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Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

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Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#31

Post by spin »

If you're living alone on a desert island, there's one job available: scavenging for food. It doesn't matter if you're a genius mathematician or something, your job is to search for food.

If you're in a town full of dotcom businesses, you can probably find a job building web-apps in JavaScript. (Hey, it's a million times better than scavenging for food...)

I really like this cartoon. It's exactly how I feel about "having a day job" vs "doing something cool".

I've been reading PG's essays for a long time. Since back around the time that he created Y Combinator in the first place. I think his essays are brilliant and honest and inspiring.

But at the end of the day... I just don't care about starting a company. If I can live a normal, middle-class life and have a normal, middle-class retirement.... then, man, I really don't give a shit about getting rich. I have an endless supply of awesome things to work on and think about.

Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#32

Post by cko »

kamaal wrote: post #18
Afforess wrote: post #4

I wish more people in software followed this kind of advice. I see posts about air hockey or ping-pong tables and fully stocked mini-fridges as if that is an acceptable replacement for ones free time and best creative years. Are we children, so easily fooled by the shiny, bright candy in the checkout aisle? Worse yet those who take the corporate-ladder type jobs at a big corp like MS, and sacrifice their friends, fam…

>>Your kids won't thank you if they don't even know who you are and have never spent time with you. Most kids, the moment they grow up will rather like you pay for their college fees, take care of them while they are settling down and you leave them a good inheritance. May be small kids would like you spend time with them, but even teenagers are smart enough to understand the importance of financial priorities in lif…

>> Most kids, the moment they grow up will rather like you pay for their college fees, take care of them while they are settling down and you leave them a good inheritance.

I'm still young with no kids, but that sounds awful. Especially "leave them a good inheritance."

Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#33

Post by graeme »

unimpressive wrote: post #16

At this point "follow your dreams", "live a satisfying life" and other variations thereof are cached wisdom. When you go to a high school class and hear people who admit they didn't go where they wanted in college telling you the same thing, you'll notice something like an epistemic code smell. Unless the proportion of people working for "the man" has changed significantly in the last...whenever this meme became popu…

I think what you're referring to are platitudes. People say "follow your dreams", but most of the people saying that in schools didn't follow their own advice.

Watterson actually lived by his own standards. This included forgoing millions in licensing deals, and retiring to pursue personal art, when the strip was at its peak.

He achieved great success, but to the conventionally minded he seemed positively insane for a long time. He spent four years living at home, working a day job and submitting cartoons, without success.

When most people say "follow your dreams" it's implied that they think you should do so within existing structures.

Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#34

Post by graeme »

dylandrop wrote: post #22

Why is this prefixed with "Startup"? Unless I'm missing something... while working at a startup might be more inspiring than a large corporate job, it doesn't seem to be AT ALL what the author is talking about. Leaving your job to become a cartoonist is a LOT riskier than working at a startup.

I have no idea. This title ought to be changed. It's not the original, and is not really the context of the original either.

Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#35

Post by unimpressive »

graeme wrote: post #33
unimpressive wrote: post #16

At this point "follow your dreams", "live a satisfying life" and other variations thereof are cached wisdom. When you go to a high school class and hear people who admit they didn't go where they wanted in college telling you the same thing, you'll notice something like an epistemic code smell. Unless the proportion of people working for "the man" has changed significantly in the last...whenever this meme became popu…

I think what you're referring to are platitudes. People say "follow your dreams", but most of the people saying that in schools didn't follow their own advice. Watterson actually lived by his own standards. This included forgoing millions in licensing deals, and retiring to pursue personal art, when the strip was at its peak. He achieved great success, but to the conventionally minded he seemed positively insane for…

>I think what you're referring to are platitudes.

They are, and I guess my point of contention with Watterson is that I'm having trouble distinguishing between his advice and the platitudes, even though he actually lived it.

Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#37

Post by graeme »

unimpressive wrote: post #35
graeme wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what you're referring to are platitudes. People say "follow your dreams", but most of the people saying that in schools didn't follow their own advice. Watterson actually lived by his own standards. This included forgoing millions in licensing deals, and retiring to pursue personal art, when the strip was at its peak. He achieved great success, but to the conventionally minded he seemed positively insane for…

>I think what you're referring to are platitudes. They are, and I guess my point of contention with Watterson is that I'm having trouble distinguishing between his advice and the platitudes, even though he actually lived it.

I think the difference is having your own standard and actually following it, even if others think its crazy.

Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#38

Post by graeme »

stevoski wrote: post #29
personlurking wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does your one-person operation let you pay the bills or do you do it on the side? I sometimes see small shops here on the streets of Lisbon and they seem like specialty shops where (I imagine) old men who have perfected their craft sell their wares and services. When I pass them I think to myself that the world would be way better if everyone sought to be a master of their craft, if they just focused on one thing and…

It is my sole income and sole work. Definitely lets me pay the bills

Are you a fan of rob Walling? If not, you should look him up:

http://www.amazon.com/Start-Small-Stay-Developers-Launching/...

Re: Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice

#39

Post by [deleted] »

cko wrote: post #32
kamaal wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Your kids won't thank you if they don't even know who you are and have never spent time with you. Most kids, the moment they grow up will rather like you pay for their college fees, take care of them while they are settling down and you leave them a good inheritance. May be small kids would like you spend time with them, but even teenagers are smart enough to understand the importance of financial priorities in lif…

>> Most kids, the moment they grow up will rather like you pay for their college fees, take care of them while they are settling down and you leave them a good inheritance. I'm still young with no kids, but that sounds awful. Especially "leave them a good inheritance."

[deleted]
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