7 ms·

How Running a Business Changes the Way You Think (2011)

220 points by wonger_ 2y ago

tempodox 2y ago
Programming for long enough also changes the way you think. I suspect that's true for every nontrivial activity.
- Cyphase 2y ago
  The article is not just stating that running a business changes the way you think; it's explaining how it changes the way you think.
- mrtksn 2y ago
  I used to do paragliding, it changed how I think about security protocols and equipment. I will never drive a car without first fastening my seatbelt, I feel naked if not fastened(if you do it when paragliding, you die). I don't leave objects in unsecured state(if you do it on the hill, a wind gust messes up your day and even injures you). I trust mechanisms I understand(that's the only way you fly, you have to trust the tools and make sure the tools are in tip top condition.). I don't trust critical tools and systems without inspecting them(we did the regular maintenance of the reserve parachute ourselves and it was on us to work if needed). This is one example of course but as you said, everything you consciously go through changes you profoundly. If are into drawing with pencil, that also changes you, I'm sure. It's also why I'm worried quite a lot for people who experience everything through a screen in a bubble. I'm sure they are also profoundly changed by the experience and I'm afraid in a bad way. I suspect that's one of the main reasons people in many different cultures end up with similar constructs like "incel" - that is, the social experience through the screen is about the same everywhere and it primes the people to think about other people in a specific way.
  - dig1 2y ago
    I've been diving for years and I learned that the deeper you go, there is a higher chance some of equipment can malfunction. Because of that I have to always plan or consider some backup solution. And that started to reflect on my daily activities - e.g. when I book a flight or a route, I put everything on paper, just in case all my devices die (which happened before).
    - lazide 2y ago
      Two is one, and one is none. - military, skydivers, scuba divers (apparently), swat, many first responders.
  - nick7376182 2y ago
    "used to" - did you stop paragliding? I'm a mid - P3 now.
  - eastbound 2y ago
    Incels are lonely first, then addicted to the screen. It’s a self-feeding relationship but a balanced teen will always have someone reaching out, while the incel is lonely. The addiction to the screen comes because there is a void (lots of interesting social studies here). By the way, public announcement: Don’t forget to ring up your relatives, knock on your neighbor’s door and spend some time doing public service talking to weird people (after evaluating the risk). It goes a long way in releasing tensions.
- gotts 2y ago
  How do you think programming changes it?
  - tempodox 2y ago
    Doing things systematically. Making use of any information as soon as it's available to minimize the number of decisions that have to be made at once. Organizing stuff into small, composable units. To contradict a sibling comment, I do not believe the world can be controlled, or that algorithms are a solution to everything. One important element of mastering programming (a world largely of pure logic) is to recognize how it differs from our human world.
  - rootusrootus 2y ago
    Not OP, but I'll take a swing at this. I suspect that programming causes people to view the world as something which can be controlled with algorithms, and problems solved with algorithms. We joke about it on HN pretty regularly, how it seems like programmers have the most hubris of anyone, always thinking every problem can be neatly solved with a bit of logic.
  - lazide 2y ago
    A tendency to systematize, formalize, and delegate/abstract/automate portions (or entirety) of problems IMO. A tendency to analyze and solve problems rationally. Even if unfortunately it is not at all a rational problem at the time. A tendency to (successfully) deep dive in a recursive fashion on problems. Ex: contractor is doing something weird, talk to the city inspector. City inspector refers to building code. Read building code. Work with contractor to bring up to code, or sic the appropriate regulatory authority on them. Etc. Similar to debugging something weird in someone else’s backend.
  - suoduandao3 2y ago
    I've thought about this a lot. Short version, any sufficiently complex profession will have problems and associated solutions analogous to problems and solutions outside its domain. Therefore, the more deeply one understands a complex profession of that nature, the more likely one is to successfully apply lessons from that professional domain to problems outside it. Programming of course has peculiarities in that regard which color the kind of solutions one comes up with, eg a preoccupation with process and systems, linguistics, etc. For the long version you can check out my book on the subject, shameless plug: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Programming-Christopher-Henningsen-ebook/dp/B097N7QT47/ref= https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Programming-Christopher-Henni...
- mmarian 2y ago
  I've become a lot more obsessed about thinks making sense logically since I became a software engineer.
- m463 2y ago
  Hmm.. is it the same? I think some activities lead to internal focused changes, others face outwards. For me things like programming tend towards mostly affect my internal landscape, and something like dating would make me look outwards. (mostly)
Havoc 2y ago
