I Don't Have Time • Hacker News Board

Re: I Don't Have Time

#31

Post by TeMPOraL » Mon, Oct 29, 2012, 2:01 PM UTC

Firehed wrote: post #19

prezjordan wrote: post #15

Easy to say for starting a project, but I find the "finishing touches" are always discouraging.

I can count the number of software projects I've finished on zero hands, unless you define "project" as a meaninglessly-small component of something larger (e.g. tweaking some copy). Even for software that you write to solve your own problems, your requirements tend to change over time so even that seems to never be done. With personal projects its worse, as (at least for me) they're not a way to make money so I have…

"Indeed, there is even a saying among painters: "A painting is never finished, you just stop working on it." This idea will be familiar to anyone who has worked on software."

http://www.paulgraham.com/desres.html

Re: I Don't Have Time

#32

Post by slaundy » Mon, Oct 29, 2012, 3:38 PM UTC

True, but you're missing the main thrust of the "I could never do that, I don't have time!" comment.

It's an excuse for not trying. If you don't have time to try, you can't fail.

Re: I Don't Have Time

#33

Post by GFischer » Mon, Oct 29, 2012, 4:15 PM UTC

s_henry_paulson wrote: post #25

kamaal wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>You may have heard of paying yourself first to gain success in personal finance. Can you elaborate more on this.

This comes from a book called The Richest Man in Babylon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Richest_Man_in_Babylon_(boo... It's a very quick read, and you can probably find it online for free, as it's nearly 100 years old. Everything you need to know about being financially successful, in parable format.

Other resources in similar vein but modernized are the Get Rich Slowly and I Will Teach you to be Rich websites.

In particular, Get Rich Slowly definitely resonates with me. The blog is not well organized for someone who just jumps in, but Forbes has a good getting-started reading list:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2012/04/19/six-year...

The site:

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/

Start with this article:

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/09/28/money-is-more-a...

Disclaimer: I'm not rich and I don't apply most of the tenets above !!! but at least I'm self-aware (which I guess is a step 1 to recover, I hope).

Re: I Don't Have Time

#34

Post by donniezazen » Mon, Oct 29, 2012, 4:23 PM UTC

Any form of art specially something like writing can't come out of shallow thinking. In age of productivity, we do thinking out of doing and less based in "calling."

Re: I Don't Have Time

#35

Post by expralitemonk » Mon, Oct 29, 2012, 6:45 PM UTC

A famous writer was asked to give a speech at a conference for people who were trying to get published. He agreed. On the appointed day he walked to the front of the auditorium, stood at the podium, and asked "Why aren't all of you home writing?" and sat down.