91–100 of 272 posts
Eventually You will feel that You are among friends, that they glad to see You each time they meet You, and finally You will feel that money is not everything.
This is a difficult decision, but You can always come back after year or two.
Sounds like you're more experienced than me, but FWIW, in your place, I would start by looking for another job, closer to home.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Poverty is uncomfortable, but regret is excruciating". I cannot upmod you enough for writing that. It's exactly the kind of feeling I've been having for the past few years but haven't been able to put it into words. Sometimes being poor can be one of your largest assets because it makes you more nimble and forces you to make better decisions--both in startup world and life outside. But you're right, regret is excruc…
His family might disagree.
Having a family changes all the goalposts.
I don't post much on Hacker News but on this one I must. Happiness is not found in money, job, or having a successful startup. Men, on their deathbeds never wish they had worked more or made more money, but they do wish they had spent more time on what is really important: family and their children. You say you barely see your children. I suggest choosing a job or position that allows you to see your wife and childre…
"You ask "Where should I turn?". My answer: if what I have said rings true at all in your heart, turn to Jesus" May I suggest the Flying Sphagetti Monster instead? Just as valid as some "man in the sky" mythology, from a "turn to X" point of view. Please, take your religious preaching elsewhere and don't prey on someone's confusion/depression, at least on this forum. Thanks in advance.
As of this writing the grandparent is voted down, so maybe the change is already happening. But I felt the grandparent was at least a good faith attempt toward something readable and interesting, whereas the parent is the sort of post that made me stop reading Slashdot threads about religion: insulting and meaningless.
I'm 32 and work from home. 2 daughters. A wife who works with me. We both have a background in journalism, and she was making some good money when working for big TV. We decided to marry and try to create a site by ourselves. We believe in simple life and try to be frugal. Downshifting. No more commutes and stupid meetings; no more work on something we don't believe in. We have spent more money than we got in return.…
Hey sleepingbot, mail me your URL, I'll see if I can get you some more traffic if you want.
However you mention you don't have lots of savings but you want to stop working and work on something for yourself. You might want to research moving out of the country for a year or two with your family. I've lived in a few countries where $500 a month goes a long way for one person. You might be able to rent out your home as well to get income.
Moving to a place with a low cost of living would give you time to build a business or work on an idea that interests you. When I was living in China, I started doing freelance work through oDesk. I only needed to work 30 hours per MONTH to cover my expenses because I was earning US dollars.
On the other hand, if you are 40 and haven't saved much, you might want to look into budgetting and personal finance first to control your expenses. While the cost of living is cheaper, if you want to live the American lifestyle overseas abroad you will definitely pay for it.
Your life is like a house - you can't just pick up the whole thing and move it without destroying it. You have to tear it down and rebuild it carefully, piece by piece. So my vague, generic advice is as follows: figure out what you're passionate about. If you had 10 million dollars and didn't have to work, what would you spend your time on? If you could choose a life out of all possible lives, what would it look like? Once you've figured that out, take small steps everyday to move yourself there.
Figure out what new responsibilities you can take on, and which ones you have that you can drop. Look for a new job. Go back to school. Start a side-business. Write a novel. It sounds like you have all the tools available to do whatever you want with your life, provided you're willing to put in the nights and weekends to make it happen while still taking care of the responsibilities you already have.
We only get one life - there's no excuse for not making it as fantastic as possible. Good luck.
I'm posting this as a separate comment, not because I think that it particularly applies to your situation, but because it is good advice in the general case. If you should happen to feel, "I am utterly unhappy with my life" at any time, it might not hurt to at least darken the door of a trusted mental health professional just to be sure that there is not a clinical element to your feelings of malaise as well as circ…
There's also potentially some pride to swallow, but it's badly placed pride in the first place. The life-prevalence of perfect mental health is near zero. Gender and race discrimination have mostly been tackled, sexual orientation is on it's way. Mental disorders will be the next milestone IMO. All the best to the lost sheep :-)
But before I darken the mood too much - I can only second the advice of seeing a therapist. And if you don't feel you can connect with the one you see, switch. No point in toughing it out.
I've done it, and let me just say that both the opportunity to speak openly about issues and the proper treatment have improved my life tremendously.
It makes you look brave, and perhaps counterintuitively, it makes people admire you more. And it gives you so many more options to seek assistance and advice.
By treating it as something shameful that you have to hide, you are only reinforcing it for yourself that it is something shameful that you have to hide.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Poverty is uncomfortable, but regret is excruciating". I cannot upmod you enough for writing that. It's exactly the kind of feeling I've been having for the past few years but haven't been able to put it into words. Sometimes being poor can be one of your largest assets because it makes you more nimble and forces you to make better decisions--both in startup world and life outside. But you're right, regret is excruc…
His family might disagree.
If you can't buy your kids lots of fancy things, maybe you can teach them to be entrepreneurial early on.
If you can't buy them expensive education, maybe they can try to win grants. Besides, if you are struggling now, you probably can not buy them good education anyway.