How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
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How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
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Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#2"Shooting for the moon" and "jumping the shark" involves working without a safety net. Phrased differently:
Making a backup plan takes away effort from your goals and makes you more likely to fail and need your backup plan.
I don't remember if this is from a famous quote, a blog post, HN discussion, or a video. I've found it to be true in some situations.
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#3"Shooting for the moon" and "jumping the shark" involves working without a safety net. Phrased differently: Making a backup plan takes away effort from your goals and makes you more likely to fail and need your backup plan. I don't remember if this is from a famous quote, a blog post, HN discussion, or a video. I've found it to be true in some situations.
I've found it to be true in some situations.
Yes, and false in others. We don't hear as much from the people that shoot for the moon and fail because they tend to keep quiet about it and slink back to their boring jobs and lives, if they still can.
Personally I'd like to hear more about the failures around here because the relentless cheerleading sounds phony and you can learn at least as much from the failures as the successes.
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#4"Shooting for the moon" and "jumping the shark" involves working without a safety net. Phrased differently: Making a backup plan takes away effort from your goals and makes you more likely to fail and need your backup plan. I don't remember if this is from a famous quote, a blog post, HN discussion, or a video. I've found it to be true in some situations.
I've found it to be true in some situations. Yes, and false in others. We don't hear as much from the people that shoot for the moon and fail because they tend to keep quiet about it and slink back to their boring jobs and lives, if they still can. Personally I'd like to hear more about the failures around here because the relentless cheerleading sounds phony and you can learn at least as much from the failures as th…
I bet that people who fail, while shooting for the moon, still learn a whole lot. The experience and knowledge should pay off and count for something, even when slinking back to a boring job.
But I agree that it'd be nice to hear of lessons learned from more of the failures. Something is wrong when the majority of startups fail, but the majority of the popular blog posts are about success, or are from those who have succeeded.
And now time for a shameless plug. To avoid the survivor bias, I started my blog when I quit my job: http://alexshye.wordpress.com/. If I flame out, it will be documented on the inter webs :)
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#5Zeitgeisty at the moment: "being awesome"
See also: This blog post by Julien Smith "The Short and Sweet Guide to Being Fucking Awesome" (2011) http://inoveryourhead.net/the-short-and-sweet-guide-to-being... and also the free kindle book "The Flinch" (late 2011) http://www.amazon.com/The-Flinch-ebook/dp/B0062Q7S3S/ref=sr_...
I do think its good to overcome the shortcomings hamstringing your happiness.
Still; There is a striking similarity between Atwood's and Smith's blog-post, besides the central message. Both refer to a big success in their own field (Stackoverflow / Best selling book). I'm wondering if they would've reached their "serenity of awesomeness", if it wasn't for this ...
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#6"Shooting for the moon" and "jumping the shark" involves working without a safety net. Phrased differently: Making a backup plan takes away effort from your goals and makes you more likely to fail and need your backup plan. I don't remember if this is from a famous quote, a blog post, HN discussion, or a video. I've found it to be true in some situations.
I've found it to be true in some situations. Yes, and false in others. We don't hear as much from the people that shoot for the moon and fail because they tend to keep quiet about it and slink back to their boring jobs and lives, if they still can. Personally I'd like to hear more about the failures around here because the relentless cheerleading sounds phony and you can learn at least as much from the failures as th…
HN is every bit as "cliquey" as high school.
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've found it to be true in some situations. Yes, and false in others. We don't hear as much from the people that shoot for the moon and fail because they tend to keep quiet about it and slink back to their boring jobs and lives, if they still can. Personally I'd like to hear more about the failures around here because the relentless cheerleading sounds phony and you can learn at least as much from the failures as th…
I bet that people who fail, while shooting for the moon, still learn a whole lot. The experience and knowledge should pay off and count for something, even when slinking back to a boring job. But I agree that it'd be nice to hear of lessons learned from more of the failures. Something is wrong when the majority of startups fail, but the majority of the popular blog posts are about success, or are from those who have…
Good luck!
I did the same thing myself a year ago. I've already got a long list of things I'd do differently if I started again today.
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#8I never get much out of these slide shares. Obviously nothing beats being there in person, but am I missing some obvious 'presenter notes' section or something that provides more details?
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#9I never get much out of these slide shares. Obviously nothing beats being there in person, but am I missing some obvious 'presenter notes' section or something that provides more details?
Yes, there are additional notes. Look for the "download the full presentation" link (requires slideshare login) right after the "It's better to be safe than sorry..." quote.
Re: How to Stop Sucking and Be Awesome Instead
#10When being awesome means being at the top of one's game and being best in one's field, it's a positional good, a zero-sum game. We can't all be number one.
While we might find personal fulfillment, we are still just a bunch of animals around the watering hole, suspiciously eyeing the beast next to us while we take a sip.