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Ask HN: Have a lot to put in, but getting nothing back

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Ask HN: Have a lot to put in, but getting nothing back

Post by EnergizerBunny » Sun, Aug 15, 2010, 5:11 PM UTC

I woke up thinking today about what to do and realized that for a long time both in the startup I am trying to get off the ground and in my day job, I have a ton of energy to put in, but I am not getting a satisfactory amount back.

For the day job I get paid well, but it's too disonnected. I develop features that no one understands they want (from experience I know these basic things come up) and maybe a month later, someone will realize how "cool" it is and start using it.

DAE experience this kind of thing? What have you done about it?

Re: Ask HN: Have a lot to put in, but getting nothing back

Post by saundby » Sun, Aug 15, 2010, 7:42 PM UTC

There's always a lag time between accomplishment and external validation. Sometimes it's brief, but more often it's not. In my own case I'm used to it being on the order of two years or so. ;)

My recommendation is to learn to be satisfied with the results when you have created them. Be your own first judge, and if you feel you've done a good job on something from as objective a viewpoint as you can get, enjoy that. Reward yourself somehow, and take someone else along who'll at least lend a sympathetic ear and share your enthusiasm. Get yourself a nice dinner out, buy that expensive book you've been wanting, whatever.

Then plunge back in and do some more, while you still feel good.

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