Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

cabada.mx

51–60 of 192 posts

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fixed, my SFTP didn't pass the whole file.

Making simple mistakes like being off by a factor of 10 and not looking at something you're uploading to get feedback on to ensure it's complete doesn't bode well for how you would handle an interview process...

I was sadly thinking the same :( - Things happen, but it's the little things that matter sometimes.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#52
Try googling for meetups and usergroups for your favorite language/technology, and for hacker spaces. https://www.meetup.com/ is good for the former, https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/Mexico may help with the latter. If you can't find one in your city, maybe start one yourself? Based on your portfolio, you're definitely savvy enough to manage a regular meetup, and I think it would do you a world of good.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#53
post #39

> There are two possible reasons I didn’t get a job: Either coding interviews don’t work, or I really suck at coding. How do you know that you were rejected based on technical merits? A software developer's fit within a team comes down to more than just technical proficiency. Do you work well with others?

Indeed. I reject people all the time that can code just fine, but due to the technical details of the position, they don't seem to have the technical depth in a certain area that may be entirely unrelated to just generic coding.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#54
post #27

I'm not sure why people consistently get hung up on getting accepted at one of the "Big Five" "I tried to look for a job out of my city, but no luck, I don’t know what’s the deal with coding interviews, but I bet they don’t work good. I’ve been rejected from" ... Google Facebook Magic Uber Holagus (Mexican startup) I'm not sure what draws everyone to places like this when there are ~many~ other companies. Also does t…

Fixed, my SFTP didn't pass the whole file.

Considering the article lacks a proper marker of it's end, what's the last line of the article?

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fixed, my SFTP didn't pass the whole file.

Making simple mistakes like being off by a factor of 10 and not looking at something you're uploading to get feedback on to ensure it's complete doesn't bode well for how you would handle an interview process...

I made an edit and my SFTP didn't upload it completely due connections problems. Plus, I was in a rush when writing it. It's all good now.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#56
Don't give up coding or discontinue this kind of product building. You clearly love building stuff from the ground up, you'd be disappointed doing anything else. Having no support is a pity, but I'm sure the majority of people here on HN will support you.

You wrote that taxes and business is a pain. I have to agree, I feel a sharp pain in my stomach if I think about those things. What people usually do in these situations is to team up with somebody else with complementary skills, so you need a sales / marketing / getting things done type of companion. (however if you find some business that you really like and got some initial cash out of it, the you should outsource all this pain to a $really_good accountant)

If joining the family business sounds like boring for you, then don't do it. Do you live with your family? You could demonstrate that you have something else on your mind by moving out, going abroad or something else, you know, something more visible other than writing code.

Finally, recognize how lucky you are that you live in the Bay Area. I probably would have succeeded by now If I was born there. (yes, big IF). Don't feel bad because those companies passed on you, there are tons of alternatives and you are not really unsuccessful if you make $150k+ and with your resume that should be minimum even if you are a terrible negotiator. So keep up the good work and push it hard :)

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#57
Making money on your own as a developer is not easy. It is much easier to get a job and get paid for your time than to build something independently and get paid for your product. And I say this as the guy who run https://IndieHackers.com, a site all about developers making money independently, so you know I'm not speaking lightly.

Anyway, it sounds like your environment is poisonous, but you can't leave because you don't have money, you don't have money because you don't have a job, and (as far as I can tell) you don't have a job because you're not applying to enough places and you haven't studied properly for coding interviews. Take 2-3 months to compile a large list of companies (50+) and to study for interviews. I know, I know, the typical interview format sucks, but study for it anyway. Then get a job and move somewhere less depressing!

If you want to eventually make money on your own, you'll need to change how you look at business. First things first: don't overestimate the importance of code. Almost all the interviews on Indie Hackers from people making $10k/mo say, "I spend most of my time marketing." There are a few lucky people who've found success without marketing, but you really don't want to rely on luck if you don't have to.

Also, make more posts in Ask HN or on the Indie Hackers forum and let us know how you're doing. Lots of people are happy to provide feedback, and maybe this will help you feel less alone!

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#58
I'd just like to comment on your relationship with your dad. Take this with a grain of salt, and consider that what I'm about to say might be entirely wrong.

I think you have emotional baggage here that's preventing you from using the resources that are available to you. First of all, you don't sound like an entrepreneur, you sound much more like a hacker (in the good sense). But you use the word entrepreneur which tells me that you want to make money, but you're not developing a relationship with your dad (who can teach you about running a business) and you're not selling anything (which is the essence of being an entrepreneur). I have gone through some of the same things. I didn't want to work at a big tech company because I was worried about loosing my freedom... but that turned out to be an unfounded fear, once I got over it, which took eight years. And I was older than you before I moved out of my parents' house.

Are you scared that you'll "sell out" and see your dreams vanish? Are you scared that you won't have enough time or money to do the things you want to do? Are you jealous of the wunderkinds of Silicon Valley, the people who went to Stanford and MIT that are making waves in tech?

Yeah, that's normal. It doesn't go away just because you get a job at one of the Big Five tech companies--speaking from personal experience here. It doesn't go away just because you create a startup company--in fact, it usually gets worse. Again, speaking from personal experience.

Take an inventory of what your resources are, and how you make money, where you can move, who you can meet. Take some time to figure out exactly what you want. All your life you will be stretching your resources until you can get what you want.

Maybe you can move and find a business cofounder somewhere who will take advantage of you. Maybe you can work for your dad and reach out to him... if you can convince him that the cool things you're doing are really going to change his life, and not just shuffle money around in Silicon Valley, then you can convince other people too. And if he can convince you that the world of business has something to offer too, well, that could be good lesson.

Again, take my perspective with a grain of salt. There are a lot of smart people on HN but like all humans, we only give advice through the lens of our personal experiences and biases.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#59
Carlos, I don't understand, what are you trying to achieve.

"How can I believe in something?" - what does it mean? What do you want to believe in?

It seems that you really enjoy what you are doing and your parents have no problems with you living with them (they have been doing it for 26 years). What is the problem? You said that you have been living on your own for 7 years, were you making money by yourself?

If you are disappointed that your parents "don't believe in you", when you do nothing useful for them, while "consuming resources", you should move away, or get used to it. Sometimes you can not change people.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep motivated if nobody supports you?

#60
post #19

Learning to lead yourself and doing what you know is right and understanding how you add value and what your value is the most important skills I have worked to learn. Motivation is the wrong thing to go after. Discipline is the key. Building discipline to do the things that are needed will beat motivation every time. It's always nice to have external support, but the best support you can build and keep is from the r…

> Motivation is the wrong thing to go after. Discipline is the key. Please provide either some sources or argumentation for such a significant claim.

Source is clearly from experience. My experience agrees with his/her conclusion.
Post reply on HN