Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

bennettnotes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 375 posts

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#81

Post by 0x445442 »

huffmsa wrote: post #46
astuyvenberg wrote: post #7

This post also resonated with me, especially the quote from /r/cscareerquestions > Got an awesome internship at an interesting company? Well, it wasn’t FAANG, so who cares? Got a FAANG internship? Well it wasn’t one of the good FAANGs, so if you really think about it, you really didn’t accomplish anything. Got into a “Good FAANG”? Well, the other intern works on his own startup idea when he goes home. Why aren’t you…

Wanting to be engineer #5549383 at a big company is a fools errand if you want recognition and reknowned. It's like trying to get famous working as the guy who bolts the doors onto the frame at the Belvedere assembly plant. The lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the mouse. All of the people cited in the article (Gates, Musk, Jobs) eschewed "prestige institutions" and worked on what they wanted to work…

Of course the risk is that working on what you want to may not ever put bread on the table. There's heavy confirmation bios in play here as you only hear about the Gates', Musk's and Jobs'.

The optimal approach for most is probably to do their level best at their day job and work on what they want to in their spare time. And perhaps, with luck and time, the knowledge and skills developed in the spare time can be leveraged to put bread on the table.

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#82

Post by code4tee »

The major fallacy I often see is that people driven by “status and prestige” often fail to realize that those they are hoping to impress don’t care as much about these things.

It’s a bit like LinkedIn. Lots of people are on LinkedIn trying to impress people but the people they’re trying to impress aren’t on (or barely use) LinkedIn.

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#83

Post by shmageggy »

pkhamre wrote: post #60

> Should I learn to make pasta from scratch? No, that’s crazy. Nobody cares if you can make pasta from scratch and it’s not going to make any money. I think the author got it wrong here. He mixes the words "successful" with "fame". By learning a skill like making pasta from scratch, you can make yourself and other people happy. And if you go deep into the field, you can even make money on it, if that's important to y…

> I think the author got it wrong here. He mixes the words "successful" with "fame".

Reading the article closely, the author is actually starting to understand this. The interactions with his mother, the obsession with approval and recognition. It's a profound fear of social ostraszation due to one's self worth being based on the perceptions of others (as instilled deeply by his mother).

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#84

Post by ken »

It seems so bizarre to me that there is an r/cscareerquestions at all. And the only other r/__careerquestions are computer-related (IT, UX, DS). It's not like dentists and architects haven't discovered the internet yet.

Computers are the new gold rush. It seems like most people today got into this field just looking to strike it rich.

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#85

Post by sullyj3 »

everdrive wrote: post #72

"People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too. And those after them in turn. Until their memory, passed from one to another like a candle flame, gutters and goes out. But suppose that those who remembered you were immortal and your memory undying. What good would it do you? And I don't just mean when you're dead, but in your own lifetime. What use is praise, exc…

Ironic that that quote comes from someone who died in the year 180. If I got 2000 years of fame, I'd be pretty satisfied.

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#86

Post by Klinky »

lm28469 wrote: post #75

> Unfortunately, after a year of purposely trying, I was still not becoming Elon Musk nor any other “successful” person. Despite reading everyday, meditating, getting up early, taking cold showers, and many more things. But what makes these guys successful anyway? Their fame? Money? Contribution to society? And wearing grey t-shirts won't make you Zuckerberg [0]. You don't become a 0.00000001%er by mimicking the most…

Let's also note that becoming a startup billionaire to then go off and fund your pet projects is a bit of an anomaly. It's very hard to "mimick" the successful parts of their lives.

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#87

Post by 0x445442 »

astuyvenberg wrote: post #41
akhilcacharya wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. Purchasing real estate (or even a Tesla, etc) is out of reach for people like me, and likely will be for 10+ years from now. Say someone makes 150% or more of what I make (ergo are valued 150% superior in a fair labor market) and they can save far more and build a their net worth significantly faster even with a more luxurious lifestyle.

But the person earning 150% more than _them_ isn't purchasing a Tesla. It's a Lamborghini or a Bugatti. It's not a 3br home in SF - it's a summer home in Napa, or a chalet in Tahoe. The person earning 150% more than _them_ is coveting the latest Bell Jetranger, or Gulfstream G700. The obsession for more is the same at all levels.

You know I hear this argument a lot and I don't buy it because it ignores a baseline at the lower end.

I think there are a lot of people that are not concerned with the luxuries you reference but are deeply concerned with their base needs and random setbacks life throws at them. They basically want to save for a rainy day so as avoid stress when they encounter bumps in the road.

It's like asking someone who works for minimum wage why their worried about moving up to a salaried position because compared to the people in Sudan, they have a life of luxury.

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#88

Post by turk73 »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #16
astuyvenberg wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's precisely my point regarding the rat race - what is one trying to catch up to? Is there economic or social anxiety at 350k/yr which evaporates at 400k/yr?

Absolutely. Purchasing real estate (or even a Tesla, etc) is out of reach for people like me, and likely will be for 10+ years from now. Say someone makes 150% or more of what I make (ergo are valued 150% superior in a fair labor market) and they can save far more and build a their net worth significantly faster even with a more luxurious lifestyle.

You working for minimum wage or in the Bay Area or what?

Teslas are just status symbol cars, nothing more. Move on.

As far as property goes, there are other places in the country that aren't so high cost.

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#89

Post by ak39 »

sullyj3 wrote: post #85
everdrive wrote: post #72

"People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that the people who remember them will soon die too. And those after them in turn. Until their memory, passed from one to another like a candle flame, gutters and goes out. But suppose that those who remembered you were immortal and your memory undying. What good would it do you? And I don't just mean when you're dead, but in your own lifetime. What use is praise, exc…

Ironic that that quote comes from someone who died in the year 180. If I got 2000 years of fame, I'd be pretty satisfied.

Marcus Aurelius is asking exactly how will that be of _use_? (Even when you’re alive)

Re: People Who Are Obsessed with Success and Prestige

#90

Post by nickthemagicman »

huffmsa wrote: post #46
astuyvenberg wrote: post #7

This post also resonated with me, especially the quote from /r/cscareerquestions > Got an awesome internship at an interesting company? Well, it wasn’t FAANG, so who cares? Got a FAANG internship? Well it wasn’t one of the good FAANGs, so if you really think about it, you really didn’t accomplish anything. Got into a “Good FAANG”? Well, the other intern works on his own startup idea when he goes home. Why aren’t you…

Wanting to be engineer #5549383 at a big company is a fools errand if you want recognition and reknowned. It's like trying to get famous working as the guy who bolts the doors onto the frame at the Belvedere assembly plant. The lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the mouse. All of the people cited in the article (Gates, Musk, Jobs) eschewed "prestige institutions" and worked on what they wanted to work…

Gates Musk and Jobs all came from rich families and were able to work on what they wanted to work on.

The people going for prestigious institutions may actually need a job and and are optimizing for the best possible outcome.

Post reply on HN