6 ms·

Success may not matter if you aren't doing what you love

85 points by theahura 3mo ago

deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
zerobees 3mo ago
I'm not trying to gatekeep or belittle the author, but there's something funny about this genre of articles that assert with utmost conviction what it takes to be successful in business. Of course, we all have opinions, but this piece doesn't say "here's what I think". It says, more or less, "here's how you succeed". There are two things that are undoubtedly beneficial. The first one is a degree of unreasonable optimism or arrogance that pushes some people to try while everyone else is sitting in comfy armchairs, explaining why the idea is boring or can't work. The second is a financial safety net, so that you can try and try again. As for everything else, it's reading tea leaves. There are folks who believe you need to be like Steve Jobs. There are people think you need to be like Elon Musk, or Bill Gates, or Dario Amodei, or Sergey Brin, or Warren Buffett. Good luck reconciling that.
- hahahaa 3mo ago
  Hell yeah. Linkedin (with AI assisted slop) is full of "Here's the thing:" overconfident and low depth claptrap.
  - grvdrm 3mo ago
    And Substack to that list too.
- cliglot 3mo ago
  > I'm not trying to gatekeep or belittle the author, but there's something funny about this genre of articles that assert with utmost conviction what it takes to be successful in business. Of course, we all have opinions, but this piece doesn't say "here's what I think". It says, more or less, "here's how you succeed". A difficult lesson I’ve struggled to come to terms with is that it’s socially advantageous to appear confident that you’re right than it is to actually be right.
  - Nevermark 3mo ago
    I am someone completely unable to fake appearances, and would never want to. But I can vouch that being completely convinced of a solution path to an ambitious problem, is a shockingly helpful condition to get long term, long shot help, with no strings. I have never been in a situation where I needed, wanted or felt I deserved help before. And I would have had no idea how to ask for it. But dire need and absolute belief (not faked) in what I am doing has resulted in so much help over so much time (far more than planned of course), I am humbled. And also very happy that it worked out.
ericls 3mo ago
Success is not a defined term.
- measurablefunc 3mo ago
  Article is about economic/business success which is defined in terms of revenue/profits, i.e. numbers going up & to the right.
  - ericls 3mo ago
    But when it's tangled with emotional/personal stuff such as love. It gets really messy.
deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
hahahaa 3mo ago
He assumes the lanes are thinner than they are. I am an introvert but love the idea of speaking at a conference. I am happy to help a struggling customer whon doesnt know what HTML is and work on a high performing lean team. I do have some hard nos though. A freedom sucking job (lots of travel to places I don't want to be) or 90h weeks is a no for me.
- theahura 3mo ago
  > A freedom sucking job (lots of travel to places I don't want to be) or 90h weeks is a no for me. Actually I think you agree with the central premise of the article, even if the examples didn't resonate
  - hahahaa 3mo ago
    I do agree yes
gnabgib 3mo ago
Your entire history seems to be self-promotion, you're aware of the guidelines? > Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff part of the time, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity. Perhaps you could submit something you're curious about, instead? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- chungusamongus 3mo ago
  [flagged]
- gjvc 3mo ago
  Your entire history seems to be kvetching
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
- theahura 3mo ago
  > Perhaps you could submit something you're curious about, instead? Hi, author here. I write about what I'm curious about. I don't think it's promotion (both in spirit or letter) to share what I am curious about. I hate just linking to <openai blog / anthropic blog / karpathy twitter / tech crunch / engadget> without any commentary, since that has very low value-above-replacement. I'm curious why you went into my posting history -- do you do that for every post? [EDIT] to be clear this isnt written by AI, despite a few people seemingly tripped up by it. Check pangram if you doubt
  - jrflowers 3mo ago
    > Hi, author here. I write about what I'm curious about. “Linkedin poetry is my passion” lmao
    - theahura 3mo ago
      And here's what people don't know: its not poetry, it's passion -- and that makes the difference.
junkaccount 3mo ago
Watch this: https://youtu.be/i4gvIeA3RcI?si=0VWnkXtih-DXfsHl https://youtu.be/i4gvIeA3RcI?si=0VWnkXtih-DXfsHl , this line of thinking that I have to find my calling is not good.
ElProlactin 3mo ago
There are way too many straw man examples in this article that it distracts from the point the author is trying to make. A former jazz pianist and Buddhist monk who used psychedelics, the Spanish-speaker trying to sell into a Chinese-speaking market, the introvert selling to enterprise buyers who love going to steakhouses and watching the Yankees from box seats, etc. Interestingly, two words that aren't mentioned even once in this entire article: "co-founder" and "hire". Very few people singlehandedly build the type of businesses the author is talking about. They team up with and recruit other people to join them so that they can focus on what they do best and fill in the gaps with other people's talent.
- theahura 3mo ago
  > Interestingly, two words that aren't mentioned even once in this entire article: "co-founder" and "hire" I actually debated including this! But I ended up not doing so, because your co-founder and the people you hire will end up being more aligned to you (your values, judgements, whatever) than even the market you end up in, especially early on. And if they don't, that's an even bigger problem. Founder breakups are the #1 cause of startup death. Also, agreed, all of this is out the window once you _already_ have the ability to hire a bunch of other people, but that rarely happens right out the gate, which is where most of my interest lies > straw man examples not straw men, all real but unnamed examples (also not really what a straw man is but whatever)
  - ElProlactin 3mo ago
    > But I ended up not doing so, because your co-founder and the people you hire will end up being more aligned to you (your values, judgements, whatever) than even the market you end up in, especially early on. Your article comes off as very confident about the way things are, and your comment does too, but your perspective doesn't match what I've seen in over 30 years in this industry, which is that tons of companies are started by founders and early employees who compliment each other and fill in each other's gaps. > all real but unnamed examples Real Buddhist monks typically don't use mind-altering substances (it's a violation of the Fifth Precept), but in any case, following on my point above, your "unnamed examples" read like caricatures. Great for trying to make your blog post convincing; not great for building arguments that align to what's typical in the real world.
deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
antilimit 3mo ago
this was a really good read and something I feel like I needed to hear as well. definitely has helped with how I should approach a project im working on - and I'm heavily on that introvert axis.. thanks for sharing.
CosmicShadow 3mo ago
Great article, finally something worth reading fully on here. As a serial entrepreneur this definitely hits home and is something I've had to learn the hard way over my 17 years of entrepreneurship. Just because you come across a great opportunity and you have the skills and gusto to make it happen doesn't mean it's a good fit. If you don't give a shit about the idea/problem/market it doesn't matter if you are good at every aspect of the business, it will be a slog and you just won't care and will set yourself up to fail sooner or later.
Fotis-Karmpas 3mo ago
to be honest i think life is about the thrill of seeking and achieving not the destination. i feel no matter what you do if it takes so much of your time and freedom you won't end up loving it.
jongjong 3mo ago
For me, success always matters because achieving success is what I love doing most. Unfortunately, it's been over 10 years since I last experienced success... And that was minor success. Most people wouldn't even consider it success. I feel like I've had essentially zero control over my career since then.
swissfunicular 3mo ago
Is the converse also true?
- AnimalMuppet 3mo ago
  I don't know about the converse. But for an "if-then" statement, the contrapositive is logically equivalent. This statement (in if-then form) is "if you are not doing what you love, success does not matter". (I took the liberty of getting rid of the "may", so that everything is boolean, and so the law of contrapositives applies.) The contrapositive is "If success matters, then you are doing what you love". That... might be true. If I'm just working at a McJob, what do I care about the success of the business? I'm just there to do what they tell me, punch a clock, and cash paychecks. It pays for the parts of life that I do care about. But if I care about the success of the business, then on some level, I love that business.
fragmede 3mo ago
Damn. I'm trying to do a startup and have been asking myself some questions and this really hits. Thanks!

