71–80 of 107 posts
Age 10, me: "I want to be a professional baseball player." Others: "Get serious, you'll never be good enough." Age 16, me: "I want to publish comic books." Others: "Get serious, that's no way to make a living." Age 22, me: "I want to teach math." Others: "Get serious. You'll never make much money that way." Age 30, me: "I want to publish my own software." Others: "Get serious. No one will buy yours over some big comp…
I don't want to trash this essay but I found it disappointing. I think the reason why is that the author had a great theme -- flip common advice around backwards -- but then let it take over his argument to the degree that the substance was really poor. Very unusual for somebody who is a litigator. It is an example of style over logic. Life is not fair and you should do something you love. Birds also sing, mom is a p…
Personally, I've developed my own point of view wherein you typically have 8 hours of work and 8 hours of free time (roughly speaking). Some form of work is a necessity to feed, shelter and clothe yourself and to maintain sanity, and some form of relaxation is a necessity to again maintain sanity. So, you can attack it on both fronts. Your job isn't everything you always dreamed of? Well, if that dream job is out of…
As they always say, "Life is a journey, not a destination." I admire how you strike a balance between work and play, which I have found it to be really difficult to achieve. My approach to this is to give my best shot in every thing I do. How would you know if something is not suitable unless you put in the extra effort? This has benefited me thus far and I am proud to have discovered my passion (even before I finish college).
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to tackling life's toughest problems. One has to be willing to take the leap of faith and explore his or her own purpose in life. The speaker has merely presented his own take on life and we can choose to learn from it, or not. But ultimately, take everyone's advice with a pinch of salt and listen to your heart :)
Age 10, me: "I want to be a professional baseball player." Others: "Get serious, you'll never be good enough." Age 16, me: "I want to publish comic books." Others: "Get serious, that's no way to make a living." Age 22, me: "I want to teach math." Others: "Get serious. You'll never make much money that way." Age 30, me: "I want to publish my own software." Others: "Get serious. No one will buy yours over some big comp…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure I fully understood your second paragraph, but I found David Foster Wallace's commencement speech to hit the practical advice nail on the head. The story about shopping after work? Pretty brutal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178211966454607.html
Certainly conveys some sense of 'day in, day out'. I've dithered about reading a Wallace book, mainly because of the length of them. PS: Do you not have corner shops in the US?
Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable. The speaker draws a dichotomy between work and play, as he defines these terms, with work being things done under compulsion and play being things done based on desire (and especially passionate desire). His theme is a clarion call to shape your life, and the way you make a living, around things you love to do and to avoid dying a s…
Elitist? It's quite the opposite. Elitist is calling it noble and righteous to toil away miserable while yourself enjoying a nice lifestyle.
Does it count as work, if you love it? Does it count as a job, if it's freelancing? Does it count as a job, if it's in a company you own 30%+ of? These are important questions. I agree in principle, but I wonder where people draw the line between work and play.
A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. - L.P. Jacks
All these speeches quite idiotically fail to make a distinction between work and remunerative work.
One of the best articles I've read in a long time. I'm 21 and about to graduate. I totally relate to this and am already trying to adopt this way living into my life. My friends often tell me I'm being unrealistic and I'll soon realise that I need to grow up. My plan is to work part-time when I leave university leaving myself all the time I want to work on my own projects and to socialise. That's what makes me happy,…
I'm 22 and I told a couple coworkers at lunch that I wish I could do my job part time, and that I'd give up half my salary to just have all that free time back. They thought I was crazy.