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Here's an off-the-cuff summary: First you have to make space in your life for it. You need long blocks of time for deep work. The first idea you pick is unlik

by czue 2y ago

Here's an off-the-cuff summary: First you have to make space in your life for it. You need long blocks of time for deep work. The first idea you pick is unlikely to work, so pick something and start moving. Many of the best products come out of working on something else. When building, optimize for speed. Try to get something out in the world as quickly as possible and iterate from there. Pick a tech stack you're familiar with, that you'll be fastest in. Try to spend half your time on marketing/sales, even if you hate it. The most important skill you can have is resiliance. Not giving up is the best path to success. This is hard because there is so much uncertainty in this career path. It's worth it! The autonomy and freedom are unmatched by any other career.

FrustratedMonky 2y ago
Well, when you put it like that, it sounds pretty fluffy.
martylamb 2y ago
Good summary. I've landed on all of the above with my own projects, from a mix of experience, reading, and reason. Hardest for me has been making time between family, work, and other activities that are important for me. Unlike when I was younger I can't just stay up coding until 3AM anymore. In fact I find myself without the mental energy after work that I want to put into my projects, so evenings are out completely for me. So instead I wake up at 5AM and put myself into it before work. It was a big adjustment, but all I needed to do while acclimating to that schedule was ask myself each morning which I wanted more: warm blankets or a successful project? Now it's a pretty energizing way to start the day.
- gottagocode 2y ago
  Take the warm blankets into the office with you
- scarface_74 2y ago
  > but all I needed to do while acclimating to that schedule was ask myself each morning which I wanted more: warm blankets or a successful project? I choose warm blankets lying next to my warm wife where my heat and shelter is paid by exchanging my labor for money 40 hours a week, paid time off, paid health care, etc
latexr 2y ago
In other words, it’s the exact same bland, generic, worthless advice parroted by every grifter selling you the dream of financial independence via passive income. And if you fail, it’s your own fault, you just didn’t want it enough, you didn’t do the necessary sacrifices.
- flir 2y ago
  The advice (in the post you're replying to) isn't bad. But you can do it all, and still not have lightning strike.
  - f1shy 2y ago
    I certainly do not think is good. I won’t say I’ve seen destroyed lives because of it, but pretty much miserable in comparison to what it had been if not followed the advice. It is just bot for anyone, and just too often fails.
    - flir 2y ago
      And I've seen people succeed (admittedly by spending every spare minute devoting themselves to the pursuit of money). Can we agree that it is, at core, gambling? Like spending all your disposable income on lottery tickets?
      - scarface_74 2y ago
        > And I've seen people succeed (admittedly by spending every spare minute devoting themselves to the pursuit of money). Is that what you call success?
        flir 2y ago
        It was for him. It wouldn't have been for me, hence the caveat. Different people have different goals.
      - latexr 2y ago
ryandrake 2y ago
This is not really passive income. What he's describing is running your own one-person business. That's about as far from passive as you can get. Actual passive income is living off the returns and royalties from assets, doing nothing but managing those assets (or maybe not even doing that).
- grahamj 2y ago
  But you have to work to get those assets, just like building a website
  - sixstringtheory 2y ago
    OK, but TFA is about the work part, not the passive part, despite the title. Even having a “portfolio of revenue generating products” will require work to maintain. Maybe full time or more so, depending on if you used log4j or an SSL cert from a provider that screwed things up, say. Or built on a fickle platform like reddit, twitter or Apple that changes the fundamental rules every so often. Just because you don’t have a boss that will fire you for not waking up for on call during an outage, doesn’t mean that outages won’t happen or need to be fixed. It reminds me of people that consider buying a second home and rent out the old one to gain “passive income”, not realizing how much work it can be to be a good landlord.
    - alp1n3_eth 2y ago
      I feel like "passive" income is anything that takes under 10 hours a week once it's up and running. There's rarely any opportunity that can be considered passive if your definition is 0 work ever once it's going. The only thing that [might] fit into that slot is investment dividends.
      - sixstringtheory 2y ago
        I don’t know if it’s 0 for me, but it’s definitely way less than 10 hours per week. I have ETFs and a HYSA that I basically never look at. That’s passive.

by czue 2y ago

FrustratedMonky 2y ago

Well, when you put it like that, it sounds pretty fluffy.

martylamb 2y ago

Good summary. I've landed on all of the above with my own projects, from a mix of experience, reading, and reason. Hardest for me has been making time between family, work, and other activities that are important for me. Unlike when I was younger I can't just stay up coding until 3AM anymore. In fact I find myself without the mental energy after work that I want to put into my projects, so evenings are out completely for me. So instead I wake up at 5AM and put myself into it before work. It was a big adjustment, but all I needed to do while acclimating to that schedule was ask myself each morning which I wanted more: warm blankets or a successful project? Now it's a pretty energizing way to start the day.

gottagocode 2y ago
Take the warm blankets into the office with you
scarface_74 2y ago
> but all I needed to do while acclimating to that schedule was ask myself each morning which I wanted more: warm blankets or a successful project? I choose warm blankets lying next to my warm wife where my heat and shelter is paid by exchanging my labor for money 40 hours a week, paid time off, paid health care, etc

latexr 2y ago

In other words, it’s the exact same bland, generic, worthless advice parroted by every grifter selling you the dream of financial independence via passive income. And if you fail, it’s your own fault, you just didn’t want it enough, you didn’t do the necessary sacrifices.

flir 2y ago
The advice (in the post you're replying to) isn't bad. But you can do it all, and still not have lightning strike.
- f1shy 2y ago
  I certainly do not think is good. I won’t say I’ve seen destroyed lives because of it, but pretty much miserable in comparison to what it had been if not followed the advice. It is just bot for anyone, and just too often fails.
  - flir 2y ago
    And I've seen people succeed (admittedly by spending every spare minute devoting themselves to the pursuit of money). Can we agree that it is, at core, gambling? Like spending all your disposable income on lottery tickets?
    - scarface_74 2y ago
      > And I've seen people succeed (admittedly by spending every spare minute devoting themselves to the pursuit of money). Is that what you call success?
      - flir 2y ago
        It was for him. It wouldn't have been for me, hence the caveat. Different people have different goals.
    - latexr 2y ago

ryandrake 2y ago

This is not really passive income. What he's describing is running your own one-person business. That's about as far from passive as you can get. Actual passive income is living off the returns and royalties from assets, doing nothing but managing those assets (or maybe not even doing that).

grahamj 2y ago
But you have to work to get those assets, just like building a website
- sixstringtheory 2y ago
  OK, but TFA is about the work part, not the passive part, despite the title. Even having a “portfolio of revenue generating products” will require work to maintain. Maybe full time or more so, depending on if you used log4j or an SSL cert from a provider that screwed things up, say. Or built on a fickle platform like reddit, twitter or Apple that changes the fundamental rules every so often. Just because you don’t have a boss that will fire you for not waking up for on call during an outage, doesn’t mean that outages won’t happen or need to be fixed. It reminds me of people that consider buying a second home and rent out the old one to gain “passive income”, not realizing how much work it can be to be a good landlord.
  - alp1n3_eth 2y ago
    I feel like "passive" income is anything that takes under 10 hours a week once it's up and running. There's rarely any opportunity that can be considered passive if your definition is 0 work ever once it's going. The only thing that [might] fit into that slot is investment dividends.
    - sixstringtheory 2y ago
      I don’t know if it’s 0 for me, but it’s definitely way less than 10 hours per week. I have ETFs and a HYSA that I basically never look at. That’s passive.