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If you could create jobs and had the right motivation and ability to do so, you wouldn't be filling a job. Haha... I'm happy you believe this. No sarcasm; it

If you could create jobs and had the right motivation and ability to do so, you wouldn't be filling a job. Haha... I'm happy you believe this. No sarcasm; it just made me wish that I still did. In this world, merit is judged by more than ability. Motive, if not aimed perfectly, is a burden that will decrease your chances, not increase them. Background is so important. My family was totally broken, like one hundred percent shattered. There is no chance I'll be a job creator, no matter how driven. Why can't I meet the right people? Because of what I say when given an initial opportunity. And why am I not able to say the right things? Because of the background and context I grew up in. And I'm not talking about appealing to some rich person and asking for an opportunity. I'm talking about meeting peers, or building a team, or any of the things that really matter. One could argue that this situation is mutable, and that it's mostly my fault for what I say. Obviously, yes, it's my fault for the things I say. But when your whole life has been spent being trained in a certain way, by being in the river of society that pushes us all along, the slipstream that you end up in as a child pretty much makes or breaks your ability to learn how to do anything close to what you're suggesting. To play that game you mention. Enjoy being a job creator. It's an opportunity that you should make the most of, in the stead of all the people who can't.

Alupis 11y ago
There are many counter examples to your anecdote. Larry Ellison comes to mind, but there are others (in fact, most of our most successful people come from very broken backgrounds). It's what you do with that drive/anger/passion/frustration/motivation/defiance that counts. It takes a lot of risk, and guts to strike out and create jobs - and more often than not it doesn't work out... but that's all part of the game. It's one thing to be really good at what you do... to even be the best. It's another thing entirely to convince other really good and sometimes the best people to work for you, your company, and your ideas.
- sillysaurus3 11y ago
  Correlation: Look up Sam's comments about his parents. Think of pg's background. Of the successful people from broken backgrounds, they were usually successful by moving on to affluent universities where they recovered. It's one thing to be really good at what you do... to even be the best. It's another thing entirely to convince other really good and sometimes the best people to work for you, your company, and your ideas. This is in fact the central argument of my original comment: Merit is mostly communication, and your ability to communicate is defined by the context you grow up in. Not in spite of it. When the world shapes you, reshaping yourself is not the only thing that matters. Your old mistakes can brand you for life.
  - HillRat 11y ago
    Your ability to communicate is actually quite exceptional. Whatever has led you to lose faith in yourself, I assure you it should not be because you fear you lack intrinsic merit.
    - sillysaurus3 11y ago
      Thank you. I have far less hope than it seems, due to something recent that closed some doors forever. But you made me feel a bit better, if only for a fleeting moment. Please have a wonderful year.
- totalrobe 11y ago
  The 'broken background' anecdote sounds nice, but the majority (>50%) of the forbes 400 these days comes from upper middle class backgrounds. These kids are the majority at elite schools which are feeders for the best career opportunities.
- vincentbarr 11y ago
  Another person that is a counter-example and outlier: Franklin Story Musgrave. A modern-day polymath, he was a NASA astronaut, Disney Imagineer, and physician among other things. He holds six academic degrees. He, too, had an extremely troubled upbringing.[1] In his own words, "I came from an extraordinarily dysfunctional family, full of abuse and alcoholism. And eventually everyone within the family had committed suicide." [1] http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mus0int-1 http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mus0int-1]
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
nwatson 11y ago
Resonance. I can see / understand this. I hope to not limit serendipity though, and the same for your case too. In the end, it's all a chasing of the wind.
wsc981 11y ago
There is no chance I'll be a job creator, no matter how driven. If you're a software developer, at least you could be a job creator for yourself. And perhaps for many developers this is more enjoyable than managing other people, since most job creators are more busy managing or finding customers than actually creating fun stuff like software.
binarysolo 11y ago
Can totally understand where you're coming from, but finding and recognizing your agency amidst all the mess and noise is kinda the beautiful thing about life. The journey sucks a lot, but at the end of the day that's all we got, not the different destinations we traverse to and from.
- yarou 11y ago
  Some roads are plated in gold, but others are broken and run down. It's easy to have your sentiment when your road is the former and not the latter.
  - binarysolo 11y ago
    It's totally survivor bias for sure, but falling into (and surviving) years of depression and coming from third world conditions to the US help shape and contextualize a lot of meaning. It's easy because the path now is plated gold, and for sure, some people their entire path is broken. :/ But when it's broken you think about just walking and not smelling any of the shit... Just left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot...
TheLogothete 11y ago
You are just like more to drown in self pity then do something for yourself. It's much more convenient. Much easier. I grew up same as you. Probably much worse. Hard work, perseverance and a lot of reflection helped me overcome the shortcomings you deem insurmountable.
- sillysaurus3 11y ago
  Fuck off. You don't know anything about me or the horrors I grew up with, how hard I've worked, or a single thing about me. You and your kind are why it's so hard to go through life. You can't relate because you were not so unlucky. This is the first and last time I have ever spoken to an HN member like this, and I say that not out of pretense, but to illustrate both the gravity and the finality of my background that no one will believe. I sincerely hope it was all a fluke, and that I was really the only one in the world to go through all of that. It's not even worth trying to understand. I'm glad you were able to have a happy life. Please enjoy it, and hug whoever makes it all worthwhile.
  - TheLogothete 11y ago
    Yes, you are a very special little snowflake. Nobody overcame hardships in life.
    - sillysaurus3 11y ago
      Haha. Perhaps this exchange will be able to explain some things to some people, after I really say what I'm going to be saying. It's such a perfect illustration of the entire life, start to finish, like a waking nightmare. Goodbye.
      - TheLogothete 11y ago
        Or perhaps you shouldn't be so arrogant and dismiss everyone else's problems so readily. "I have suffered infinitely more than you could ever comprehend". Vanity is definitely Devil's favorite sin, and it lurks in the strangest of places. Goodbye to you too.
jacquesm 11y ago
> My family was totally broken, like one hundred percent shattered. Mine was too. > There is no chance I'll be a job creator, no matter how driven. That need not be the case, all it takes is a lucky break, worked for me.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    Anything I can do for you you know where to find me. And please do keep caring, don't worry about 'social errors'. And note my change of email address (jacques@mattheij.com).