Seems like a great article. Though I had a bit of a chuckle at where investment bankers got placed on the “how hard they work” chart.
- itsoktocry 2y ago
  >Though I had a bit of a chuckle at where investment bankers got placed on the “how hard they work” chart. Or cleaning lady. Cleaning might not be fun, or glamourous. It may be thankless or unpleasant. But you don't exactly have to "work hard", by my definition at least (programming isn't hard work either, for what it's worth).
  - apercu 2y ago
    I did all the hard, crappy jobs through late teens and early 20s (demolition, roofing, house painting, pottery production, fast food, factory, grocery distribution warehouse). There is so little respect shown for workers in any of these that I imagine a lot of "cleaning" people work pretty hard. If you are self-employed in the profession it's probably a lot easier, but if you are being exploited, you're probably working pretty hard.
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      Who are these people that don't show respect? I hear this stated often 2nd hand, but never directly.
      - snapcaster 2y ago
        In my experience (from working shitty jobs) is that it's people who are abused by all day by people they can't stand up to (boss, husband, wife, etc.) and they end up unleashing their rage on the minimum wage powerless employee just because they don't have other option
        s1artibartfast 2y ago
_xnmw 2y ago
I would summarize it as: you realize you can actually do whatever you want, live where you want, and construct your life however you want as long as you make something other people want. Another way running a business changes the way I think is the value of time and the ROI on temporary things. Most non-business people would hesitate, for example, to buy proper furnishings for their house or upgrade their tools/workspace if they only plan to stay somewhere temporarily for a few months, but I would do it because of how much more enjoyable and productive those few months will be if I had proper facilities, which may have a far greater ROI than simply saving money for a few months.
- spacetimeuser5 2y ago
  Would you think that saving ~5K on property sale taxes in 2 years is not worth it if not saving and selling now would upgrade their tools/workspace?
- chii 2y ago
  > a far greater ROI sometimes this is self-deluding. You perhaps didnt need those luxury furnishings, when a barebones one would've done the same job. It's an excuse that some people use to justify their splurge.
  - bena 2y ago
    I think the line between "luxury" and "proper" is the debatable point. And yes, no doubt some people use that as an excuse to over spend. But that doesn't mean people don't take it to the extreme in the other direction as well. It really does come down to the numbers. If I can spend $X to take in $5x over the month, you should do that.
    - chii 2y ago
      > If I can spend $X to take in $5x over the month, you should do that. indeed, but the point was that the $5x is not known in advance, and in fact, might even be an emphemeral figure. Buying the right chair and desk for your height is not a luxury, but buying something expensive, when a cheaper version, which would've done the same job, is available, is to me the definition of luxury.
willsmith72 2y ago
i dont know if the author really knows how to use the "pushes my buttons" idiom
- rootusrootus 2y ago
  Not everyone uses 'pushes my buttons' to refer only to negative emotional responses. https://grammarist.com/idiom/push-someones-buttons https://grammarist.com/idiom/push-someones-buttons
  - willsmith72 2y ago
    did you check the examples they give under "What Are the Different Ways to Use the Idiom Push My Buttons?"?
throwaway211 2y ago
I'd definitely put teacher below the green tradeoff line. As a former investment banker, investment bankers don't make that much more than everyone else. Many functions are less. Some relationship managers, some traders, some investment managers, some deal makers do. But most don't make mega money.
- tiffanyh 2y ago
  You really comparing IB to everyone else and saying they “don’t make that much more”? Avg US wages is $59k Avg IB wages is $180k (3x US overall avg) https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/investment-banking-analyst-salary-guide/ https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/investment-banking-...
  - TheCoelacanth 2y ago
    Compared to "Doctor" or "Enterprise Java Architect" which are also on the chart, that's not that much more.
  - throwaway211 2y ago
    Yes. As that's an average. Compared to others that went to competitive universities, it really isn't much more. It's also more triangular with even mainstream names having higher top ranges and broader bases than, say, FAANGy technology. Equities in Dallas is a big reality. It's highly ageist. The lustre of Wall St or The City wears out after a while, Docklands like New Jersey is ghastly. Some get out and cut Connecticut hedges or polish pearls in Bond St, some make pizzas. Asia was fun in the 1990s, apparently.
    - tiffanyh 2y ago
      What does “ Equities in Dallas is a big reality” mean?
      - throwaway211 2y ago
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
hiAndrewQuinn 2y ago
