4 ms·

You're wasting effort with this. It feels good to write. It feels good to hear when you're in that situation. It doesn't help you. It's not about money, it's ab

by izak30 14y ago

You're wasting effort with this. It feels good to write. It feels good to hear when you're in that situation. It doesn't help you. It's not about money, it's about positive indicators. An Ivy League school is a positive indicator, starting a company is a positive indicator. Kicking Ass on your own personal or side projects is a positive indicator. Open Source contributions are a positive indicator. Previous work experience that you can explain well and brag about is a positive indicator. Build your positive indicators, and don't complain about others building theirs. Some people have to work harder than others to get the same recognition or success. Don't measure against them, measure against you. Be better than you were the day before, don't pretend that it's about having money "laying around".

crusso 14y ago
I came here to say that, but you said it better than I might have. I would like to add that his/her post reeked of rationalization fueled by insecurity. In real life, there are sometimes reasons we fail that are beyond our control. There are always excuses for failure that have some truth in them. There are always ways that we can look at the successful as lucky SOBs and the unsuccessful as victims of cruel fate. While it's interesting to contemplate the roles of skill and luck in success on a Sunday afternoon -- I've never met a really successful person who didn't have a positive outlook on her ability to mold her opportunities, to watch for chances to make a move, and to sieze those moments that were right and ride them to success. To glorify happenstance (the particular school you can afford to go to) and self-victimhood is a self-fulfilling prophecy and guaranteed way to minimize your own chances of ever being successful at anything. Are we our knowledge and experiences? Are we our genetic potential? Are we our upbringing? Are we just products of random chance and our environment? The more I learn in life, the more I become convinced that we are our ATTITUDE. Attitude is the prime factor in success or failure. It is the leading indicator to me when I go to hire someone or decide whether or not I want to work with him. I don't care what school you went to -- if success is your goal, then start with attitude. Adopt one that drives you to focus on yourself and your own improvement every day of your life. Good things will follow.
- LockeWatts 14y ago
  Huh. Impressive how much of my personality comes across that way. You're right, on pretty much everything. I am insecure, though I've never understood the difference between rationalization and circumstance. When you're betting more or less your future on you being excellent in your given field, that can really do a number on your self confidence. Nevertheless, I appreciate the critique. Besides the list of projects I'm working on and my job, any advice for how to improve?
  - dasil003 14y ago
    > I've never understood the difference between rationalization and circumstance. Let's start there. Circumstance is a fact, rationalization is a story you tell yourself. Of course there is all types of rationalization and all types of stories. In this case though, your circumstance and your personal narrative are combining with a pessimistic quality. Pessimism is not always bad, it may be a good hedge against disappointment. In this case you are taking it too far though. You could just as easily be telling yourself a positive story about your ability to execute on side projects while holding down a day job, or the fact that you are young and have low expenses, or that you are fortunate enough to be passionate about one of the few careers that's not shrinking these days, or even the fact that you won the birth lottery. It actually doesn't matter what you tell yourself though, as long as it helps maximize your potential. You could be the richest white kid in Beverly Hills or the poorest peasant in China, your attitude is the greatest thing you can control that can affect your circumstance. That doesn't mean the rich kid has much chance of being a billionaire or the peasant can reasonably hope to make $50k/year, but within their respective circumstances, attitude and action can make a world of difference.
  - nostrademons 14y ago
