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Why Quitting Your Job to Chase Your Dream Is a Terrible Idea
- notacoward 11y agoThe author might benefit from knowing that the "10,000 Hour Rule" has basically been debunked[1]. Even K. Anders Ericsson, on whose work the concept is based and whom the author cites, has said it's wildly misunderstood and misapplied. > It has to be deliberate, dedicated time spent focusing on improvement. Staying in your current job generally won't create that kind of feedback loop. Stretching your boundaries in a new position very well might. I would certainly never say that everyone should run out and join startups, but "take your time building the skills" sounds like an excuse for being too conservative. [1] http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/10000-hour-rule-not-real-180952410/?no-ist http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/10000-hour-rule-not...
- bpchaps 11y agoAgreed. I never really spent any time specifically learning, but just by getting deep into the thing I'm working on with a secondary focus on learning is all it took. Deliberate, dedicated learning like what's being described here just sounds like a recipe to learn at a shallow level, rather than using self motivation and interest as a tool to learn.
- aregsarkissian 11y agoBill Gates quit Harvard to chase his dream of building microcomputer software. Steve jobs quit reed collage then Atari and Steve Wozniak quit HP to chase their dream of the integrated personal computer. The google guys were phd candidstes that left to commercialize their search engine technology. What is this guy talking about?
- m0llusk 11y agoAll of my jobs have been meat grinders that left no room for outside work and had contracts which explicitly forbade any such. Before I started to plan seriously for independent work my corporate benefactors quit me. Such experiences are actually quite common and make this article seem trite.