Alupis 11y ago

There are many counter examples to your anecdote. Larry Ellison comes to mind, but there are others (in fact, most of our most successful people come from very broken backgrounds). It's what you do with that drive/anger/passion/frustration/motivation/defiance that counts. It takes a lot of risk, and guts to strike out and create jobs - and more often than not it doesn't work out... but that's all part of the game. It's one thing to be really good at what you do... to even be the best. It's another thing entirely to convince other really good and sometimes the best people to work for you, your company, and your ideas.

sillysaurus3 11y ago
Correlation: Look up Sam's comments about his parents. Think of pg's background. Of the successful people from broken backgrounds, they were usually successful by moving on to affluent universities where they recovered. It's one thing to be really good at what you do... to even be the best. It's another thing entirely to convince other really good and sometimes the best people to work for you, your company, and your ideas. This is in fact the central argument of my original comment: Merit is mostly communication, and your ability to communicate is defined by the context you grow up in. Not in spite of it. When the world shapes you, reshaping yourself is not the only thing that matters. Your old mistakes can brand you for life.
- HillRat 11y ago
  Your ability to communicate is actually quite exceptional. Whatever has led you to lose faith in yourself, I assure you it should not be because you fear you lack intrinsic merit.
  - sillysaurus3 11y ago
    Thank you. I have far less hope than it seems, due to something recent that closed some doors forever. But you made me feel a bit better, if only for a fleeting moment. Please have a wonderful year.
totalrobe 11y ago
The 'broken background' anecdote sounds nice, but the majority (>50%) of the forbes 400 these days comes from upper middle class backgrounds. These kids are the majority at elite schools which are feeders for the best career opportunities.
vincentbarr 11y ago
Another person that is a counter-example and outlier: Franklin Story Musgrave. A modern-day polymath, he was a NASA astronaut, Disney Imagineer, and physician among other things. He holds six academic degrees. He, too, had an extremely troubled upbringing.[1] In his own words, "I came from an extraordinarily dysfunctional family, full of abuse and alcoholism. And eventually everyone within the family had committed suicide." [1] http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mus0int-1 http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mus0int-1]
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

nwatson 11y ago

Resonance. I can see / understand this. I hope to not limit serendipity though, and the same for your case too. In the end, it's all a chasing of the wind.

wsc981 11y ago

There is no chance I'll be a job creator, no matter how driven. If you're a software developer, at least you could be a job creator for yourself. And perhaps for many developers this is more enjoyable than managing other people, since most job creators are more busy managing or finding customers than actually creating fun stuff like software.

binarysolo 11y ago

Can totally understand where you're coming from, but finding and recognizing your agency amidst all the mess and noise is kinda the beautiful thing about life. The journey sucks a lot, but at the end of the day that's all we got, not the different destinations we traverse to and from.

yarou 11y ago
Some roads are plated in gold, but others are broken and run down. It's easy to have your sentiment when your road is the former and not the latter.
- binarysolo 11y ago
  It's totally survivor bias for sure, but falling into (and surviving) years of depression and coming from third world conditions to the US help shape and contextualize a lot of meaning. It's easy because the path now is plated gold, and for sure, some people their entire path is broken. :/ But when it's broken you think about just walking and not smelling any of the shit... Just left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot...

TheLogothete 11y ago

You are just like more to drown in self pity then do something for yourself. It's much more convenient. Much easier. I grew up same as you. Probably much worse. Hard work, perseverance and a lot of reflection helped me overcome the shortcomings you deem insurmountable.

sillysaurus3 11y ago
Fuck off. You don't know anything about me or the horrors I grew up with, how hard I've worked, or a single thing about me. You and your kind are why it's so hard to go through life. You can't relate because you were not so unlucky. This is the first and last time I have ever spoken to an HN member like this, and I say that not out of pretense, but to illustrate both the gravity and the finality of my background that no one will believe. I sincerely hope it was all a fluke, and that I was really the only one in the world to go through all of that. It's not even worth trying to understand. I'm glad you were able to have a happy life. Please enjoy it, and hug whoever makes it all worthwhile.
- TheLogothete 11y ago
  Yes, you are a very special little snowflake. Nobody overcame hardships in life.
  - sillysaurus3 11y ago
    Haha. Perhaps this exchange will be able to explain some things to some people, after I really say what I'm going to be saying. It's such a perfect illustration of the entire life, start to finish, like a waking nightmare. Goodbye.
    - TheLogothete 11y ago
      Or perhaps you shouldn't be so arrogant and dismiss everyone else's problems so readily. "I have suffered infinitely more than you could ever comprehend". Vanity is definitely Devil's favorite sin, and it lurks in the strangest of places. Goodbye to you too.

jacquesm 11y ago

> My family was totally broken, like one hundred percent shattered. Mine was too. > There is no chance I'll be a job creator, no matter how driven. That need not be the case, all it takes is a lucky break, worked for me.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
- jacquesm 11y ago
  Anything I can do for you you know where to find me. And please do keep caring, don't worry about 'social errors'. And note my change of email address (jacques@mattheij.com).