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Now that you have turned 22 can I please give you some advice...
- plemer 16y agoI stopped reading at "Do not read."
- arethuza 16y agoTo be fair it goes on to say "Read not what is written but read into the writer’s mind." Not that I would pretend to know what that means!
- alexgartrell 16y agoI'm pretty sure that he means that you should read something in an effort to understand the author's thought process, so that you can formulate your own opinion. This is opposed to reading things as gospel and believing everything you read.
- derefr 16y agoIt also protects against overly-cynical literal interpretations—if you read something and think "no one would be stupid enough to write that," then—since you can understand that the author was clearly attempting to make a certain argument, whether or not they succeeded—you should assume they said what they were trying to say, instead of bailing out like a compiler. The Principle of Charity, in other words.
- hnal943 16y ago"I believe virtually anything I read, and I believe that makes me more of a selective human than someone who doesn't believe anything." - David St. Hubbins
- GBond 16y ago.. because you were taking his advice or felt it was bad advice?
- codyguy 16y agoThe "Don't try hard" + "Muhammad Ali" combination isn't accurate. He pushed "hard" beyond limits, both in the ring and out of it. If you read one his biographies containing details of his bouts and you'll know what I mean.
- TomOfTTB 16y agoYeah a lot of this is terribly inaccurate and the fact that it's being used to sell questionable advice makes it even more so. For example... Jimmy Hendrix might have loved to play the guitar but his gimmick was playing it competently with his teeth and I guarantee you that's something he had to work hard to be able to do right. Einstein did say Imagination is more important than Knowledge but he also said... knowledge must continually be renewed by ceaseless effort, if it is not to be lost. It resembles a statue of marble which stands in the desert and is continually threatened with burial by the shifting sand. The hands of service must ever be at work, in order that the marble continue to lastingly shine in the sun. To these serving hands mine shall also belong. So clearly he thought it important to "read what is written" too.
- cynicalkane 16y agoHendrix also had the gimmick of leading a band that played excellent music, which is potentially a bigger explanatory factor in his success.
- TheSOB88 16y agoWas he not the songwriter? Is it not harder to lead than to follow? Or are you just saying teeth aren't that important in the grand scheme of things?
- cynicalkane 16y ago"Gimmick" was meant to be sarcastic.
- iliketosleep 16y ago
- cshenoy 16y ago22 for women, 25 for men (since we don't really listen to advice until later on, if at all). awesome advice!
- grannyg00se 16y ago"Do not ever work Picasso used to paint all the time, Henry Moore sculpt the whole day. " Unfortunately the realities of life indicate that you must work. Most of us spend 8hrs a day doing something we barely tolerate because "do what you enjoy" doesn't pay the bills. Society is not configured to allow such freedom en masse. "Do not try hard Let it simply flow. Jimmy Hendrix did not play guitar. He simply let his feelings flow unabated. " This is nonsense. Jimi practiced often, spent grueling hours in studio re-recording and perfecting. Sometimes even re-recording other band members' tracks himself. He was definitely trying. Hard! He also experienced frustration just like everyone else when learning new material. To reach the point where you are no longer trying hard, and just letting the "feelings flow", you have to first try hard and practice like crazy.
- igrekel 16y agoI liked it but somehow I think its because this advice sounds more like things I would like to believe to be true.
- TomOfTTB 16y agoI'd argue that's what makes this type of thing insidious. Take one piece of advice he gives... "Create your own demand. People are always on the lookout for the good. People seek out winners. Therefore be a winner all the time." Now if I were giving advice on this sort of thing I'd say just the opposite. Here would be my advice. "It's not enough to be good at what you do. George Washington was turned down when he requested a commission in the British army. Abraham Lincoln lost 2 elections before becoming President. Einstein was 40 before anyone recognized him as a leading scientist. So it is not enough to be a winner you must also work to get people to notice how good you are and that can take time." Now if I'm right than his advice is irresponsible because he's setting people up for disappointment. People taking his advice will expect the world to form a line to their door. When that line doesn't form they'll have to assume they just aren't good enough and that's not the desired result.
- igrekel 16y agoYes you picked one of the pieces that made me feel that way the most. Others are Do not try hard -> for things to be easy (or look effortless) you have to try hard first for quite a while. Do not ever work -> interest always fades at some point, some times permanently and other times temporarily, but sticking to it is often necessary and not doing it sounds like a recipe for a path littered with unfinished things.