I always like seeing old patio11 posts get resurrected to the HN radar. In reading this one an interesting detail stood out to me, he calling his upbringing "modest," and it suddenly made some dots connect in my head. I too grew up in a fairly modest household, where I was often told that good grades were the ticket out of a precarious existence and into, if not a luxurious one, one with at least a modicum of safety. It really warped my perception for a long time about what I actually wanted out of life, and led me to some pretty tough choices emphasizing financial safety at all costs. It's hard to call those choices "wrong" so much as selected based on the flavor profile of a younger, much more anxious me, whereas I am now considerably more willing to swing for the fences now that I've realized just how high the ceiling, and how low the bar, really are.
- Swizec 2y ago
  > It's hard to call those choices "wrong" so much as selected based on the flavor profile of a younger, much more anxious me, whereas I am now considerably more willing to swing for the fences now that I've realized just how high the ceiling, and how low the bar, really are As someone in a similar situation where it has become time to make bigger bets: Those earlier smaller, safer, bets enabled you to get here. If you made the big bets too soon, you'd run out of swings. Kelly criterion talks about this in a mathy sense. This fantastic old HN comment talks about it in a more relatable way: Entrepreneurship is like a carnival game https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076
- JohnFen 2y ago
  This is fascinating to me. I grew up in a very impoverished family and that has clearly shaped my relationship with money. I tend to resent it, or more correctly, I resent that it rules my life and I try to arrange things so I have to deal with it as little as possible. Financial safety has never really been a huge deal with me because I know that I can live on almost nothing, and I know that money and how happy I am in life are not correlated. That means that I've taken risks that others wouldn't have taken because I don't see them as very risky. Sometimes, those have paid off.
  - 2y ago
grecy 2y ago
> a middle class man goes to work every single day, Monday through Friday, and that days not like that must be celebrations because they’re clearly the exceptions to the rule? Were we ever told that, or did it just seep in, somehow? Here’s a radical notion, let’s try it on: never work Thursdays This thinking changed my life. Back in about 2007 I was a young developer working full time, and a new guy started. He didn't work Wednesdays. Why Not? Because he didn't want to. Because he didn't need more money. Because he wanted to ride his bike with his lawyer wife (who also didn't work Wednesdays). I spent many, many hours over lunch chatting about this thinking and how in the world it was even possible - it utterly blew my mind coming from a completely middle-class "go to work everyday" family. I had no idea it was possible in this universe. At my next job I negotiated a "flexible work agreement". If I put in an average of 37 hours per week, nobody really cared how I did it, as long as my work gone done. I sold it to the boss as good for the team because they would have to be able to fix whatever broke without me, and I would have to create good documentation on exactly how to do that. Over the next four years I basically never worked a Friday, and between leave days, stat holidays and the odd flex day, Mondays were rare too. I still got a full salary. I will never work "full time" again. These days now I run my own business, I will likely never work for someone again. I feel lucky I had a few "Copernican moments" like this when I will still young enough to believe I might be able to pull it off (hint: you can).
- joseda-hg 2y ago
  This is wonderful and something I'm aiming to do in the future, to some degree due to the Weekend Wednesday video from CGP Grey and some other places making strong cases for a 4 day workweek Could you explain what other copernican moments have you experienced? [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaTm6VzTBw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaTm6VzTBw
  - grecy 2y ago
    > Could you explain what other copernican moments have you experienced? There have been quite a few, I've written about them my books I've written about my adventures around the world [1]. - You really don't need much money to live, and if you're happy doing inexpensive things, you can be a very happy person without going to work much at all. A ~$300 day at Disneyland is a surefire good time, but if you enjoy a walk in the park throwing a Frisbee around with friends just as much... you'll have a lot more time to enjoy life. - Be careful with debt. The reason so many people in the western world go to work everyday is because they get the debt, then have to work to pay it off. Go to a country where debt isn't really possible because the economy can't support it (Argentina, Mexico, Mali, Angola, etc.) and you'll see everyone has TONS of time to live the life they want. Play guitar, play with cousins, hangout on the beach. Little work, lots of living. No sane person will go to a soul-crushing job for weeks just to buy a new iPhone.. but because it isn't that obvious, everyone in developed countries actually does. - You can live whatever life you want, and don't worry what other people say. If it's your close friends or family you can certainly take input and advice, but random people telling you stuff is pure noise. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Books-Dan-Grec/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ADan+Grec https://www.amazon.com/Books-Dan-Grec/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27...
mannyv 2y ago
One thing you learn for sure: dealing with the public can suck. There are great people, and there is everyone else. You have to learn to ignore “everyone else” at some level.

