5 ms·

I think this is the cause of death for a lot of my projects that could have become successful businesses. Once I figure it out, I don't care any more.

DaniFong 18y ago
Maybe some humility would do you good, then? There's more to successful businesses than most can predict.
- izaidi 18y ago
  I sympathize with mwmanning, and I don't think it's a matter of humility; I think it's that solving an interesting problem is often a much stronger motivator than the prospect of making money -- that is, running a business, as difficult and unpredictable as it is, sometimes isn't as much fun as fleshing out an interesting idea. I toss a lot of stuff on the scrap heap after "figuring it out," not because I'm confident that I know exactly how to turn a profit from it, but because what I'd rather do is move on to the next idea.
  - DaniFong 18y ago
    I sympathize as well; this certainly one of my 'faults', too. But there really is value in completing things. Perhaps more importantly, a lot of otherwise bright people can become quite conceited after having 'figured something out'. One of the most valuable things about bringing something to completion is that, on the way, it challenges assumptions.
    - izaidi 18y ago
      Yeah, I totally agree. When you keep getting off on knowing you could do something instead of actually doing it, the evidence on which you're basing that knowledge starts to get pretty shaky.
      - mwmanning 18y ago
        I don't know what you mean by "getting off on" other than the fact that it's fun to solve problems. It's not like I'm gloating about what I do. Most of the little things I work on are completely private endeavors that I never even talk to anyone about. Knowledge is worth pursuing for its own sake; not everything is a competition.
        izaidi 18y ago
        I meant it solely in the sense of deriving pleasure from the activity, and not at all in the sense of gloating or competition.
  - mwmanning 18y ago
    This is exactly what I meant. I didn't mean to imply that I was somehow too good to pursue an idea, just that it's hard to stay motivated once you've cracked the interesting problems.

DaniFong 18y ago

Maybe some humility would do you good, then? There's more to successful businesses than most can predict.

izaidi 18y ago
I sympathize with mwmanning, and I don't think it's a matter of humility; I think it's that solving an interesting problem is often a much stronger motivator than the prospect of making money -- that is, running a business, as difficult and unpredictable as it is, sometimes isn't as much fun as fleshing out an interesting idea. I toss a lot of stuff on the scrap heap after "figuring it out," not because I'm confident that I know exactly how to turn a profit from it, but because what I'd rather do is move on to the next idea.
- DaniFong 18y ago
  I sympathize as well; this certainly one of my 'faults', too. But there really is value in completing things. Perhaps more importantly, a lot of otherwise bright people can become quite conceited after having 'figured something out'. One of the most valuable things about bringing something to completion is that, on the way, it challenges assumptions.
  - izaidi 18y ago
    Yeah, I totally agree. When you keep getting off on knowing you could do something instead of actually doing it, the evidence on which you're basing that knowledge starts to get pretty shaky.
    - mwmanning 18y ago
      I don't know what you mean by "getting off on" other than the fact that it's fun to solve problems. It's not like I'm gloating about what I do. Most of the little things I work on are completely private endeavors that I never even talk to anyone about. Knowledge is worth pursuing for its own sake; not everything is a competition.
      - izaidi 18y ago
        I meant it solely in the sense of deriving pleasure from the activity, and not at all in the sense of gloating or competition.
- mwmanning 18y ago
  This is exactly what I meant. I didn't mean to imply that I was somehow too good to pursue an idea, just that it's hard to stay motivated once you've cracked the interesting problems.