85 points by theahura 3mo ago

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]

I'm not trying to gatekeep or belittle the author, but there's something funny about this genre of articles that assert with utmost conviction what it takes to be successful in business. Of course, we all have opinions, but this piece doesn't say "here's what I think". It says, more or less, "here's how you succeed". There are two things that are undoubtedly beneficial. The first one is a degree of unreasonable optimism or arrogance that pushes some people to try while everyone else is sitting in comfy armchairs, explaining why the idea is boring or can't work. The second is a financial safety net, so that you can try and try again. As for everything else, it's reading tea leaves. There are folks who believe you need to be like Steve Jobs. There are people think you need to be like Elon Musk, or Bill Gates, or Dario Amodei, or Sergey Brin, or Warren Buffett. Good luck reconciling that.

hahahaa 3mo ago
Hell yeah. Linkedin (with AI assisted slop) is full of "Here's the thing:" overconfident and low depth claptrap.
- grvdrm 3mo ago
  And Substack to that list too.
cliglot 3mo ago
> I'm not trying to gatekeep or belittle the author, but there's something funny about this genre of articles that assert with utmost conviction what it takes to be successful in business. Of course, we all have opinions, but this piece doesn't say "here's what I think". It says, more or less, "here's how you succeed". A difficult lesson I’ve struggled to come to terms with is that it’s socially advantageous to appear confident that you’re right than it is to actually be right.
- Nevermark 3mo ago
  I am someone completely unable to fake appearances, and would never want to. But I can vouch that being completely convinced of a solution path to an ambitious problem, is a shockingly helpful condition to get long term, long shot help, with no strings. I have never been in a situation where I needed, wanted or felt I deserved help before. And I would have had no idea how to ask for it. But dire need and absolute belief (not faked) in what I am doing has resulted in so much help over so much time (far more than planned of course), I am humbled. And also very happy that it worked out.

ericls 3mo ago

Success is not a defined term.

measurablefunc 3mo ago
Article is about economic/business success which is defined in terms of revenue/profits, i.e. numbers going up & to the right.
- ericls 3mo ago
  But when it's tangled with emotional/personal stuff such as love. It gets really messy.