220 points by wonger_ 2y ago

tempodox 2y ago

Programming for long enough also changes the way you think. I suspect that's true for every nontrivial activity.

Cyphase 2y ago
The article is not just stating that running a business changes the way you think; it's explaining how it changes the way you think.
mrtksn 2y ago
I used to do paragliding, it changed how I think about security protocols and equipment. I will never drive a car without first fastening my seatbelt, I feel naked if not fastened(if you do it when paragliding, you die). I don't leave objects in unsecured state(if you do it on the hill, a wind gust messes up your day and even injures you). I trust mechanisms I understand(that's the only way you fly, you have to trust the tools and make sure the tools are in tip top condition.). I don't trust critical tools and systems without inspecting them(we did the regular maintenance of the reserve parachute ourselves and it was on us to work if needed). This is one example of course but as you said, everything you consciously go through changes you profoundly. If are into drawing with pencil, that also changes you, I'm sure. It's also why I'm worried quite a lot for people who experience everything through a screen in a bubble. I'm sure they are also profoundly changed by the experience and I'm afraid in a bad way. I suspect that's one of the main reasons people in many different cultures end up with similar constructs like "incel" - that is, the social experience through the screen is about the same everywhere and it primes the people to think about other people in a specific way.
- dig1 2y ago
  I've been diving for years and I learned that the deeper you go, there is a higher chance some of equipment can malfunction. Because of that I have to always plan or consider some backup solution. And that started to reflect on my daily activities - e.g. when I book a flight or a route, I put everything on paper, just in case all my devices die (which happened before).
  - lazide 2y ago
    Two is one, and one is none. - military, skydivers, scuba divers (apparently), swat, many first responders.
- nick7376182 2y ago
  "used to" - did you stop paragliding? I'm a mid - P3 now.
- eastbound 2y ago
  Incels are lonely first, then addicted to the screen. It’s a self-feeding relationship but a balanced teen will always have someone reaching out, while the incel is lonely. The addiction to the screen comes because there is a void (lots of interesting social studies here). By the way, public announcement: Don’t forget to ring up your relatives, knock on your neighbor’s door and spend some time doing public service talking to weird people (after evaluating the risk). It goes a long way in releasing tensions.
gotts 2y ago
How do you think programming changes it?
- tempodox 2y ago
  Doing things systematically. Making use of any information as soon as it's available to minimize the number of decisions that have to be made at once. Organizing stuff into small, composable units. To contradict a sibling comment, I do not believe the world can be controlled, or that algorithms are a solution to everything. One important element of mastering programming (a world largely of pure logic) is to recognize how it differs from our human world.
- rootusrootus 2y ago
  Not OP, but I'll take a swing at this. I suspect that programming causes people to view the world as something which can be controlled with algorithms, and problems solved with algorithms. We joke about it on HN pretty regularly, how it seems like programmers have the most hubris of anyone, always thinking every problem can be neatly solved with a bit of logic.
- lazide 2y ago
  A tendency to systematize, formalize, and delegate/abstract/automate portions (or entirety) of problems IMO. A tendency to analyze and solve problems rationally. Even if unfortunately it is not at all a rational problem at the time. A tendency to (successfully) deep dive in a recursive fashion on problems. Ex: contractor is doing something weird, talk to the city inspector. City inspector refers to building code. Read building code. Work with contractor to bring up to code, or sic the appropriate regulatory authority on them. Etc. Similar to debugging something weird in someone else’s backend.
- suoduandao3 2y ago
  I've thought about this a lot. Short version, any sufficiently complex profession will have problems and associated solutions analogous to problems and solutions outside its domain. Therefore, the more deeply one understands a complex profession of that nature, the more likely one is to successfully apply lessons from that professional domain to problems outside it. Programming of course has peculiarities in that regard which color the kind of solutions one comes up with, eg a preoccupation with process and systems, linguistics, etc. For the long version you can check out my book on the subject, shameless plug: https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Programming-Christopher-Henningsen-ebook/dp/B097N7QT47/ref= https://www.amazon.com/Mindful-Programming-Christopher-Henni...
mmarian 2y ago
I've become a lot more obsessed about thinks making sense logically since I became a software engineer.
m463 2y ago
Hmm.. is it the same? I think some activities lead to internal focused changes, others face outwards. For me things like programming tend towards mostly affect my internal landscape, and something like dating would make me look outwards. (mostly)

