OP: Hi again all; I obviously can't reply to every single comment, but I just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback (both on technical matters and broader burnout concerns). It's been very helpful as I try to decide what I want to do.
Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
171–180 of 180 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#172One day, you will be dead. Each year that passes after your death, fewer and fewer people will remember who you were, what you did or what your face looked like. Eventually, you'll be completely forgotten. Who cares if that side project you put out sucked or not. Might as well put it out there and see what people think. There's a good chance too that the project won't even be remembered even by the time you die. The…
I found this idea very motivating indeed. It reminds me not to take myself very serious and just start doing things. In fact thanks to your comments I started a new daring project today that is really challenging. Who cares if I fail... Nothing will be remembered if I fail, and there's always a chance to succeed.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
You wrote: "He's just dancing down the street 'cause he feels like it. No one is hurt, yet so many are upset. Why?" Maybe people frown on that or treat the man awkwardly, because they see it as "weird", which subconsciously really means "unfamiliar/uncommon and unexplained, therefore the odds are increased of it being a threat to me or interfering with something that is familiar or desired to me." I think that happen…
Are those "specific, long-considered reasons" revolve around your religious belief? If so, could you share them? I'm an atheist, and I'm looking to understand the mindset of people who are religious. It was never self-evident to me, and I'm curious why it may be to others.
Thanks for asking, I hope I am not too slow to reply.
The perhaps overly short version is: I have read and tested the Book of Mormon (a companion to the Bible) in the way it says to test it (http://www.mormon.org), and a lifetime of experiences when I followed what I felt inside that I knew was right ("knew" as in, I know I love my wife, or what salt tastes like, but can't necessarily prove or explain it to someone who doesn't want anything to do with it), vs. when I did not do what I knew I should, and the results I found from those choices. Those things together have solidly convinced me by now (with some time lost & hard consequences from learning the hard way at times, and real benefits when I learned the easy way). Life is still challenging, but that is part of the educational program I believe we signed up for, which is worthwhile, and the tools are there for dealing with the hard things.
About the Book of Mormon (and Bible): I have given them a lifetime of almost daily reading and contemplation (sometimes intelligently for me, sometimes not), plus have read some books and articles where people have commented in really fascinating ways about it (Daniel Peterson, Hugh Nibley, fairmormon.org which tries to answer critics, & others), as well as some anti-... material, and have thought about things from various angles ("what if it really...?"), and am satisfied that the debate is more for those who really like debate, while asking hard honest questions is a good thing because that is how we learn, and good things are there for those who seek, and I truly wish the best to all concerned, but ultimately, "proof" to satify everyone is always not going to happen in the way that they want it, and we have to seek according to our personal desires. The invitation from God to know for oneself, is there (as demonstrated by the Book of Mormon, its test, and many associated things).
There is much more detail; I'm happy to share more or try to answer specific questions, whether here, or by posting online some notes I already made but should probably reformat & clean up somewhat. One may also email me if desired (EDIT: at luke425 lukecall.net). (From a practical standpoint, I might check this thread or my email somewhere between every few hours and every few days, but am happy to continue the conversation in that way, and after several blank days would assume this thread is complete. Suggestions always welcome. :)
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#174Regarding payments I'd suggest you integrate with something that handles all the tax compliance responsibilities and invoicing for you. You can relatively easily do it yourself with a few weekends work, but it's not really worth it when you are just getting started (especially as you don't know if your business will take off). I went the hard route and integrated Stripe from the get go, but am now planning to move to…
Paddle looks really nice actually; switching providers probably won't help with the motivation factor, and it looks like they don't provide HTTP API SDKs (that's a lot of acronyms, sorry) in any language, so it would be a bit more work to use, not to mention that it's a lot more expensive, but I wonder if it's worth it either way? You've got me curious, I'll have to look into it a bit. Thanks.
eww, that being said, their API appears to use exclusively POST requests for everything (even things where you're getting something) and puts auth in the body. I guess it's no big deal, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's harder with my HTTP library because I can't abstract away the post parameters as easily as I can headers (without doing unnecessary decoding then re-encoding them), but that's arguably a problem with my HTTP library, not Paddle. Still, feels different to everything else, which is odd.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are those "specific, long-considered reasons" revolve around your religious belief? If so, could you share them? I'm an atheist, and I'm looking to understand the mindset of people who are religious. It was never self-evident to me, and I'm curious why it may be to others.
Thanks for asking, I hope I am not too slow to reply. The perhaps overly short version is: I have read and tested the Book of Mormon (a companion to the Bible) in the way it says to test it ( http://www.mormon.org ), and a lifetime of experiences when I followed what I felt inside that I knew was right ("knew" as in, I know I love my wife, or what salt tastes like, but can't necessarily prove or explain it to someone…
Let me see if I understand you correctly...
Your conviction comes from the fact that you've read, almost daily, and contemplated over the Bible and the Book of Mormons, as well as read a good number of comments for and arguments against your position.
You also derive it from your life experiences, particularly those where you have either done or not done what you thought you were supposed to/felt good about doing.
Am I getting this right?
