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Here is the author's blog: http://dallasclayton.com/ http://dallasclayton.com/ Warning: contains awesome poetry. It makes me happy that people like this exis

Here is the author's blog: http://dallasclayton.com/ http://dallasclayton.com/ Warning: contains awesome poetry. It makes me happy that people like this exist.

devinfoley 16y ago
Dallas is an inspiration to me, and I think his story would be inspirational to a many in the HN community. Nobody gave him permission to be a children's book author. He decided to just go for it. He wrote the book, published it himself, and put it for sale on his website. He didn't seek a book deal. He bootstrapped. He didn't buy advertising. He got in his car and drove around the country doing readings at schools, libraries, and hospitals, handing out free copies to lots of kids. He made a product that people wanted, put it in their hands, and those people evangelized the product for him. It reminds me of AirBnB's talk at Startup School this year, how they traveled from door to door, meeting their users face to face to promote their business. I don't think he wrote the book with the hopes of selling a buttload of units, but rather because he wanted his son, and other kids, to read it. It's a happy accident that somehow he ended up selling a buttload of units. For every book he sells, he gives a copy away for free through the Awesome World Foundation.
exit 16y ago
> It makes me happy that people like this exist. i find people like this extremely unnerving. this kind of oceanic "awesomeness" enthusiasm comes across as someone struggling to convince themselves that just the opposite isn't the case.
- harscoat 16y ago
  stop reading the words then, look at the awesome drawings
- dhyasama 16y ago
  Do you have kids? The oceanic awesomeness of this book is no match for thhe boundless optimism and enthusiasm of my two-year old daughter or any child for that matter. I'm all for being a realist, but with children it pays off in spades to fill them up with hope, optimism, and fearlessness.
  - webXL 16y ago
    I am a new father and totally agree. With parenthood comes plenty of new responsibilities that interfere with our ability to dream. Since children have far less responsibility and fear, they need to be the dreamers. Many recent college grads are too career focused or idealistic to start having big dreams, so you got to start 'em early.
  - stickhandle 16y ago
    totally agree -- i have three: 6,5 and 1. The joy on a young one's face at the sight of a balloon ... or bubbles ... is simply mind boggling. If anything could make me that happy ... <sigh>. Kids come with hope, optimism, and fearlessness - its up to us not to ruin it.
- locopati 16y ago
  The opposite being what? That things aren't awesome? Sure, the world has troubles, people struggle, and the world also has majesty and joy - that's acknowledging what's around you. But how we approach the world, that's entirely in our hands. Who wouldn't want to unlock their boundless enthusiasm, energy, and creativity? Three cheers to anyone who can. Let them inspire the rest of us, for whom it doesn't come easily.
- shaunxcode 16y ago
  You might benefit from considering the stoic position on awesomeness. The logical conclusion of cynicism IS an embrace of the "oceanic awesomeness" in that you learn to appreciate all that is now because it will end/leave/die/fail. To disengage or lose hope because of this fact rather than to embrace and engage is a mistake.
- sz 16y ago
  Obviously the message is naive or delusional at face value (I would agree with you about a person that has this mentality wrt everthing) but it has a grain of truth—two, actually, that I can spot. I suspect the author realizes this. Just as unnerving are adults that think it's too late for them to be taken with childlike wonder or enthusiasm, but there's no reason for that. It's a remarkable feat to convince yourself that the world is predictable and that some things are impossible. (Not saying that you're one of these people, but that extremes of both sides are bad.)

Here is the author's blog: http://dallasclayton.com/ http://dallasclayton.com/ Warning: contains awesome poetry. It makes me happy that people like this exist.

devinfoley 16y ago

Dallas is an inspiration to me, and I think his story would be inspirational to a many in the HN community. Nobody gave him permission to be a children's book author. He decided to just go for it. He wrote the book, published it himself, and put it for sale on his website. He didn't seek a book deal. He bootstrapped. He didn't buy advertising. He got in his car and drove around the country doing readings at schools, libraries, and hospitals, handing out free copies to lots of kids. He made a product that people wanted, put it in their hands, and those people evangelized the product for him. It reminds me of AirBnB's talk at Startup School this year, how they traveled from door to door, meeting their users face to face to promote their business. I don't think he wrote the book with the hopes of selling a buttload of units, but rather because he wanted his son, and other kids, to read it. It's a happy accident that somehow he ended up selling a buttload of units. For every book he sells, he gives a copy away for free through the Awesome World Foundation.

exit 16y ago

> It makes me happy that people like this exist. i find people like this extremely unnerving. this kind of oceanic "awesomeness" enthusiasm comes across as someone struggling to convince themselves that just the opposite isn't the case.

harscoat 16y ago
stop reading the words then, look at the awesome drawings
dhyasama 16y ago
Do you have kids? The oceanic awesomeness of this book is no match for thhe boundless optimism and enthusiasm of my two-year old daughter or any child for that matter. I'm all for being a realist, but with children it pays off in spades to fill them up with hope, optimism, and fearlessness.
- webXL 16y ago
  I am a new father and totally agree. With parenthood comes plenty of new responsibilities that interfere with our ability to dream. Since children have far less responsibility and fear, they need to be the dreamers. Many recent college grads are too career focused or idealistic to start having big dreams, so you got to start 'em early.
- stickhandle 16y ago
  totally agree -- i have three: 6,5 and 1. The joy on a young one's face at the sight of a balloon ... or bubbles ... is simply mind boggling. If anything could make me that happy ... <sigh>. Kids come with hope, optimism, and fearlessness - its up to us not to ruin it.
locopati 16y ago
The opposite being what? That things aren't awesome? Sure, the world has troubles, people struggle, and the world also has majesty and joy - that's acknowledging what's around you. But how we approach the world, that's entirely in our hands. Who wouldn't want to unlock their boundless enthusiasm, energy, and creativity? Three cheers to anyone who can. Let them inspire the rest of us, for whom it doesn't come easily.
shaunxcode 16y ago
You might benefit from considering the stoic position on awesomeness. The logical conclusion of cynicism IS an embrace of the "oceanic awesomeness" in that you learn to appreciate all that is now because it will end/leave/die/fail. To disengage or lose hope because of this fact rather than to embrace and engage is a mistake.
sz 16y ago
Obviously the message is naive or delusional at face value (I would agree with you about a person that has this mentality wrt everthing) but it has a grain of truth—two, actually, that I can spot. I suspect the author realizes this. Just as unnerving are adults that think it's too late for them to be taken with childlike wonder or enthusiasm, but there's no reason for that. It's a remarkable feat to convince yourself that the world is predictable and that some things are impossible. (Not saying that you're one of these people, but that extremes of both sides are bad.)