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I want to look back and say “I worked harder than I had to. I gave up time with my kids, with my friends, to do what needed to be done. To give back to the rest

by zmj 15y ago

I want to look back and say “I worked harder than I had to. I gave up time with my kids, with my friends, to do what needed to be done. To give back to the rest of the world, to enable them to live just a little bit happier, a little bit better.” I don't want to say that. I'm rather fond of my family and my friends. Who are these strangers you're asking me to sacrifice for?

rpwilcox 15y ago
True (and that's the one issue I had with the article). I want to look back at my life and say something like, "I labored to make a sustainable business, was able to see my kids grow up and be there for them. All while working towards making the world a little bit happier, maybe employing some people, or let people live a bit happier or a bit better". (I don't really want to look back on my life and see nothing but crazy deadlines and late nights)
- j3 15y ago
  Agreed entirely. I only meant that when you choose do work harder than you have to, the necessary trade off is that you're sacrificing time with other people you love. A typical dev could probably work 60% of a normal schedule and afford a comfortable life for their family. You could go home at 1pm every day and that'd be fun, but you can also sacrifice a bit of that and make change. IMO, life without friends and family is wasted.
tomjen3 15y ago
It is typical religious guilt. You must sacrifice for the stranger because if you help your friends you may get some enjoyment out of it too. surprisingly common in atheists, environmentalists, etc even if they are not traditionally considered religious.
- anamax 15y ago
  etc includes big govt folks too. Since they're both more numerous and more powerful than enfironmentalists. However, I don't see the atheist connection. Yes, some atheists are big govt types, sure, some do, but "sacrifice for the stranger because ..." doesn't seem to be an essentially atheist characteristic.
  - pitt1980 15y ago
    I think the point is that sometimes atheists are more influenced by ideas that come from religion than they realize
    - esrauch 15y ago
      And yet if they say anything otherwise they are accused of being nihilists.

by zmj 15y ago

rpwilcox 15y ago

True (and that's the one issue I had with the article). I want to look back at my life and say something like, "I labored to make a sustainable business, was able to see my kids grow up and be there for them. All while working towards making the world a little bit happier, maybe employing some people, or let people live a bit happier or a bit better". (I don't really want to look back on my life and see nothing but crazy deadlines and late nights)

j3 15y ago
Agreed entirely. I only meant that when you choose do work harder than you have to, the necessary trade off is that you're sacrificing time with other people you love. A typical dev could probably work 60% of a normal schedule and afford a comfortable life for their family. You could go home at 1pm every day and that'd be fun, but you can also sacrifice a bit of that and make change. IMO, life without friends and family is wasted.

tomjen3 15y ago

It is typical religious guilt. You must sacrifice for the stranger because if you help your friends you may get some enjoyment out of it too. surprisingly common in atheists, environmentalists, etc even if they are not traditionally considered religious.

anamax 15y ago
etc includes big govt folks too. Since they're both more numerous and more powerful than enfironmentalists. However, I don't see the atheist connection. Yes, some atheists are big govt types, sure, some do, but "sacrifice for the stranger because ..." doesn't seem to be an essentially atheist characteristic.
- pitt1980 15y ago
  I think the point is that sometimes atheists are more influenced by ideas that come from religion than they realize
  - esrauch 15y ago
    And yet if they say anything otherwise they are accused of being nihilists.