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Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

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Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recent college grad here too. Strongly suggest that. Work just enough to get by, pay the bills, eat, etc. Dedicate atleast 2-3 hours, completley focues and uninterrupted, to your passion,purpose, craft. Or socialize purposefully - building relationships and allies sort of speak.

I'd suggest doing a little more than "just enough to get by". Partly because scraping through by the skin of your teeth is stressful and distracting, and partly because working the bare minimum for too long will hamper your professional development. The second part gets a bit more complicated if you want to freelance or start your own company, but IMO you can still learn a lot early on "working for the man" that will…

Nobody said he would make money off his True Craft.

Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#82
post #47

I am about to graduate from college and there are so many people applying to jobs that society thinks are "cool". The great majority of these people aren't doing it because they are passionate about their job, but they are doing it for the money. The author writes "Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are work…

As a 23-year-old grad, this whole meme of "Find work you love, and love your work" is absolute bullshit.

Just because I loved programming at home as a hobby did not mean that I enjoyed sitting in a cubicle doing assigned programming projects all day.

Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#83
post #2

I know there are a lot of you, just like me, will graduate in a month. May we never have to work.

I think the word 'work' is loaded and negative. I think of work as trading your time in exchange for money. I like to use 'produce'. Or 'creating'. That's what you want to dedicate your life to.

And what about the creations that don't bring monetary remuneration?

And what about the rest of life?

Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#85
post #22

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…

While very few standup comics make Louis CK money (and don't forget how long it took him to get there) there are tons of working professional ones you've probably never heard of. It's very similar to music in that way. If you're willing to work hard at it you'll probably get to where you can make a decent living within a couple years, even if you never end up with your own HBO special.

I love how he made an insightful comment, and everyone goes off on a tangent about how much money comedians make.

Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#87

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…

I dont know if you're married but i find the love part very practical. I dont feel he's saying "stick it to the man" as much as "don't expect life to happen to you", "dont feel entitled to things and experiences"... you need to work for it and make it happen.

Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#88
post #50

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…

Great post. I agree with your assessment of work and young people. I don't know if he's fully saying this in his speech though. In one part he is saying dont feel entitled to things and experiences...you need to work for it and make it happen.

Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#89
post #41

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 that's pretty much what I do. In Denmark you get payed to go to the university. I spend maybe 10 hours a week on it, and the rest is for making music and socializing. I have never been happier.

That's fantastic. Keep it up. So few people live well that it's actually of value to everyone just to see examples of it.

Don't feel guilty about being subsidized. There's more than enough wealth from technology for everyone, we just don't know how to spend it properly.

Re: Don’t work. Be hated. Love someone. (2008)

#90
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 22 and that's pretty much what I do. In Denmark you get payed to go to the university. I spend maybe 10 hours a week on it, and the rest is for making music and socializing. I have never been happier.

That's not a career though. It's community-subsidized time for you to find yourself and/or your calling.

My univsersity education is my career though. I'm in my first year, and everything is still starting up. When it's time to take my bachelor, of course i'll suit up. For now though, I'd rather spend my time exploring.
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