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Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

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Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#21

Post by 13rules »

methochris wrote: post #9
dirktheman wrote: post #4

First of all: congrats on your decision! Now I don't want to sound asinine, but have you thought this through well enough? I mean, from what I read you have two weeks to discover how you're going to make money, build something, and actually make money off of it. That might be a bit ambitious... Wouldn't it be better to keep working at a job, and build something awesome in your spare time? Or do you have some cash to…

thanks for the insight. i am not starting entirely from scratch but i have no actual product/users to speak of. just a few ideas, a few months worth of savings, and a good bit of boilerplate code from my training projects.

Why not start a project part-time at night while you still have a job? With out a few months savings you could find yourself without a viable product and with zero money pretty shortly.

Best of luck to you either way!

Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#22

Post by methochris »

13rules wrote: post #21
methochris wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thanks for the insight. i am not starting entirely from scratch but i have no actual product/users to speak of. just a few ideas, a few months worth of savings, and a good bit of boilerplate code from my training projects.

Why not start a project part-time at night while you still have a job? With out a few months savings you could find yourself without a viable product and with zero money pretty shortly. Best of luck to you either way!

ya, this was my plan back in january when i convinced my employer to let me take thursdays & fridays off to work on my own projects.

2 days a week is not much to educate myself, map out a site, design it, and program it. i am 10 months into this task and the site is at maybe 70%.

my wife and son are demanding more of my time and attention and since this job has turned into little more than a means to pay for the car i need to get there, it's making sense to sell the car, finish this project, and see what comes of it.

Thanks for the advice.

Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#23

Post by bbx »

First of all, good luck on your new life. I quit my job last year to do music (sounds crazy, and it actually is a bit) so I know your feeling.

Here's some advice though. Asking to wish you luck sounds like you're not entirely confident about your decision. Furthermore, posting here on HN makes it look you've already achieved something, but it's really just the beginning.

Whenever I intent to do something important, I never tell anyone in advance. It's not about fearing to be looked at as a failure in other's eyes. It's about not considering taking a decision as an achievement. It's like when someone decides to work out to lose some pounds and tell everyone 'Hey, I just bought a new running outfit, check it out!' thinking 'Wow, I've done it!' when they actually haven't done anything yet.

I care about what I've done, not about what I've said I would do. So I keep things to myself until I've got something concrete to show.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, especially when I don't know anything about your situation. I just wanted to say to stay focused, and to find motivation within yourself first and foremost. Your decision is a great one, but it's just the start.

Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#24

Post by 13rules »

methochris wrote: post #22
13rules wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not start a project part-time at night while you still have a job? With out a few months savings you could find yourself without a viable product and with zero money pretty shortly. Best of luck to you either way!

ya, this was my plan back in january when i convinced my employer to let me take thursdays & fridays off to work on my own projects. 2 days a week is not much to educate myself, map out a site, design it, and program it. i am 10 months into this task and the site is at maybe 70%. my wife and son are demanding more of my time and attention and since this job has turned into little more than a means to pay for the car…

Awesome... Go for it! A wife and son are pretty good inspiration to get it in gear! :)

Be sure to post your project here once you launch.

Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#25

Post by bennesvig »

bbx wrote: post #23

First of all, good luck on your new life. I quit my job last year to do music (sounds crazy, and it actually is a bit) so I know your feeling. Here's some advice though. Asking to wish you luck sounds like you're not entirely confident about your decision. Furthermore, posting here on HN makes it look you've already achieved something, but it's really just the beginning. Whenever I intent to do something important, I…

Great advice.

Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#26

Post by elomarns »

First of all, good luck.

I also work on a boring job that drain all my energy, and in some way I envy you. I would like to have your courage. But as my current job is still bearable, I'm working on my own product on the spare time. But I'm working as a software developer only for 3 years, so I don't know if I could do it in your your situation.

Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#28

Post by bennesvig »

malcolmmcc wrote: post #19

I highly recommend Cal Newport's (e)book, So Good They Can't Ignore You, which tackles the issue that passion is not always enough to succeed. I think it would help you make your mark.

Just bought it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Re: Dear hn, today i resign & risk it all to follow my heart. wish me luck.

#30

Post by robertjflong »

joshcrews wrote: post #13

Good luck! I did the same thing in the fall of 2008, except that I taught myself to program _after_ quitting my job. I went into freelance consulting with Ruby on Rails and have been doing that ever since.

Consulting is a path I am interested in. Do you mind describing how you got to where you are? (Email would be fine if you prefer)
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