    Rationalization = excusing your lack of success based on factors beyond your control, circumstance = accepting the factors beyond your control and playing the hell out of the factors that are in your control. It's too bad that Marc Andreesen took his career advice blog post off the Internet, because he had some of the best advice I've seen. It was: 1. Build skills & relationships. 2. Take advantage of opportunities Basically, all of the big leaps in your career will happen because some random big opportunity outside of your control will open up. When it does, jump on it. Immediately. Drop everything you're doing for it. Most people don't, and that is why most people slave away their lives in cubicles. But to seize that opportunity, you need to be qualified, and you need to hear about it. So all the time that you're not actively seizing an opportunity, you should be building your skill base and getting to know other people. That's the important part: opportunities happen to everybody, but the vast majority of people aren't in a position to take advantage of them.
Apocryphon 14y ago
"It feels good to write. It feels good to hear when you're in that situation. It doesn't help you." I feel that there are many contrary-to-conventional-wisdom articles that can be characterized like this. All too often they get traction, especially on HN, despite their obliviousness of how reality even works. Kudos for a good critique of this story's tone and framing.
- LockeWatts 14y ago
  Well, I'm happy to be told I'm wrong and improve. What am I oblivious of that I need to understand?
  - slurgfest 14y ago
    Beggars can't be choosers and the world is not just. So what is there to say about it? If you were in demand and had a network of supporters, you could say all kinds of ridiculous things and get public applause. If you were hiring for a promising company with ample resources, you could take on more of a superior tone. And there would be others forced to tolerate it. But you are in need. So even if you weren't insecure, you don't have the position to seem big. Therefore, you are a nice target: you take a beating on HN for being negative, and get to hear that you should pull yourself up by the bootstraps, etc. (things which people in a stronger bargaining position don't hear). If you were not in such a poor position, people would be more inclined to kiss up to you and approve of what you said, even if it were basically stupid.
  - xefer 14y ago
    Larry Summers was recently quoted as saying that the best indicator of future success is not the school you graduated from but the best school you were accepted by.
LockeWatts 14y ago
I have every intention of doing just that, when it comes to both improving myself and those positive indicators. Perhaps my frustration stems from that work seeming worthless when compared to an Ivy League degree. Would you say I'm wrong that not all positive indicators are created equal?
- lifeisstillgood 14y ago
  No all positive indicators are not created equal and the which school did you go to is one of the smaller ones - certainly for undergraduates. Good schools deliver three things 1. Higher self confidence than average. This is oftenentitlement not talent 2. Good networking - yes but these days so does LinkedIn 3. Better teaching. Top universities do shine here. But that is the point. And really at undergraduate level it barely matters. In short, stop worrying about the college you are going to / went to. Feeling you missed out? Read SICP but if you really want one piece of right now advice here it is - choose one, just one of those ideas you have. And find evenings, lunch hours weekends and get that one idea out the door. Just do it. Then post to Show HN everything else follows from getting something out the door
- slurgfest 14y ago
  Truth be told, an Ivy League degree would not get you much by itself. There are a number of schools just as good as the Ivy League, and similar brand recognition in particular fields for schools that otherwise aren't highly regarded or well-known. The Ivy League degree primarily buys you an opportunity to network with the powerful, get interesting internships and so forth. Not everyone does much with this. Those who don't might get +5 points or something but it's not a night and day difference. (Except if you are looking at a specific school-to-company nexus like Stanford has with certain companies) Those goods are not impossible to get from schools with somewhat less standing. The problem is that in school, nobody is very aggressively counseling and seeking the interest of students who do not know what to do and might not even be aware there is anything they would have to do. So the slack has to be taken up after you leave school in various ways and it can just be hard. One of the things you have to do is pretend to be happy with the status quo, not look negative and make people feel smart and awesome if they have something to hold over you.