- maxklein 16y agoI think there is one advice that is of questionable quality: the advice to "keep pushing for quality". "Make the highest quality". That sounds really good. But how easy that? The problem is simply that you first have to be able to recognize what is quality and what is not. And that's the greatest difficulty of all. If you make something of really great quality that everyone thinks is quality, then it will work well. But what if it's really good for you, but not for anyone else? Take for example all these YC companies. ALL of them are working on something they are constantly trying to make great. But a number of them just don't end up with something that people regard as being quality, and so they fail. Before you can make something of great quality, you have to recognize what is of quality to other people. And that is an extremely difficult task that, dare I say this, most people cannot do. Most people cannot properly place themselves in another persons shoes. They cannot look at their products from the outside. And so long they cannot do that, they cannot guage when something is of high quality, and will forever be unable to take that advice.
- shaddi 16y agoRobert Pirsig has some words to say on this. If the idea of pursuing quality intrigues you it might be worth your time to take a read through his books, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Lila".
- scott_s 16y agoI think all of it is terrible advice (don't try hard? don't work? good luck with that), but others have already covered that below. I just wanted to point out that apparently the author still opens unsolicited Word documents from emails. Not a good idea: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/7/25/ http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/7/25/
- edw519 16y agoThis post reminds me of the old joke where a young woman wants to marry a religious man. Her father asked him, "What will you do with your life?" "Pray," he replied. "And how do you intend to provide for my daughter?" "God will provide for us." Later, when the man's wife asked how his meeting with his prospective son-in-law went, he replied, "Very well. He already thinks I'm God.
- BrandonM 16y agoIt's a funny joke to be sure, but I think it's a far cry from the advice in the post. There's a big difference between relying on something external to make you happy and following your passion.
- Andrew_Quentin 16y agoThe difference being?
- preek 16y agoHappiness is a state of mind, you can't successfully induce it with external sources.
- Locke1689 16y agoThat's only true if you don't think your mind is a function of input from external sources.
- preek 16y agoI concur in your assessment; this is a premise. A fundamental one, too. I declare being cought in the notion that your mind is a (pure) function of input to be self-deception, which will ultimately lead to a path of misery. If this were not true, how come that many people experience a change in themselves when they meditate? If you haven't been exposed to Buddhism yet, for example Zen meditation (Zazen) has the ultimate goal just to sit and breathe. Thoughts and external input are to be dismissed during Zazen. Telling from personal experience, this practice changes people. Without any external input whatsover. Hence: The human mind cannot be a pure function of external sources.
- mattmaroon 16y agoThis is bullshit. Almost everything in here sounds great but is merely fluff. I promise you that at many points, playing guitar felt like work to Jimmy Hendrix. Painting felt like work to Picasso. Muhammad Ali tried very hard to be the best. He also marketed the hell out of himself. People who've never done something for a living that is a hobby for most participants think there's some clearly-defined line between work and passion. There's not. It's a continuum and you spend your life moving from one end to the other and back again if you're doing the right thing. If you're not you spend it all at one end. Take advice, just don't view it as the gospel. Everyone here has probably been taking advice from PG, for instance, and is better off for it.
- jseliger 16y agoI would phrase it differently, but I tend to concur with your sentiment, especially the bit about reading. Yes, I understand that the author is saying you should read deeply, not shallowly, but the way he says "don't read" is, in my mind, dumb, especially if people merely scan his headers. I wrote a longish essay called "How to get your Professors’ Attention — along with Coaching or Mentoring" in response to the ways I've responded to students and previous professors have responded to me: http://jseliger.com/2010/10/02/how-to-get-your-professors%E2%80%99-attention-or-how-to-get-the-coaching-and-mentorship-you-need http://jseliger.com/2010/10/02/how-to-get-your-professors%E2... . A chunk of the essay concerns the importance of reading and how people use reading to test your seriousness. I think it's much better advice than not to "read."
- derefr 16y agoI think just scanning the headers is precisely the kind of "reading" he's talking about. Don't take the headers at face value; think about their intended purpose, and what went through the author's mind when formulating them.
- BrandonM 16y agoAlmost everything is bullshit if you take it at face value. The point of the advice was to promote a certain mindset: Endeavor to do things that you enjoy doing, and do them with feeling and quality. Chasing success, money, competition, or customer whims will not lead to happiness. Instead do things that you enjoy and do them in your own way that no one else can compete with. This will sidestep competition and lead to customers, money, and success. Think Apple. Don't just absorb knowledge (reading, advice), but understand it from the author's point of view. His last point was to not blindly take advice, but to understand it and apply it to your own situation. To ignore and marginalize his advice as you have done is to ignore one of his most important points.
