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From http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112881 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112881 What's usually the biggest mental hurdle for hackers to transition
by mrshoe 17y ago
From http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112881 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112881
What's usually the biggest mental hurdle for hackers to transition into entrepreneurs?
pg: Coming to terms with the effort required.
Still, it's important to remember that some people work two full-time jobs and barely make ends meet, while others work roughly the same hours and make millions. Working smart is just as important as working hard. I suppose that's a goal of YC's -- to help us work smart while we work hard.
- chrischen 17y agoYep. It takes two things to succeed in your goals: intelligence and persistence. Intelligence is necessary so you know what to do. Persistence because the universe is messed up and not always consistent, and doing the right things might sometimes not work for no explainable reason (but also because it's impossible to account for all variables and make perfect choices all the time, so we've got to be able to absorb that).
- timwiseman 17y agoAgreed, but given the choice of one or the other my money will be on persistence every time.
- chrischen 17y agoNo it takes both. A lot of persistence in the wrong direction will just leave you somewhere other than where you wanted to be. Intelligence points you in the right direction, and persistence gets you there. Think about it this way: you can be smart and know how to solve a very defined problem. But even if the world is deterministic, we're not close to being able to control it through pure logic and reasoning alone. That is we don't have the computer power or mind power to identify all variables and make sure we always do the right thing. THIS is why we need to persist. Because luck and unpredictability force us to try the right methods over and over again. Even if they are right, they may not work all the time because of luck.
- petesalty 17y agoI'd throw luck in there too. A little luck goes a long way.
- chrischen 17y agoThat's what persistence handles. It minimizes the effect of luck. What I mean't by the unpredictability of the universe is in fact the luck. To overcome luck, you simply persist. And no amount of intelligence can overcome the unpredictable (because it follows no rules). So that's why you need persistence, as well as intelligence.
- ghfdrvtsyup 17y agoRemember, though, the harder you work, the luckier you get.