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Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

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Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#61
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I consider myself to have a good life. I'm not always in the office working, and I actually spend a lot of time working out and taking care of my best friends and meeting new people. I only try to minimize doing what in nothing contributes to my life or the others around me. That's why, for example, I like to read books that in someway intersect what I do in my job. But that doesn't mean that I never try new stuff an…

Daniel, you seem as though you have good intentions, but allow me to give a word of advice - feel free to take it or leave it. You say you just got in a relationship. If you want it to work - choose the relationship more than you choose work. I know from experience, because I used to have a similar mentality. It goes something like this: If I want to have the most fulfilling life possible, I should make "progress" ev…

With my blogpost, I didn't mean that you should put work before your family and friends (or at least didn't want to mean that). I didn't mean that playing a good videogame is a waste of time if that makes you feel better.

I try to always be aware when I'm not giving enough time to my family and friends (building relationships). Some times I do stuff like, taking a random trip to somewhere in the woods just to see what happens or what nature has to show me, without any goal in mind.

BUT, I do understand that you think that I don't do this. I understand why with this post I seem such a workaholic. (Maybe I am, but not as much I seem to look in this post.)

AND, even though I spend a good time with my family and friends, I'm not saying that I shouldn't spend more. Maybe I should. (I'm just thinking out loud.)

My point here is that we should strive to try to work on something that's aligned with our life goals - and those may include spending time with your family, traveling or building a charity institution. This way, work would have other meaning to us.

Thank you very much for the article and your thoughtful response.

Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#62

Let me paraphrase you, or meta-phrase, if you will: "What you are doing now, what you are passionate about now, is the be-all and end-all of your life! You need nothing else! Do it 24/7! If you choose to do something other than this, then choose something uplifting, something that supports and reinforces your view of the world! Because it is right! And the only one!" Dude. Chill. Where is your time for discovery? You…

Please see my response to jwcrux ;)

Link: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7007119

Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#63
post #7

You seem to be promoting a recipe for burnout, and that's not a popular viewpoint on HN. Of course you need to work hard at anything to be successful, whether it's sports, art, or a startup, but you need to have balance. For example, after dinner I like to read Dr. Seuss to my 14 month old daughter rather than books about programming or startups. When she's asleep, my wife and I like to watch crime dramas on TV. I li…

True, my post's recipe, taken to the fullest, probably will lead to burnout. I should have clarified that.

Thanks for your examples.

Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#64
post #34

Warning: harsh. I had to google it seems you didn't deem us worthy of reading the piece in its entirety. So here it is http://danielflopes.com/choosework/ The title is the least issues with the post. The post is content free, pushing anecdotal evidence (the Sam Walton thing) as data, and stating some pretty important things like "Humans are wired to growth. Long lasting happiness comes from setting big goals and meet…

Yes, a bit harsh. But helpful. Thank you

Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#65

I wasn't a reader of your blog previously, but from the sidebar I take it to be about optimising your activities and effort - work smarter, not harder, that kind of thing. So really I'm guessing that an audience seeking those kind of tips is going to be mildly surprised or discouraged by an article which, in the first few sentences, basically seems to say "work all the time, every chance you get." - Chances are that…

That's an insightful point! TY

Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#66

@OP, Read this- Top 5 regrets of the dying: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/top-5-regrets-of-th... :)

Not new, but it's never bad to re-read that article. ;)

Please see my response to jwcrux: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7007119

Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#67
post #36

The article is very opinionated, with bolded sentences, repeated phrasing, and is mainly imperatives. The immediate response for me is 'some other fucker is telling me I have to work now?' Work means different things for different people. Also, I guess your opinion is actually more nuanced than the article implies, and though I still might not appreciate it, I wouldn't be as annoyed if the article was an honest explo…

Thank you. That helps. Maybe I will re-write the post one day to give it a more natural and humble tone.

Re: Ask HN: Why did this post cost me 10% of subscribers?

#68

It's entirely possible that your post just tripped a lot of people's "Oh, it's the end of the year, I should clean out my subscriptions". That said... A quick reading suggests that your message is "choose work, because that means you are doing what you care about (work)". Even if that isn't capturing the subtlety of your message, that's probably what most took away from it. The "work work work" message doesn't go dow…

Thank you very very much. I will take that into account to improve my blog and next blog posts.
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