Startup - Bill Watterson, a cartoonist's advice • Hacker News Board

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

#41

Post by kamaal » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 1:55 PM UTC

irahul wrote: post #28

kamaal wrote: post #20

Amazing advice. But just that these kind of things don't workout for majority of the people. Most people have to get married, have kids, prepare and pay for medical bills, pay rents or loan installments, send their kids to school and live life like other humans around. So you can't really sit the whole day under a tree play lego with your kid. Sooner of later you will run out of money and then the kid will itself wan…

> So you can't really sit the whole day under a tree play lego with your kid. I don't know where you are getting the idea that the cartoonist(the artist) or Bill Watterson(the cartoonist has used a quote from Bill Watterson's speech) advocates doing nothing. If you go by just the cartoon, the first panel shows him working. He doesn't find drawing the jeep for the advertisement fulfilling, and he isn't interested in h…

Bill Watterson got successful by doing X != If I do X I will be successful.

Even if you follow the advice in the same letter and spirit as he did.

Though I agree you increase your chances of being successful that way.

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

#42

Post by dasil003 » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 2:04 PM UTC

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…

I don't think leaving a large inheritance for your kids does them any favors. The issue is that providing for oneself and one's family is a legitimate goal, but at some point your kids grow up and they need to make it for themselves. If they are always punching your meal ticket they will have a hard time developing their own sense of self-worth. Certainly there are some individuals who will use your gift as a springboard to their own successes, and some who will realize all this and jump out of the nest on their own, but I believe those are the exception.

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

#43

Post by mgbmtl » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 2:12 PM UTC

graeme wrote: post #38

stevoski wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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/...

Very cool. This is exactly the type of book I was looking for ideas on how to better describe my current situation and for ideas on where to go next.

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

#44

Post by jamesbritt » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 2:33 PM UTC

pmelendez wrote: post #40

Is this the third time this showed up in a week or Am I having trouble with cache?

No, this was submitted twice before in the last few days.

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

#45

Post by jasonlotito » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 2:42 PM UTC

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."

If that thought sounds awful, don't have kids. Seriously. And not because you'd find it awful to pay for their college fees or help take care of them while they are settling down.

But because that's the easy part.

The hard part is realizing that you're in it for life. It's not a 20-and-done commitment. It can be a life-long commitment, and beyond.

But if that's your answers, you mentally aren't prepared for parenthood. Not that everyone who has children are ready.

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

#46

Post by irahul » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 2:46 PM UTC

kamaal wrote: post #41

irahul wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So you can't really sit the whole day under a tree play lego with your kid. I don't know where you are getting the idea that the cartoonist(the artist) or Bill Watterson(the cartoonist has used a quote from Bill Watterson's speech) advocates doing nothing. If you go by just the cartoon, the first panel shows him working. He doesn't find drawing the jeep for the advertisement fulfilling, and he isn't interested in h…

Bill Watterson got successful by doing X != If I do X I will be successful. Even if you follow the advice in the same letter and spirit as he did. Though I agree you increase your chances of being successful that way.

> Bill Watterson got successful by doing X != If I do X I will be successful. > Even if you follow the advice in the same letter and spirit as he did.

You will notice that I didn't mention success once, nor did I talk about if I do what Bill Watterson did, I will be good. You are intentionally or unintentionally misreading the article and my comment.

The article or my comment isn't about "follow your dreams and you will be successful"(that will be incredibly stupid advice). The point is I don't have to care what you or anyone else thinks of what constitutes success. My monthly income is above average for an engineer in Bangalore. That is partly due to my hourly rates and partly because I put in long hours. If I had a kid, I won't put in long hours. Period. Will it affect the amount of money I make? Of course. Am I under the illusion that doing that will somehow make me more successful? Fuck no.

> Though I agree you increase your chances of being successful that way.

If only...

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

#47

Post by mercer » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 2:49 PM UTC

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'd say of all those three number 2 is the most common reason why people don't 'follow their dream', but I don't think it's the main reason.

The main reason, I think, is that it's just real hard to wander off the beaten path. I suspect the primary problem is those first steps and then keeping at it for a while. We are taught from very early on, especially if our parents were 'normal' middle-class people, to do the 'normal' thing.

But based on my interactions with people who 'do their own thing', it seems quite feasible, and often a good recipe for happiness, and not so hard to keep up once you've done it for a while.

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

#48

Post by Tyrannosaurs » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 3:10 PM UTC

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."

I'm not sure it's entirely true.

I think with increasing life expectancy most people are settled into their lives long before their parents die.

Speaking as a parent I can see that I'll never stop wanting to be a father to my children and making their lives better in whatever way I can, but speaking as a child my only wish for my father is that he enjoys the rest of his life and if that involves him spending his money (that he earned and that, not to put too fine a point on it, I have no right at all to) then so be it.

Essentially as a parent, it's something you'll want to do, but I'm not convinced that it's something your children will expect of you.

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

#49

Post by TausAmmer » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 3:33 PM UTC

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…

Some hard questions.

Why being with children is more important than drinking beer and playing hockey(In this case why having children is important?)?

What is wrong with world?

And how you would change it?

Everyone goes on week long holiday every month(everyone in same time), what happens? How we can everyone go on week long holiday every month? Can this be solved? I mean, everyone. You run into nightmare solving this.

It would be amazing if everyone, yes, everyone would go trough some hard questions about values and what they want, then put solutions in pool, partially solving many things. Professional consultant in the field with 20 year experience can only do so much.

What is to enjoy life without experiencing hardships of life?

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

#50

Post by thirdtruck » Mon, Sep 02, 2013, 3:34 PM UTC

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…

How many of the world's problems, the kinds that make so many safety concerns necessary, come out of others' insecurities, bred in turn by the lack of an emotionally fulfilling upbringing?

I would posit that being available to raise one's children in a loving environment, one where children find themselves valued outside of extrinsic factors, could do even more to facilitate their material well-being.

I bet it's possible to reap all the security and benefits of expensive education, insurance, etc. through the kind of healthy social network which comes with internalized self-worth and good socialization.