by izak30 14y ago

crusso 14y ago

I came here to say that, but you said it better than I might have. I would like to add that his/her post reeked of rationalization fueled by insecurity. In real life, there are sometimes reasons we fail that are beyond our control. There are always excuses for failure that have some truth in them. There are always ways that we can look at the successful as lucky SOBs and the unsuccessful as victims of cruel fate. While it's interesting to contemplate the roles of skill and luck in success on a Sunday afternoon -- I've never met a really successful person who didn't have a positive outlook on her ability to mold her opportunities, to watch for chances to make a move, and to sieze those moments that were right and ride them to success. To glorify happenstance (the particular school you can afford to go to) and self-victimhood is a self-fulfilling prophecy and guaranteed way to minimize your own chances of ever being successful at anything. Are we our knowledge and experiences? Are we our genetic potential? Are we our upbringing? Are we just products of random chance and our environment? The more I learn in life, the more I become convinced that we are our ATTITUDE. Attitude is the prime factor in success or failure. It is the leading indicator to me when I go to hire someone or decide whether or not I want to work with him. I don't care what school you went to -- if success is your goal, then start with attitude. Adopt one that drives you to focus on yourself and your own improvement every day of your life. Good things will follow.

LockeWatts 14y ago
Huh. Impressive how much of my personality comes across that way. You're right, on pretty much everything. I am insecure, though I've never understood the difference between rationalization and circumstance. When you're betting more or less your future on you being excellent in your given field, that can really do a number on your self confidence. Nevertheless, I appreciate the critique. Besides the list of projects I'm working on and my job, any advice for how to improve?
- dasil003 14y ago
  > I've never understood the difference between rationalization and circumstance. Let's start there. Circumstance is a fact, rationalization is a story you tell yourself. Of course there is all types of rationalization and all types of stories. In this case though, your circumstance and your personal narrative are combining with a pessimistic quality. Pessimism is not always bad, it may be a good hedge against disappointment. In this case you are taking it too far though. You could just as easily be telling yourself a positive story about your ability to execute on side projects while holding down a day job, or the fact that you are young and have low expenses, or that you are fortunate enough to be passionate about one of the few careers that's not shrinking these days, or even the fact that you won the birth lottery. It actually doesn't matter what you tell yourself though, as long as it helps maximize your potential. You could be the richest white kid in Beverly Hills or the poorest peasant in China, your attitude is the greatest thing you can control that can affect your circumstance. That doesn't mean the rich kid has much chance of being a billionaire or the peasant can reasonably hope to make $50k/year, but within their respective circumstances, attitude and action can make a world of difference.
- nostrademons 14y ago
  Rationalization = excusing your lack of success based on factors beyond your control, circumstance = accepting the factors beyond your control and playing the hell out of the factors that are in your control. It's too bad that Marc Andreesen took his career advice blog post off the Internet, because he had some of the best advice I've seen. It was: 1. Build skills & relationships. 2. Take advantage of opportunities Basically, all of the big leaps in your career will happen because some random big opportunity outside of your control will open up. When it does, jump on it. Immediately. Drop everything you're doing for it. Most people don't, and that is why most people slave away their lives in cubicles. But to seize that opportunity, you need to be qualified, and you need to hear about it. So all the time that you're not actively seizing an opportunity, you should be building your skill base and getting to know other people. That's the important part: opportunities happen to everybody, but the vast majority of people aren't in a position to take advantage of them.

Apocryphon 14y ago

"It feels good to write. It feels good to hear when you're in that situation. It doesn't help you." I feel that there are many contrary-to-conventional-wisdom articles that can be characterized like this. All too often they get traction, especially on HN, despite their obliviousness of how reality even works. Kudos for a good critique of this story's tone and framing.

LockeWatts 14y ago
Well, I'm happy to be told I'm wrong and improve. What am I oblivious of that I need to understand?
- slurgfest 14y ago
  Beggars can't be choosers and the world is not just. So what is there to say about it? If you were in demand and had a network of supporters, you could say all kinds of ridiculous things and get public applause. If you were hiring for a promising company with ample resources, you could take on more of a superior tone. And there would be others forced to tolerate it. But you are in need. So even if you weren't insecure, you don't have the position to seem big. Therefore, you are a nice target: you take a beating on HN for being negative, and get to hear that you should pull yourself up by the bootstraps, etc. (things which people in a stronger bargaining position don't hear). If you were not in such a poor position, people would be more inclined to kiss up to you and approve of what you said, even if it were basically stupid.
- xefer 14y ago
  Larry Summers was recently quoted as saying that the best indicator of future success is not the school you graduated from but the best school you were accepted by.

LockeWatts 14y ago

I have every intention of doing just that, when it comes to both improving myself and those positive indicators. Perhaps my frustration stems from that work seeming worthless when compared to an Ivy League degree. Would you say I'm wrong that not all positive indicators are created equal?

lifeisstillgood 14y ago
No all positive indicators are not created equal and the which school did you go to is one of the smaller ones - certainly for undergraduates. Good schools deliver three things 1. Higher self confidence than average. This is oftenentitlement not talent 2. Good networking - yes but these days so does LinkedIn 3. Better teaching. Top universities do shine here. But that is the point. And really at undergraduate level it barely matters. In short, stop worrying about the college you are going to / went to. Feeling you missed out? Read SICP but if you really want one piece of right now advice here it is - choose one, just one of those ideas you have. And find evenings, lunch hours weekends and get that one idea out the door. Just do it. Then post to Show HN everything else follows from getting something out the door
slurgfest 14y ago
Truth be told, an Ivy League degree would not get you much by itself. There are a number of schools just as good as the Ivy League, and similar brand recognition in particular fields for schools that otherwise aren't highly regarded or well-known. The Ivy League degree primarily buys you an opportunity to network with the powerful, get interesting internships and so forth. Not everyone does much with this. Those who don't might get +5 points or something but it's not a night and day difference. (Except if you are looking at a specific school-to-company nexus like Stanford has with certain companies) Those goods are not impossible to get from schools with somewhat less standing. The problem is that in school, nobody is very aggressively counseling and seeking the interest of students who do not know what to do and might not even be aware there is anything they would have to do. So the slack has to be taken up after you leave school in various ways and it can just be hard. One of the things you have to do is pretend to be happy with the status quo, not look negative and make people feel smart and awesome if they have something to hold over you.