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How to Avoid Work: A 1949 Guide to Doing What You Love (2012)
- flashman 11y agoI respect Maria Popova a lot but this is a rather insipid collection of motivational quotes and vintage photos. Instead of reading it as a piece of self-help, look at it as a continuation of the Protestant work ethic: that our good works in the world put us in a state of grace with God. It's just a modern twist on the idea that what you do is who you are, which I personally have always found a little reductionist, even classist.
- nicklaf 11y ago> classist Apparently, you're not alone in that sentiment: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/01/do_what_you_love_love_what_you_do_an_omnipresent_mantra_that_s_bad_for_work.html http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/01/... HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7084381 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7084381 Odd coincidence: both authors seem to have studied at U. Penn (possibly at the same time).
- flashman 11y agoThe greatest quote in that Slate article: "Job creation goes both ways." Who can do what they love without the labor of those who can't?
- phillc73 11y agoI thought the Hunter S. Thompson article linked from the sidebar offered far more interesting advice regarding finding direction and life's fulfillment: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/11/04/hunter-s-thomspon-letters-of-note-advice/ http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/11/04/hunter-s-t...
- monkeyshelli 11y agoI agree. It was pretty powerfull stuff: I’m not trying to send you out “on the road” in search of Valhalla, but merely pointing out that it is not necessary to accept the choices handed down to you by life as you know it. There is more to it than that — no one HAS to do something he doesn’t want to do for the rest of his life.