Were there any particular experiences or turning points when you may thought "Hm. Is that what my life is about?" or "Ah-ha! That is what I'm supposed to do!"?
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for asking, I hope I am not too slow to reply. The perhaps overly short version is: I have read and tested the Book of Mormon (a companion to the Bible) in the way it says to test it ( http://www.mormon.org ), and a lifetime of experiences when I followed what I felt inside that I knew was right ("knew" as in, I know I love my wife, or what salt tastes like, but can't necessarily prove or explain it to someone…
Let me see if I understand you correctly... Your conviction comes from the fact that you've read, almost daily, and contemplated over the Bible and the Book of Mormons, as well as read a good number of comments for and arguments against your position. You also derive it from your life experiences, particularly those where you have either done or not done what you thought you were supposed to/felt good about doing. Am…
That is a decent summary of what I wrote, but there is much missing. It deserves, and I want to give you, a better than off-the-cuff answer (mostly posted at my web site) but with my schedule in the next few days it might be Tuesday or Wednesday when I can post again here. (I don't remember how long these discussions allow follow-up posts, but my email noted earlier is a fallback.)
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Paddle looks really nice actually; switching providers probably won't help with the motivation factor, and it looks like they don't provide HTTP API SDKs (that's a lot of acronyms, sorry) in any language, so it would be a bit more work to use, not to mention that it's a lot more expensive, but I wonder if it's worth it either way? You've got me curious, I'll have to look into it a bit. Thanks.
eww, that being said, their API appears to use exclusively POST requests for everything (even things where you're getting something) and puts auth in the body. I guess it's no big deal, but I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's harder with my HTTP library because I can't abstract away the post parameters as easily as I can headers (without doing unnecessary decoding then re-encoding them), but that's arguably a pr…
Upon further investigation, nothing about their API is consistent or well done (and/or the docs are terrible and incomplete). I understand that this is a small company, but this level of inattention to detail is unacceptable. What are they doing with my customers financial data if they can't even get a simple API right? Even if I did decide to use them, the docs are so incomplete I'm not sure that I could actually build an integration without reverse engineering what half these values can be, or guessing at parameters that are used in examples but left out of the actual list (where a list even exists), etc.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#178If it's necessary then motivation is irrelevant. You don't have to be motivated, you have to work. Your problem isn't motivation, it's not understanding that not all work is, or needs to be, pleasant, or intrinsically enjoyable. Look at what your goal is: if the result isn't motivating, then the unpleasant work isn't the issue, rather your goal.
This kind of attitude, diminishing of the person's feelings, isn't helping said person overcome their trouble with keeping working. Not everyone's built with the kind of internal drive that makes you go for it without much hesitation. Some of us need a certain guidance, an understanding of the process. In an ideal world, your message wouldn't even be mentioned. The one we're living in is far from ideal. We live in a…
I disagree. This doesn't "diminish the person's feelings", it's saying that feelings aren't always relevant. Not being motivated is part of life. If something must be done motivation (or its lack) doesn't matter. Sometimes the suck must be embraced, feelings be damned.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Let me see if I understand you correctly... Your conviction comes from the fact that you've read, almost daily, and contemplated over the Bible and the Book of Mormons, as well as read a good number of comments for and arguments against your position. You also derive it from your life experiences, particularly those where you have either done or not done what you thought you were supposed to/felt good about doing. Am…
That is a decent summary of what I wrote, but there is much missing. It deserves, and I want to give you, a better than off-the-cuff answer (mostly posted at my web site) but with my schedule in the next few days it might be Tuesday or Wednesday when I can post again here. (I don't remember how long these discussions allow follow-up posts, but my email noted earlier is a fallback.)
Made good progress. Looking like 1, maybe 2 more days.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for asking, I hope I am not too slow to reply. The perhaps overly short version is: I have read and tested the Book of Mormon (a companion to the Bible) in the way it says to test it ( http://www.mormon.org ), and a lifetime of experiences when I followed what I felt inside that I knew was right ("knew" as in, I know I love my wife, or what salt tastes like, but can't necessarily prove or explain it to someone…
Let me see if I understand you correctly... Your conviction comes from the fact that you've read, almost daily, and contemplated over the Bible and the Book of Mormons, as well as read a good number of comments for and arguments against your position. You also derive it from your life experiences, particularly those where you have either done or not done what you thought you were supposed to/felt good about doing. Am…
Yes. One quick note: "Book of Mormon" (aka BoM or BofM) is singular: Mormon is the name of an ancient prophet/writer, not the name of our Church.
I posted material at http://lukecall.net (under "why I believe"), but the most direct answer to your questions might be at http://lukecall.net/e-9223372036854605861.html and pages to which it links. Honest questions & feedback are always welcome.
(The web site is generated from my note-taking program. It is intended to be very skimmable, where one can click on links if they are interesting, otherwise one doesn't see the details. There can always be more editing, but hopefully it is useful. Maybe in the future some levels should have a summary document of the contents, so you don't have to click around as much to read it in big chunks. Only part of the code to do that is written--to generate single-document outlines from my note-taking program, but not yet to include them in the web site.)