…

Believe me, no one knows better that starting startups is not for everyone. That's why I was careful to qualify the great grandparent with "if you're suited for it."

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#129

Post by pg »

femto wrote: post #126
pg wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sort of. More like working very hard till you achieve financial independence, after which you can do whatever you want. You don't have to stop working; you just never have to work on anyone else's terms.

A question, which hopefully doesn't come across as facetious, as it isn't mean to be: Do you do whatever you want? I ask this in the context of having been through the start-up mill in the 90s and watched other people make 10 figures off the technology (WiFi) I worked on. I still work 9-5 for someone else, and need to. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I have to "live for today". If a firm opportunity presents…

No, that's a good question. I can do whatever I want. But doing things one wants at large scale often entails not doing it on a smaller scale.

As for the more general question, overall it was certainly worth it. If I were in the same situation again, I would do the same thing.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#130

Post by martininmelb »

I like the sentiments expressed in the post and hope that on my deathbed I will not regret "not having spent more time with my children".

I think, though, I would regret it more if on my deathbed I thought "My children did not get the opportunity to attend University because we could not afford it", or "If I had the money to send them to a better school, they may have had more opportunities".

I also would not like to be a burden on my children if I became sick because I did not have enough money saved to pay for medical care or whatever other care I need.

In my fifties, when there are redundancies, I don't want to be the one they say "while all the other workers are prepared to put in the hard yards, he's the one that always leaves at 5:00" or miss out on promotions because the others work longer hours than me.

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