Havoc 2y ago

Seems like a great article. Though I had a bit of a chuckle at where investment bankers got placed on the “how hard they work” chart.

itsoktocry 2y ago
>Though I had a bit of a chuckle at where investment bankers got placed on the “how hard they work” chart. Or cleaning lady. Cleaning might not be fun, or glamourous. It may be thankless or unpleasant. But you don't exactly have to "work hard", by my definition at least (programming isn't hard work either, for what it's worth).
- apercu 2y ago
  I did all the hard, crappy jobs through late teens and early 20s (demolition, roofing, house painting, pottery production, fast food, factory, grocery distribution warehouse). There is so little respect shown for workers in any of these that I imagine a lot of "cleaning" people work pretty hard. If you are self-employed in the profession it's probably a lot easier, but if you are being exploited, you're probably working pretty hard.
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    Who are these people that don't show respect? I hear this stated often 2nd hand, but never directly.
    - snapcaster 2y ago
      In my experience (from working shitty jobs) is that it's people who are abused by all day by people they can't stand up to (boss, husband, wife, etc.) and they end up unleashing their rage on the minimum wage powerless employee just because they don't have other option
      - s1artibartfast 2y ago

_xnmw 2y ago

I would summarize it as: you realize you can actually do whatever you want, live where you want, and construct your life however you want as long as you make something other people want. Another way running a business changes the way I think is the value of time and the ROI on temporary things. Most non-business people would hesitate, for example, to buy proper furnishings for their house or upgrade their tools/workspace if they only plan to stay somewhere temporarily for a few months, but I would do it because of how much more enjoyable and productive those few months will be if I had proper facilities, which may have a far greater ROI than simply saving money for a few months.

spacetimeuser5 2y ago
Would you think that saving ~5K on property sale taxes in 2 years is not worth it if not saving and selling now would upgrade their tools/workspace?
chii 2y ago
> a far greater ROI sometimes this is self-deluding. You perhaps didnt need those luxury furnishings, when a barebones one would've done the same job. It's an excuse that some people use to justify their splurge.
- bena 2y ago
  I think the line between "luxury" and "proper" is the debatable point. And yes, no doubt some people use that as an excuse to over spend. But that doesn't mean people don't take it to the extreme in the other direction as well. It really does come down to the numbers. If I can spend $X to take in $5x over the month, you should do that.
  - chii 2y ago
    > If I can spend $X to take in $5x over the month, you should do that. indeed, but the point was that the $5x is not known in advance, and in fact, might even be an emphemeral figure. Buying the right chair and desk for your height is not a luxury, but buying something expensive, when a cheaper version, which would've done the same job, is available, is to me the definition of luxury.

willsmith72 2y ago

i dont know if the author really knows how to use the "pushes my buttons" idiom

rootusrootus 2y ago
Not everyone uses 'pushes my buttons' to refer only to negative emotional responses. https://grammarist.com/idiom/push-someones-buttons https://grammarist.com/idiom/push-someones-buttons
- willsmith72 2y ago
  did you check the examples they give under "What Are the Different Ways to Use the Idiom Push My Buttons?"?

throwaway211 2y ago

I'd definitely put teacher below the green tradeoff line. As a former investment banker, investment bankers don't make that much more than everyone else. Many functions are less. Some relationship managers, some traders, some investment managers, some deal makers do. But most don't make mega money.

tiffanyh 2y ago
You really comparing IB to everyone else and saying they “don’t make that much more”? Avg US wages is $59k Avg IB wages is $180k (3x US overall avg) https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/investment-banking-analyst-salary-guide/ https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/investment-banking-...
- TheCoelacanth 2y ago
  Compared to "Doctor" or "Enterprise Java Architect" which are also on the chart, that's not that much more.
- throwaway211 2y ago
  Yes. As that's an average. Compared to others that went to competitive universities, it really isn't much more. It's also more triangular with even mainstream names having higher top ranges and broader bases than, say, FAANGy technology. Equities in Dallas is a big reality. It's highly ageist. The lustre of Wall St or The City wears out after a while, Docklands like New Jersey is ghastly. Some get out and cut Connecticut hedges or polish pearls in Bond St, some make pizzas. Asia was fun in the 1990s, apparently.
  - tiffanyh 2y ago
    What does “ Equities in Dallas is a big reality” mean?
    - throwaway211 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

hiAndrewQuinn 2y ago

I always like seeing old patio11 posts get resurrected to the HN radar. In reading this one an interesting detail stood out to me, he calling his upbringing "modest," and it suddenly made some dots connect in my head. I too grew up in a fairly modest household, where I was often told that good grades were the ticket out of a precarious existence and into, if not a luxurious one, one with at least a modicum of safety. It really warped my perception for a long time about what I actually wanted out of life, and led me to some pretty tough choices emphasizing financial safety at all costs. It's hard to call those choices "wrong" so much as selected based on the flavor profile of a younger, much more anxious me, whereas I am now considerably more willing to swing for the fences now that I've realized just how high the ceiling, and how low the bar, really are.

