Ask HN: I can't do this anymore, I need help

What do you do to make sure you're happy? No one wants to hang around with, invest in or buy something from someone who isn't happy.

Find yourself first. Everything else will fall into place. I'm not saying you need to break it off, but put yourself on equal ground and see what happens. You'll learn a lot about yourself and her.

Personal stuff aside, heed the advice of so many others: Get a job, be great at it. Take every opportunity to learn and think of new ideas, new ways to create value and grow.

Bullshit.

It may be harder, but it's certainly not about luck. I went to a shitty state school (not even the flagship) in Arkansas. While I was a "frat boy" unless I'm interested in managing a cracker barrel they are of little help.

Instead I worked my ass off to develop meaningful skills. Then I intentionally found work with incredibly smart people who could help me. It may have taken me longer to reach my goals than someone with a Ivy League pedigree I was absolutely able to do it. No luck involved.

I absolutely believe that anyone else can do the same. I see it every single day.

Burnout is a good thing. Your body is basically telling you that you are working too hard at something that is not achieving results, and it's time for a change.

kriptonic: I would recommend leaving your side projects on the back-burner for a while. Just work on your day-job, and catch up on your sleep and maybe take a vacation. Once you've taken a break, start thinking about your projects and you might come up with a new direction.

Just because you think your idea is good doesn't mean it will be successful. It also doesn't necessarily have much to do with being good at business. You just need to come up with something that other people want to use.

First of all, DO NOT quit your job unless your new business is making money. You know what's worse than working a job you hate? Not having any money at all.

Secondly, stop trying to start the process with an idea. The best way to come up with a solid business idea is to pick a market (preferably one you know something about) and learn as much as you can about it. Observe what people are saying. Write down what people are complaining about. Get to know them inside and out. Once you've done the market research, THEN brainstorm ideas based on that research. Start small. Build a landing page with an email submit and shop the link around to your market. If they bite (which they should if you did your research properly), then work on building out the product.

All that work should cost you nothing more than time and hosting/design. Save that $5000 for when you'll really need it—after your product has been validated and you have interest/pre-orders.

Good luck!!