Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Most people won't

bryce.vc

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 83 posts

Re: Most people won't

#21

Post by altr3g0 »

Thatguise wrote: post #9
md224 wrote: post #3

I've been kind of struggling lately with this sort of inspirational attitude. It seems like a good attitude, but it also comes with this hidden assumption: if you try hard and keep at it, there's a good chance you'll succeed. Is this actually true? I mean I want it to be true. I'd like to live in a world where it's true. But I don't actually have any hard evidence besides the testimonials of people who have found suc…

It is, it has been done, statistically when it comes to financial success America is fast becoming one of the countries where its most unlikely to go from rags to riches. Its not a lie, its big data crunching the numbers that are out there, and those numbers say if you are poor you are most likely going to end poor, or perhaps dirt poor.

Nothing against you or the person who did that research, but: fuck statistics. Eventually one gets to defy them!

Re: Most people won't

#22

Post by Thatguise »

XEKEP wrote: post #18
Thatguise wrote: post #4

These stories are everywhere, is like the one about the guy who bought a porsche for spare change because the seller was the owner's ex-wife and wanted to piss her ex off. You do know that was a coincidence right? or even a miracle given how well things ended up. Has the uber guy been a little pissed or in a bad mood the results could have been drastically different, and yet your blog-worthy suggestion is to take a l…

It is not important how unlikely are the odds. What's important is to be prepared when the chance does present itself and that requires talent and years of training. So I think you misread the narrative, it's not about striking gold.

The narrative didn't even once elaborate on the qualifications of the designer, her story or the long path that brought her the experience to improve the app.

Re: Most people won't

#23

Post by sodafountan »

md224 wrote: post #3

I've been kind of struggling lately with this sort of inspirational attitude. It seems like a good attitude, but it also comes with this hidden assumption: if you try hard and keep at it, there's a good chance you'll succeed. Is this actually true? I mean I want it to be true. I'd like to live in a world where it's true. But I don't actually have any hard evidence besides the testimonials of people who have found suc…

Of course it's true. I'm a terrible bowler, I could roll the ball in the gutter a million fucking times but if I keep TRYING to get a strike, EVENTUALLY i'll get one.

That's different from just rolling the ball down the lane. If I don't change something up and learn from my mistakes and learn how to angle the ball and learn how much force to give it then i'll keep rolling the ball in the gutter, sure i can shrug to my friends and tell them I "tried" but i'd know deep down that I didn't... Don't fall into the fallacy of staying in your comfort zone and trying just for the sake of trying.. You'll never grow. You have to be willing to challenge yourself and do things just a little different next time to really become better and finally get that strike.

And when all is said and done you'll probably be a pretty good bowler..

then you can blog about it.

Re: Most people won't

#24

Post by hawkharris »

To me the most interesting aspect of this story isn't the inspirational "don't be afraid to try" message. That's a sentiment most people have heard, and I don't think this story puts a particularly new spin on it.

The interesting bit, I think, is how the protagonist challenged the traditional relationship between employer and job seeker. Instead of pandering by praising Uber's design, she had the guts - possibly because of whiskey :) - to offer thoughtful criticism of the product.

As someone who recently finished a tough job search, I found this concept very liberating. Following the traditional process - researching a company's best features, trying to say the right things in interviews, waiting for callbacks - can feel discouraging. It can be like a bad round of speed dating.

Finding a creative, respectful way to point out a company's flaws is an innovative approach that, when done appropriately, can shift the ball back into the candidate's court.

Re: Most people won't

#25

Post by WalterBright »

md224 wrote: post #15
WalterBright wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The failure rate for those who don't try is 100%.

But what if the failure rate for those who do try is 99%? Trying isn't always zero-risk... I wonder if ambition could be subject to a cost/benefit analysis, haha. At some point I suppose you just have to let go of the numbers.

If you are looking for reasons to not try, you're going to find an endless supply of them.

I've done a lot of things that people relentlessly told me I had no chance of accomplishing.

Re: Most people won't

#28

Post by neovi »

md224 wrote: post #3

I've been kind of struggling lately with this sort of inspirational attitude. It seems like a good attitude, but it also comes with this hidden assumption: if you try hard and keep at it, there's a good chance you'll succeed. Is this actually true? I mean I want it to be true. I'd like to live in a world where it's true. But I don't actually have any hard evidence besides the testimonials of people who have found suc…

I've been thinking about this lately, too.

What I find weird is all that inspiration/motivation about hard work and going after your dreams is very big in MLM businesses yet ~16million people account for ~$32billion in annual sales (divided equally: $2,000/person) [1]. I don't have any specific source on startups, but the thought that working as hard as you can will make your dreams come through seems prevalent, too.

My thinking (and I'm really wanting a conversation over this because it's an interesting topic) is that not only should one work hard, but make smart moves. Using startups as an example, a person could hack away 100hrs/week on a social network for pets while another person could be putting in 20hrs/week on a monetization tool for Instagram. The former is putting in more hours, but the latter has a higher chance (if by only a tiny percent) simply because it's in a position to 1. be acquired and 2. solve the problem of Instagram not having a model. So they're both putting in work, assuming good attitude, and taking the chance as OP's point was. Yet it seems the defining factor is where all that energy is directed to.

[1] http://www.dsa.org/research/industry-statistics/

Re: Most people won't

#29

Post by ritchiea »

Great story. That's really the right way to get a new job, tell the CEO of a company exactly how you can help her/his company. And smart of the Uber CEO to listen to her.

That said it really helps if you're already hanging around at a party with a CEO of a big, in the news, growing startup and thus have insider access to tell him exactly what you think after a few drinks.

Re: Most people won't

#30

Post by larrys »

md224 wrote: post #15
WalterBright wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The failure rate for those who don't try is 100%.

But what if the failure rate for those who do try is 99%? Trying isn't always zero-risk... I wonder if ambition could be subject to a cost/benefit analysis, haha. At some point I suppose you just have to let go of the numbers.

Well first you are correct in that there is a psychological cost of failure for sure. Which is why it's harder for some people to cold call than others.

I've found that since the advent of email (and before that postal mail) it's much easier though. You fire off an email and you forget it. If something happens it happens. So you don't really feel the rejection.

By the way separately some of the best cold calling salesman are people who can't register or feel the annoyance or discomfort of those they are pitching. People who are able to feel this (either visually or by vocal tone) have a much much harder time overcoming the negative feedback. (Source: This is based on anecdote and observation over many years in business.)

Post reply on HN