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Funny, as I read this post I thought, "Not hacker news." Then I read all the comments (42 as of this writing) and still thought, "Not hacker news." Then I rea
by edw519 16y ago
Funny, as I read this post I thought, "Not hacker news." Then I read all the comments (42 as of this writing) and still thought, "Not hacker news."
Then I realized, "Perfect hacker news." Let me explain...
I try to approach my business just as the Mexicans in the story did. Not to make money, not to change the world, not to build cool stuff (well maybe just a little), but to genuinely help people. For a business person, this thinking is difficult and counter-intuitive.
Why do I do this? Because of my first mentor (and co-founder).
He was relentless in everything he did. I learned to stay up all night, keep calling on customers, and stay with tasks until we got somewhere with them. I remember many nights with thousands of invoices spread across the carpet, watching the graveyard shift run their machines, or scanning reports on-line, looking for clues. He wouldn't quit and the reason was always the same, "These people need help and we can help them. So we do. Don't worry about how hard it is or how much time we spend, it'll all work out in the end."
Sometimes I think that this is the attitude very successful people must have. It's too easy to give up when it's for ourselves, but much harder when we know that someone else needs us to get the thing done.
The Mexicans in the story reminded me of my mentor. A great lesson for anyone in business (or not). Thank you, OP.
- antareus 16y agoThis is beautiful. Too often I see business as a purely soul-less set of transactions predicated on the exchange of money where both parties need each other, but keep each other at arm's length.
- snth 16y agoI appreciate the sentiment, but "it'll all work out in the end" seems like a warning sign of wishful (poor) thinking.
- edw519 16y agoWho am I going to listen to, the man who taught me more than I ever could ever imagine (and is now retired and giving away his millions) or some stranger who thinks he knows better? I often share thoughts like this in the OP's spirit of "pass it on" so that it may benefit someone else. Take it or leave it. But doubting it, commenting on what it "seems", or downvoting it only makes you look like a fool. [Sorry for the negative tone, but this is a perfect example of the one thing about hn that really bugs me: people talking when they should be listening.]
- snth 16y agoOf course you're free to listen to whomever you like; I wish you would take my comment more as an alternative viewpoint than as an insult. I do appreciate the sentiment of your story, that people should help others, but personally I think the attitude "it'll all work out in the end" ruins more lives than it saves.
- jlcgull 16y agoI think the attitude "it'll all work out in the end" ruins more lives than it saves. I think that is cynicism speaking, more than anything else. Most importantly, how "end" is defined will determine if "it worked out" or not.
- zzzeek 16y ago"it'll all work out" is an effective tool to deal with irrational or counterproductive anxiety (irrational== fear of flying, fear of social settings, etc., counterproductive==survival situations, situations with no other reasonable extrication than through, i.e. you need to swim to safety, you're stuck in a cave, you have a huge presentation to do tomorrow). It's entirely a bad idea to use in lieu of rational decisionmaking (i.e. "Ill enter into this horrible business deal, itll all work out!"). If you have generally negligible amounts of anxiety in life, the attitude is probably useless. For those of us that have tons, the judicious usage of this attitude is definitely a lifesaver.
- jlcgull 16y agoAgain, like most discussions on HN these days, the arguments seem to be turning towards mistaking general, rule-of-thumb kinda anecdotal advice as gospel truth and then trying to beat it into a provably correct or provably incorrect corner. Why not take it with a grain, or thimbleful (per taste), of salt and then giving it a shot in real life (IRL?)? If you really disagree so strongly then why not write the underlying reason(s) for your view(s)? Perhaps that would make for more interesting reading! Now before you take it as a rebuttal, let me start by saying the reason why I agree with edw519's response to the OP is borne of a basic human instinct that people a generally good. I like to believe that and would like to continue doing so. However, I have run into a fair share of douches and vampires who have made me want to reverse my viewpoint. Yet again, there have been many selfless acts from strangers, both big and small, to continue warrant giving humanity in general the benefit of doubt. In the end, I keep paraphrasing Lester Burnham's thoughts: You cannot stay mad at life for too long. Every something happens that makes you hate it, the next moment it will do something that makes you love with it all over again. Damn! I guess I am just another die-hard optimist. :-)
- sanj 16y agoNot in my mind. Doing the right thing is a solid way to run your life. It lets you sleep better at night and build solid relationships when you're awake. And, strangely, it does work out in the end. It has for me, every time.
- sudont 16y agoThat's confirmation bias, you never hear from the people who try and fail. They go away to the gutter, a shitty sales job; silence. I'm glad it worked out for you, but it's rarely ever "just worked out" for me. So, be happy, because you're very lucky!
- sanj 16y agoIt is possibly confirmation bias. But it is one I embrace: it lets me continue to dream, take risks and help people out. A little self-delusion is a small price to pay for all that. And, yes, I am aware that I am very lucky.
- olalonde 16y ago> I am the founder of LuckyCal. That made me smile :) That being said, I agree with your sentiment. And in the end, even if it doesn't work out, you never waste time by doing the right thing. I'd rather end up broke and do "the right thing" than to make money with a business I don't believe is making the world a better place. Moreover it seems doing the right thing is more likely to make you money which is kind of nice :)
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- sid0 16y agoAh, the just-world phenomenon. Some people call it a fallacy -- I for one am not so pessimistic.
- andreyf 16y agoThink of it as a self-organizing social p2p protocol. Do the right thing. If you feel it's ruining your life, you should probably go hang out with a different crowd.
- zacharycohn 16y agoIt's not so much "it'll all work out in the end" as it is "work really hard until it works out in the end."
- neuralzen 16y agoSeth Godin prescribes this behavior as well, and acts on it if his eBook distributions are any evidence. Giving things away for free in a genuine way is a great way to make money if you are clever about it. There is nothing wrong with mutually-assured improvement.
- jonathanwallace 16y agoThank you for this story. I shared your sentiment when I saw this story pop up on hn but I've been struggling to find the right mindset for marketing my next project. Your mentor's philosophy is exactly what I needed to hear.
- shiven 16y agoA wonderful story that restores my faith in humanity, just a little bit (and reminds me why coming to HN may be worthwhile, despite the nasty bickering it devolves into at times -- it still remains a good filter for finding worthwhile reading material). It is easy to be generous when life is easy, the true test of a person's heart lies in their actions during times of personal adversity. It is easy to lose hope, more so during hardship, when it is needed most. This story is one of those faint glimmers that may help someone make one choice versus another and start a chain of paying it forward. So, yes, thanks for sharing it OP.
- jaydavids 16y agoAgreed. Thought it was an inspiring story that exposes an admirable attitude.
- DanielRibeiro 16y agoGreat comment. I was quite amazed at how this got more than 1000 up votes until your comment. Thanks.