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I don't think graduating students, MBA or otherwise, have a hard time grasping the concept of following their passions. Rather, I think they have a hard time fi

I don't think graduating students, MBA or otherwise, have a hard time grasping the concept of following their passions. Rather, I think they have a hard time figuring out what their passions actually are. The educational and employment system in this country has beaten relentlessly on the drum of incrementality. Everything is a box on an endless checklist. Everything is a step towards another step. No time to stop and figure out where all the steps are actually leading. Need to focus on working hard right now. So you go through life like this for 10 or 15 years, and eventually you wake up wondering how the hell you ended up nowhere near where you wanted to be. You allowed yourself to become a slave to expectations, short-term ass busting, and conventional wisdom. You may have squirreled away some decent coin in the process, but how much of that squirreling have you really enjoyed? And was it worth the price?

FD3SA 16y ago
I rarely comment on HN, but this is incredibly wise advice. To anyone who is graduating soon and being told by everyone to "find a job, any job" listen to this man's words VERY CAREFULLY. Parse each statement individually and then contemplate the entire message. For those of us who do not believe in an afterlife, we must realize that the opportunity costs of doing things that we don't enjoy for extended periods of time are INCREDIBLY high. Personally, I would rather be poor with a lot of leisure time, or extremely wealthy with a lot of leisure time. I am willing to endure the transition period from one to the other (startup binge for 2-3 yrs), but with strict adherence to the PG startup methods (fail/iterate quickly) so that I am not wasting my precious time. Life is far too short to spend completing a checklist that your parents put in front of you. Make your own goals, and follow your own passions. The best embodiment of this philosophy is probably Elon Musk. Got rich and immediately followed his passions. He continues to inspire me to this day.
- deleted 16y ago
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- pasbesoin 16y ago
  Beware, also, of arguments to the effect: "This is the way it worked for us." Millions of young and middle-aged (and a good fraction of older) people particularly in the U.S. are getting a lesson in this right now. "Pay your dues." In one way, there's still wisdom in this. You don't know as much as you think you know. Don't just charge off the cliff. On the other hand, if this means consistently, persistently doing less than you could, kowtowing to bores/boors who even you can see are not part of the solution. Well, I'll just warn you: The atrophy becomes self-perpetuating. The trouble is, when you're young, you do have a lack of perspective. And sometimes such people are very influential, controlling figures in one's life. And emotions are deep-seated, tricky buggers once established.

FD3SA 16y ago

I rarely comment on HN, but this is incredibly wise advice. To anyone who is graduating soon and being told by everyone to "find a job, any job" listen to this man's words VERY CAREFULLY. Parse each statement individually and then contemplate the entire message. For those of us who do not believe in an afterlife, we must realize that the opportunity costs of doing things that we don't enjoy for extended periods of time are INCREDIBLY high. Personally, I would rather be poor with a lot of leisure time, or extremely wealthy with a lot of leisure time. I am willing to endure the transition period from one to the other (startup binge for 2-3 yrs), but with strict adherence to the PG startup methods (fail/iterate quickly) so that I am not wasting my precious time. Life is far too short to spend completing a checklist that your parents put in front of you. Make your own goals, and follow your own passions. The best embodiment of this philosophy is probably Elon Musk. Got rich and immediately followed his passions. He continues to inspire me to this day.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
pasbesoin 16y ago
Beware, also, of arguments to the effect: "This is the way it worked for us." Millions of young and middle-aged (and a good fraction of older) people particularly in the U.S. are getting a lesson in this right now. "Pay your dues." In one way, there's still wisdom in this. You don't know as much as you think you know. Don't just charge off the cliff. On the other hand, if this means consistently, persistently doing less than you could, kowtowing to bores/boors who even you can see are not part of the solution. Well, I'll just warn you: The atrophy becomes self-perpetuating. The trouble is, when you're young, you do have a lack of perspective. And sometimes such people are very influential, controlling figures in one's life. And emotions are deep-seated, tricky buggers once established.