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Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

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31–40 of 79 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

#31

A quite simple one: Build up enough of a nest egg so I can work solely on what I want to, when I want to. How? Build my company's revenues to a point where the industry multiple means I can sell and have the right amount, or.. just keep taking profit out until I have the right amount saved. It is as boring as that really.

You're missing the second question :)

Thanks. I have now edited this in.

Re: Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

#32

I have a few: 1. Grow my company to 20 or so employees. 2. Use $$$ from company to fund a large portion of other investments, interests. (my company isn't VC funded. Goal is for it to be a cash cow) 3. Level up personal brand enough to speak/travel a few times a quarter and see some cool places. Use that $$$ to pay for kids college.

Aren’t you worried that the extra revenue will fund so many distractions that your focus on your business will falter thus driving it to fail?

Re: Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

#34
Develop a framework for teaching people (and children) critical thinking, mental discipline and emotional control. The first part is relatively easy, the second, harder and the third, the hardest. How am I going to do that? First, I suppose I need to get to a point in my career and personal life where my finances are good enough that I don't have to decide where I spend my effort based on the income it'll bring me.

Re: Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

#35
post #32

I have a few: 1. Grow my company to 20 or so employees. 2. Use $$$ from company to fund a large portion of other investments, interests. (my company isn't VC funded. Goal is for it to be a cash cow) 3. Level up personal brand enough to speak/travel a few times a quarter and see some cool places. Use that $$$ to pay for kids college.

Aren’t you worried that the extra revenue will fund so many distractions that your focus on your business will falter thus driving it to fail?

Learning to say no and focus on the task at hand is the best thing I ever learnt to do.

Re: Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

#37
post #33

By the illustrious Prof. Jordan Peterson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vAat1HQU0M Some brilliant advice there on breaking down long-term, often vague plans ("save the planet") to practical, actionable steps and expectations ("clean up your room").

I see your Mr Peterson (whom I love), and I raise you with the inimitable and sporadically brilliant Slavoj Zizek - whom I fucking hate so much that I love too.

Happiness is an unethical "cut-ay-gory":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U88jj6PSD7w

(For those you aren't aware of his tick, don't watch, just listen)

Re: Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

#38
I have two goals that I'm working on in parallel: advance on the technical or management track at the company I work for and build two side-businesses to the point where my after-tax income from them exceed my day job. For me "long-term" is 5 years (or less): I want to be quit of the software industry as soon as I can be.

For the first goal I split time at the company I work for between engineering work (design, implementation, mentoring junior engineers, etc.) and building relationships with product, marketing, and engineering leadership.

The two side-businesses are boring and use technology, but unlike my day job where I work in machine learning (up and down that "stack", from data engineering through research and model development) technology isn't the focus. I spend time in the evening after my kids have gone to bed developing or sourcing the supporting technology and working on product ideas and marketing and sales efforts.

Re: Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?

#40
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Europe-based engineer here: Is a 401k completely unaccessible until 60? I am currently resident of Switzerland, which has similar restrictions on the tax-free part of retirement savings, but allows earlier withdrawal for reasons such as * purchasing a home (restriction: you have to live there yourself * leaving the country

The US has a first time homebuyer withdrawl carve-out (which I think is defined as someone who hasn’t bought a house in 8 years?). There are also hardship exemptions. Technically you can withdrawl for any reason but you pay taxes + a 10% penalty.

I believe you can also take a loan from your 401k, but have to pay it back when you switch jobs.
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