4 ms·

A meta rant - There's a lot of cancel culture at play around working hard. I don't understand why people are trying to guilt/shame others into working less. An

A meta rant - There's a lot of cancel culture at play around working hard. I don't understand why people are trying to guilt/shame others into working less. And yet, at the same time, watch documentaries about successful people (Kanye, Michael Jordan) talking about how hard they used to work and celebrate it. In order for you to be on the top of your field, you need to put in hours and hours of work. You'd have to sacrifice the so called 'life' part of the equation. If you don't want to do that - fine! We just don't share the same values and priorities. Just like how I shouldn't shame you for not working hard, you shouldn't shame me for working hard. If I start a company, it's totally okay for me to only get employees who share this view. I'd boast about how hard I work and how much we accomplished. I'd let my employees do that. And I'd compensate them accordingly. If you think that's toxic, so be it. I feel the real shame is not realizing your full potential and falling short of your dreams.

linspace 5y ago
A lot of people are forced to follow other people dreams or worse, ambitions. You are right about dedication. If I look back it's insane the amount of time I have spent improving my skills, learning new things. I don't do it for the money although sometimes it pays good. I respect people working hard to launch a company but I cannot respect the posturing or the backstabbing dressed as professionalism.
kingboss 5y ago
"Working hard" has been proven time and time again that doesn't work. Most of the success stories you heard of weren't because of hard work but because luck and connections. But don't worry work 16 hours a day and you will be the next bill gates in no time. bruhhahahahaha I still find it funny that there are so many people who think hard work pays off.
- presentation 5y ago
  IMO in the average case hard work doesn’t move you forward, but in exceptional cases it is a huge game changer. It’s probably true for most people that putting in crazy hours is pointless, but I absolutely believe that if you’re in a position to tolerate the effects and reap the benefits of those extra hours, it absolutely can be worth the pain.
- EricE 5y ago
  Luck? I don't believe in luck, I make luck. Same thing with connections. Want to know why connections mattered in every job I have had, including my current one? Because I worked my ass off, did more than was asked of me, volunteered to do work outside of my immediate scope of work and most importantly made a point to always be on at least one cross-organizational or team outside my immediate work unit so I could actually be noticed by others. Yeah, you aren't going to be successful solely from "working" for 16 hours a day - what you do with those work hours matters too. And you know what? It worked. The best jobs are the ones that come looking for you. Another way to stand out? Become part of the internal expert network that exists within every organization. I ended up interacting with a lot of our contracting folks and I would always go out of my way to let them know I was available for "geek speak" translation - if they ever had something technical they didn't understand to just call me. Even if it wasn't for one of my contracts. Stuff like that provides dividends that can't be expressed by some silly metric. I'm pretty introverted but luckily those kinds of conversations tend to be one on one. I find it beyond hilarious that there are so many people who think luck and "connections" are how most successful people got to where they are. Keep telling yourself that if you like and good luck with that long term. Success is not accidental and yes, good old fashioned (meaningful) hard work will still pay off.
black_13 5y ago

linspace 5y ago

A lot of people are forced to follow other people dreams or worse, ambitions. You are right about dedication. If I look back it's insane the amount of time I have spent improving my skills, learning new things. I don't do it for the money although sometimes it pays good. I respect people working hard to launch a company but I cannot respect the posturing or the backstabbing dressed as professionalism.

kingboss 5y ago

"Working hard" has been proven time and time again that doesn't work. Most of the success stories you heard of weren't because of hard work but because luck and connections. But don't worry work 16 hours a day and you will be the next bill gates in no time. bruhhahahahaha I still find it funny that there are so many people who think hard work pays off.

presentation 5y ago
IMO in the average case hard work doesn’t move you forward, but in exceptional cases it is a huge game changer. It’s probably true for most people that putting in crazy hours is pointless, but I absolutely believe that if you’re in a position to tolerate the effects and reap the benefits of those extra hours, it absolutely can be worth the pain.
EricE 5y ago
Luck? I don't believe in luck, I make luck. Same thing with connections. Want to know why connections mattered in every job I have had, including my current one? Because I worked my ass off, did more than was asked of me, volunteered to do work outside of my immediate scope of work and most importantly made a point to always be on at least one cross-organizational or team outside my immediate work unit so I could actually be noticed by others. Yeah, you aren't going to be successful solely from "working" for 16 hours a day - what you do with those work hours matters too. And you know what? It worked. The best jobs are the ones that come looking for you. Another way to stand out? Become part of the internal expert network that exists within every organization. I ended up interacting with a lot of our contracting folks and I would always go out of my way to let them know I was available for "geek speak" translation - if they ever had something technical they didn't understand to just call me. Even if it wasn't for one of my contracts. Stuff like that provides dividends that can't be expressed by some silly metric. I'm pretty introverted but luckily those kinds of conversations tend to be one on one. I find it beyond hilarious that there are so many people who think luck and "connections" are how most successful people got to where they are. Keep telling yourself that if you like and good luck with that long term. Success is not accidental and yes, good old fashioned (meaningful) hard work will still pay off.

black_13 5y ago