- tsbaron 16y agoHmm so according to Mr. Rabbani, Hacker News is a waste of time.
- dmatking 16y agoOne can certainly use a lot of time reading Hacker News. Whether it is wasted or not depends on the reader I think.
- gruseom 16y agoLet it simply flow. Jimmy Hendrix did not play guitar. He simply let his feelings flow unabated. Could this be intentionally evil advice designed to prevent the recipient from ever amounting to anything? Infants let their feelings flow unabated. "Jimmy" worked his ass off.
- chrischen 16y agoAssuming he worked his ass off is speculating as much as assuming it all never felt like work to him. I can attest that I've done what people thought was working my ass off but really felt like nothing because it was enjoyable and came naturally.
- compay 16y agoI remember reading a few times in interviews with people that knew him, that Hendrix basically never put the guitar down. I think in the sense the author is trying to convey, he "never worked hard" and "it just flowed" because he must have truly loved what he did, and he was doing something that he had a gift for. But from what I have read, he dedicated a lot of time to practicing.
- chrischen 16y agoThe author is not trying to convey that he never worked hard. Believe it or not, you can both work hard and enjoy it. The author is trying to say he enjoyed his work so it never felt like work, therefore it just flowed.
- gruseom 16y agoI'm not speculating. Work isn't something you feel, it's something you do. It's documented historical fact that Jimi Hendrix played the guitar incessantly.
- chrischen 16y agoThen you're missing the point of the guy's advice. He's telling you to do what you love, so that you won't ever mind working.
- askar_yu 16y agoalright, but... "no pain, no gain"
- tsycho 16y agoa friend of mine used to have a funny variant of this (more a jab at me when i would be leaving for the gym) "no pain, no pain" :)
- alexyoung 16y ago"Do not take advice" OK, I won't take your advice. But you just said "do not take advice", so does that mean I should take your advice about not taking advice? (stack error, brain explodes)
- moshezadka 16y agoWhen I read this, I could not stop thinking about Harry Potter & The Methods of Rationality, and how HP calls out Dumbledore out for "pretending to be wise". See http://lesswrong.com/lw/yp/pretending_to_be_wise/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/yp/pretending_to_be_wise/ for an explanation -- the post above is a clever take on that. Instead of refusing to pass judgement, it's giving advice that, as the people who did think of it as wise said, "is bullshit if you take it at face value" -- it's meant to serve as a counter-balance to the exact opposites of those, which are obviously also good advice, often given. By saying a thing, and implying you also believe its opposite, you can never be wrong. I don't really affiliate myself with the rationalist movement, but I think they have developed a number of useful tools to learn to call people out on trying to bullshit you.
- AndyKelley 16y agoToday is my 22nd birthday... weird.
- gatsby 16y agoThere are undoubtedly infinite mantras to live by that can help to produce a successful, happy, meaningful life. If this advice worked for the author, fantastic. Interestingly, most people I personally know who've achieved any amount of "success" have all worked their asses off, tried harder than everyone around them, competed fiercely, marketed better than their competitors, read often, chased their dreams (whether it's money, happiness, adventure, "success," etc.), and were always open to advice (especially at 22). Regardless of age, status, profession, passions, goals, or anything else - life can be a bitch and failure happens. Though I've never spoken to Picasso, Moore, Hendrix, or Ali, I'm almost positive they had struggles. They probably even had times when they wanted to leave it all and quit. They didn't have beautiful, easy, careers. But they kept fighting, continued their craft, and persevered. This letter is a cute romanticization of life and work, but it's likely terrible, harmful advice.
- Stevenup7002 16y agoVery true post, however, I disagree with the "Do not ever work" and "Do not ever try hard" parts. For everything you enjoy doing, there's always some work behind it. When Picasso went to paint, he had to spend time setting up his canvas and his palette, which I'm sure wasn't as fun as painting the picture itself.
- petermin 16y agoGreat advices. Thanks for sharing.
- Kilimanjaro 16y agoDo what you love and love what you do. To live happily, you must understand what 'love' means to you and what you want to 'do' with your life. Then do it with endless passion. As a programmer, there is nothing that I like more than coding to solve a problem. I've spent 30 years of my life doing it and it still feels like my first love. If I had enough money to cover all my worries I'd spend the rest of my life coding. As I always say, I code to make money to be free to do what I want: coding.