What should I do with my life?
fastcompany.com
What should I do with my life?
1–10 of 61 posts
Re: What should I do with my life?
#2I think it's evil the amount of energy and resources that go into creating unnecessary desires in people in order to cultivate a consumer class. It's time to reap the benefits of our technological advancements, by working shorter weeks, finding less expensive ways to build shelter (houses), and becoming more proficient in local food generation.
Re: What should I do with my life?
#3[deleted]
Re: What should I do with my life?
#4Oooh. Po Bronson is probably my favourite author. There's something about his writing style that pushes my buttons.
It's probably worth nothing that he used to do a lot of writing for Wired magazine (eg http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.12/hotmale.html ) and his second novel, The First $20m Is Always The Hardest, was about a startup ( http://pobronson.com/index_first_20_million.htm ).
His site has lots of excerpts and monologues worth reading (eg http://pobronson.com/The%20Cooks%20Story.pdf is totally awesome).
He's also has the distinction of being the author of my favourite novel. Here's the first chapter: http://pobronson.com/filth.htm (love that first line!).
Re: What should I do with my life?
#5Almost all of the people I interviewed found their calling ! after great difficulty ...the catfish farmer used to be an investment banker, the truck driver had been an entertainment lawyer, a chef had been an academic, and the police officer was a Harvard MBA.
Hmm, I think there might be some inherent bias here. These people were so interesting because Bronson chose the interesting ones (he says he selected 70 out of hundreds).
Re: What should I do with my life?
#6[deleted]
How are these misconceptions?
The misconception of the 90s dot-com era was that Success = IPO. People had to learn (the hard way) that a business' value is related to the actual value it creates in the market, not in the speculative value it generates in the minds of investors.
Re: What should I do with my life?
#7I think it's evil the amount of energy and resources that go into creating unnecessary desires in people in order to cultivate a consumer class. It's time to reap the benefits of our technological advancements, by working shorter weeks, finding less expensive ways to build shelter (houses), and becoming more proficient in local food generation.
What's unnecessary? I mean, we could all be wearing identical grey jumpsuits that fulfill the requirements of modesty and environmental protection, but we don't.
The most any advertiser can say to anyone is "this might give you pleasure, here's how to try it". The rest is up to you.
Re: What should I do with my life?
#8I think it's evil the amount of energy and resources that go into creating unnecessary desires in people in order to cultivate a consumer class. It's time to reap the benefits of our technological advancements, by working shorter weeks, finding less expensive ways to build shelter (houses), and becoming more proficient in local food generation.
What's unnecessary? I mean, we could all be wearing identical grey jumpsuits that fulfill the requirements of modesty and environmental protection, but we don't. The most any advertiser can say to anyone is "this might give you pleasure, here's how to try it". The rest is up to you.
I upvoted you, but your penultimate sentence is not true. Advertisers employ the most sophisticated psychological techniques that remain legal.
Re: What should I do with my life?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's unnecessary? I mean, we could all be wearing identical grey jumpsuits that fulfill the requirements of modesty and environmental protection, but we don't. The most any advertiser can say to anyone is "this might give you pleasure, here's how to try it". The rest is up to you.
I upvoted you, but your penultimate sentence is not true. Advertisers employ the most sophisticated psychological techniques that remain legal.
I don't deny it, but no-one points a gun at your head and says "eat these Pringles".
Re: What should I do with my life?
#10I think it's evil the amount of energy and resources that go into creating unnecessary desires in people in order to cultivate a consumer class. It's time to reap the benefits of our technological advancements, by working shorter weeks, finding less expensive ways to build shelter (houses), and becoming more proficient in local food generation.
What's unnecessary? I mean, we could all be wearing identical grey jumpsuits that fulfill the requirements of modesty and environmental protection, but we don't. The most any advertiser can say to anyone is "this might give you pleasure, here's how to try it". The rest is up to you.
I know what you mean, but consider the psychological tactics at work in the following industries: Fashion, Diet and Anti-Aging, just for starters.