Swizec 2y ago
> It's hard to call those choices "wrong" so much as selected based on the flavor profile of a younger, much more anxious me, whereas I am now considerably more willing to swing for the fences now that I've realized just how high the ceiling, and how low the bar, really are As someone in a similar situation where it has become time to make bigger bets: Those earlier smaller, safer, bets enabled you to get here. If you made the big bets too soon, you'd run out of swings. Kelly criterion talks about this in a mathy sense. This fantastic old HN comment talks about it in a more relatable way: Entrepreneurship is like a carnival game https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076
JohnFen 2y ago
This is fascinating to me. I grew up in a very impoverished family and that has clearly shaped my relationship with money. I tend to resent it, or more correctly, I resent that it rules my life and I try to arrange things so I have to deal with it as little as possible. Financial safety has never really been a huge deal with me because I know that I can live on almost nothing, and I know that money and how happy I am in life are not correlated. That means that I've taken risks that others wouldn't have taken because I don't see them as very risky. Sometimes, those have paid off.
- 2y ago

grecy 2y ago

> a middle class man goes to work every single day, Monday through Friday, and that days not like that must be celebrations because they’re clearly the exceptions to the rule? Were we ever told that, or did it just seep in, somehow? Here’s a radical notion, let’s try it on: never work Thursdays This thinking changed my life. Back in about 2007 I was a young developer working full time, and a new guy started. He didn't work Wednesdays. Why Not? Because he didn't want to. Because he didn't need more money. Because he wanted to ride his bike with his lawyer wife (who also didn't work Wednesdays). I spent many, many hours over lunch chatting about this thinking and how in the world it was even possible - it utterly blew my mind coming from a completely middle-class "go to work everyday" family. I had no idea it was possible in this universe. At my next job I negotiated a "flexible work agreement". If I put in an average of 37 hours per week, nobody really cared how I did it, as long as my work gone done. I sold it to the boss as good for the team because they would have to be able to fix whatever broke without me, and I would have to create good documentation on exactly how to do that. Over the next four years I basically never worked a Friday, and between leave days, stat holidays and the odd flex day, Mondays were rare too. I still got a full salary. I will never work "full time" again. These days now I run my own business, I will likely never work for someone again. I feel lucky I had a few "Copernican moments" like this when I will still young enough to believe I might be able to pull it off (hint: you can).

joseda-hg 2y ago
This is wonderful and something I'm aiming to do in the future, to some degree due to the Weekend Wednesday video from CGP Grey and some other places making strong cases for a 4 day workweek Could you explain what other copernican moments have you experienced? [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaTm6VzTBw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaTm6VzTBw
- grecy 2y ago
  > Could you explain what other copernican moments have you experienced? There have been quite a few, I've written about them my books I've written about my adventures around the world [1]. - You really don't need much money to live, and if you're happy doing inexpensive things, you can be a very happy person without going to work much at all. A ~$300 day at Disneyland is a surefire good time, but if you enjoy a walk in the park throwing a Frisbee around with friends just as much... you'll have a lot more time to enjoy life. - Be careful with debt. The reason so many people in the western world go to work everyday is because they get the debt, then have to work to pay it off. Go to a country where debt isn't really possible because the economy can't support it (Argentina, Mexico, Mali, Angola, etc.) and you'll see everyone has TONS of time to live the life they want. Play guitar, play with cousins, hangout on the beach. Little work, lots of living. No sane person will go to a soul-crushing job for weeks just to buy a new iPhone.. but because it isn't that obvious, everyone in developed countries actually does. - You can live whatever life you want, and don't worry what other people say. If it's your close friends or family you can certainly take input and advice, but random people telling you stuff is pure noise. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Books-Dan-Grec/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ADan+Grec https://www.amazon.com/Books-Dan-Grec/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27...

mannyv 2y ago

One thing you learn for sure: dealing with the public can suck. There are great people, and there is everyone else. You have to learn to ignore “everyone else” at some level.