4 ms·

You're a smart man. I wish I had done that.

collyw 7y ago
Personally I would say the opposite. You should define yourself by outside interests rather than by what other people pay you to do.
- nkrisc 7y ago
  Given the difference between income streams, and the fact that still go to their day job, I would wager their job is an interest to them.
- em-bee 7y ago
  if i didn't define myself by what allows me to make a living, then i would hate my work. now i am not defining myself only by paid work. but it is part of my identity. if it wasn't i wouldn't be able to do it.
- ticmasta 7y ago
  But if you get paid to do what you personally value, isn't that the ultimate win?
  - ryanlol 7y ago
    This might sound harsh, but if the best thing in life is IT administration for some company then you haven’t looked very far. But hey, who knows, maybe they work for a charity or something?
    - puranjay 7y ago
      At a personal level, I'm not a fan of this generalization that being an IT admin (or any other boring job) is inherently inferior than, I don't know, skateboarding or playing the guitar for a living. Different people like different things.
      - kerkeslager 7y ago
        That's true, but the way people do things they enjoy when it's a job is very different from how they do them when it's a hobby. I write code for a living, and I write code for fun. I would never choose to write the code I write for a living if I weren't getting paid to, and it's unlikely I'll ever get paid for the code I write for fun.
    - Matticus_Rex 7y ago
      Yeah, the question is IT administration for what. I do a lot of stuff in my job that I don't enjoy for its own sake, but I enjoy it because I feel alignment with the purpose the organization is serving.
- burntoutfire 7y ago
  The problem with that is that, outside of our personal lives, most of our meaningful activities and contributions in society are organized as jobs at companies (or various government bodies). In my country even more so than in the US, as there's almost no volunteering here. It's just hard to feel like you're living a meaningful life without a job, or running a company yourself.
  - pdimitar 7y ago
    If you get a long enough break from work your hidden inner voices will start talking. You will discover that your identity isn't tied to your work-for-money activities. IMO (I can't be sure of course) you simply never got off the hamster wheel for long enough to give your inner voices a chance to speak.
eb0la 7y ago
I believe the smart part is he knows what he wants... and that's hard, btw.

Personally I would say the opposite. You should define yourself by outside interests rather than by what other people pay you to do.

nkrisc 7y ago
Given the difference between income streams, and the fact that still go to their day job, I would wager their job is an interest to them.
em-bee 7y ago
if i didn't define myself by what allows me to make a living, then i would hate my work. now i am not defining myself only by paid work. but it is part of my identity. if it wasn't i wouldn't be able to do it.
ticmasta 7y ago
But if you get paid to do what you personally value, isn't that the ultimate win?
- ryanlol 7y ago
  This might sound harsh, but if the best thing in life is IT administration for some company then you haven’t looked very far. But hey, who knows, maybe they work for a charity or something?
  - puranjay 7y ago
    At a personal level, I'm not a fan of this generalization that being an IT admin (or any other boring job) is inherently inferior than, I don't know, skateboarding or playing the guitar for a living. Different people like different things.
    - kerkeslager 7y ago
      That's true, but the way people do things they enjoy when it's a job is very different from how they do them when it's a hobby. I write code for a living, and I write code for fun. I would never choose to write the code I write for a living if I weren't getting paid to, and it's unlikely I'll ever get paid for the code I write for fun.
  - Matticus_Rex 7y ago
    Yeah, the question is IT administration for what. I do a lot of stuff in my job that I don't enjoy for its own sake, but I enjoy it because I feel alignment with the purpose the organization is serving.
burntoutfire 7y ago
The problem with that is that, outside of our personal lives, most of our meaningful activities and contributions in society are organized as jobs at companies (or various government bodies). In my country even more so than in the US, as there's almost no volunteering here. It's just hard to feel like you're living a meaningful life without a job, or running a company yourself.
- pdimitar 7y ago
  If you get a long enough break from work your hidden inner voices will start talking. You will discover that your identity isn't tied to your work-for-money activities. IMO (I can't be sure of course) you simply never got off the hamster wheel for long enough to give your inner voices a chance to speak.

eb0la 7y ago

I believe the smart part is he knows what he wants... and that's hard, btw.