Ask YC: In the hack of life, is it the people or the code?

Well that just inspired me to finally register on this site after just lurking for six months.

I went to San Francisco State and got my degree in film. Now I'm coding AS3 and RoR and doing UI design at a web startup. I discovered at some point after I graduated that a hobby is not the same as a passion - I like movies, but I love making cool things. I didn't have enough passion for movies to actually stick with the process of making one... nor did I love movies enough to be willing to work for other people doing insignificant tasks for free (or pizza) for three years to build a reputation... So I started going to events, meeting people, and reading everything I could about business, communication, technology, innovation, etc.

Right now, I have a great job building cool things. I come in whenever I want, I work roughly as many hours as I think I should, and then I leave. Some weeknights I go out, either with friends or my girlfriend, and weekends I try to stay away from all forms of work as much as possible. This balance works out pretty well - I feel like I'm accomplishing a lot and working towards a big goal at work, and yet I feel like I still have a social live and am, you know, "living". On Monday mornings I do not dread going into work. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle new problems.

So... your rant does sound like a Catcher in the Rye variation. It also sounds like stuff I used to write - usually completely privately, occasionally to friends - about my own life.

It's never about "code". And it's not about "people". It's about balancing the pursuit of your ambitions and the pursuit of gaining life experience. For some people, whose ambitions involve climbing mountains and/or starting a family, those two things are one in the same. For most of us, they're not. So you have to separate yourself from work so you can keep in touch with life.

And then, if your job does not fit with your ambitions, do it well enough not to get fired :)

If you're driven enough to apply to YC, and you were good enough to qualify for an interview, you've got something going. Don't give up on your ambitions just because you think other people are having more fun than you.

Thank you for your kind words. It gives me a lot of perspective from someone who has "been there, done that";

Also, btw, it takes a lot of guts to admit that you used to too write "Catcher in the Rye" stuff that I just wrote now, ;-).

Actually I've never spent a summer in Boston although I've spent 4 dreadful winters here. You could drop in on summer classes in MIT. You could go to the beach - Crane Beach is pretty good, Revere Beach can be a little white trash. Unfortunately there aren't many good places to work out in the open

Also, YC is obviously in town, so find somebody who'll get you in on a few of the dinners and you get the speeches for free. :)

a perfect example of a nearly french movie, where existential feelings get worse is CQ by roman coppola

The question you are looking for is much deeper than "people or code?".

You are really looking to figure out who you are and what you care about in life. And this is not a simple answer. People usually have many parts/areas of their "self" that they need to define as time flows on. Some of areas include spirituality, profession, service, fitness, family, etc.

You have to decide what areas of your life are important to you and from there, decide if the current state of those areas are what you'd like. If not, you need to work on that area. You don't need a life revolution even though it may feel like it. You need evolution. Keep parts of your self that you like. Reinvent the rest.

Reminds me of a quote that goes something like this: "Life is like a movie... You can either play an 'extra' in your life... or you can be the lead character."