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]

hahahaa 3mo ago

He assumes the lanes are thinner than they are. I am an introvert but love the idea of speaking at a conference. I am happy to help a struggling customer whon doesnt know what HTML is and work on a high performing lean team. I do have some hard nos though. A freedom sucking job (lots of travel to places I don't want to be) or 90h weeks is a no for me.

theahura 3mo ago
> A freedom sucking job (lots of travel to places I don't want to be) or 90h weeks is a no for me. Actually I think you agree with the central premise of the article, even if the examples didn't resonate
- hahahaa 3mo ago
  I do agree yes

gnabgib 3mo ago

Your entire history seems to be self-promotion, you're aware of the guidelines? > Please don't use HN primarily for promotion. It's ok to post your own stuff part of the time, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity. Perhaps you could submit something you're curious about, instead? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

chungusamongus 3mo ago
[flagged]
gjvc 3mo ago
Your entire history seems to be kvetching
deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
theahura 3mo ago
> Perhaps you could submit something you're curious about, instead? Hi, author here. I write about what I'm curious about. I don't think it's promotion (both in spirit or letter) to share what I am curious about. I hate just linking to <openai blog / anthropic blog / karpathy twitter / tech crunch / engadget> without any commentary, since that has very low value-above-replacement. I'm curious why you went into my posting history -- do you do that for every post? [EDIT] to be clear this isnt written by AI, despite a few people seemingly tripped up by it. Check pangram if you doubt
- jrflowers 3mo ago
  > Hi, author here. I write about what I'm curious about. “Linkedin poetry is my passion” lmao
  - theahura 3mo ago
    And here's what people don't know: its not poetry, it's passion -- and that makes the difference.

junkaccount 3mo ago

Watch this: https://youtu.be/i4gvIeA3RcI?si=0VWnkXtih-DXfsHl https://youtu.be/i4gvIeA3RcI?si=0VWnkXtih-DXfsHl , this line of thinking that I have to find my calling is not good.

ElProlactin 3mo ago

There are way too many straw man examples in this article that it distracts from the point the author is trying to make. A former jazz pianist and Buddhist monk who used psychedelics, the Spanish-speaker trying to sell into a Chinese-speaking market, the introvert selling to enterprise buyers who love going to steakhouses and watching the Yankees from box seats, etc. Interestingly, two words that aren't mentioned even once in this entire article: "co-founder" and "hire". Very few people singlehandedly build the type of businesses the author is talking about. They team up with and recruit other people to join them so that they can focus on what they do best and fill in the gaps with other people's talent.

theahura 3mo ago
> Interestingly, two words that aren't mentioned even once in this entire article: "co-founder" and "hire" I actually debated including this! But I ended up not doing so, because your co-founder and the people you hire will end up being more aligned to you (your values, judgements, whatever) than even the market you end up in, especially early on. And if they don't, that's an even bigger problem. Founder breakups are the #1 cause of startup death. Also, agreed, all of this is out the window once you _already_ have the ability to hire a bunch of other people, but that rarely happens right out the gate, which is where most of my interest lies > straw man examples not straw men, all real but unnamed examples (also not really what a straw man is but whatever)
- ElProlactin 3mo ago
  > But I ended up not doing so, because your co-founder and the people you hire will end up being more aligned to you (your values, judgements, whatever) than even the market you end up in, especially early on. Your article comes off as very confident about the way things are, and your comment does too, but your perspective doesn't match what I've seen in over 30 years in this industry, which is that tons of companies are started by founders and early employees who compliment each other and fill in each other's gaps. > all real but unnamed examples Real Buddhist monks typically don't use mind-altering substances (it's a violation of the Fifth Precept), but in any case, following on my point above, your "unnamed examples" read like caricatures. Great for trying to make your blog post convincing; not great for building arguments that align to what's typical in the real world.

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]

antilimit 3mo ago

this was a really good read and something I feel like I needed to hear as well. definitely has helped with how I should approach a project im working on - and I'm heavily on that introvert axis.. thanks for sharing.

CosmicShadow 3mo ago

Great article, finally something worth reading fully on here. As a serial entrepreneur this definitely hits home and is something I've had to learn the hard way over my 17 years of entrepreneurship. Just because you come across a great opportunity and you have the skills and gusto to make it happen doesn't mean it's a good fit. If you don't give a shit about the idea/problem/market it doesn't matter if you are good at every aspect of the business, it will be a slog and you just won't care and will set yourself up to fail sooner or later.

Fotis-Karmpas 3mo ago

to be honest i think life is about the thrill of seeking and achieving not the destination. i feel no matter what you do if it takes so much of your time and freedom you won't end up loving it.

jongjong 3mo ago

For me, success always matters because achieving success is what I love doing most. Unfortunately, it's been over 10 years since I last experienced success... And that was minor success. Most people wouldn't even consider it success. I feel like I've had essentially zero control over my career since then.

swissfunicular 3mo ago

Is the converse also true?

AnimalMuppet 3mo ago
I don't know about the converse. But for an "if-then" statement, the contrapositive is logically equivalent. This statement (in if-then form) is "if you are not doing what you love, success does not matter". (I took the liberty of getting rid of the "may", so that everything is boolean, and so the law of contrapositives applies.) The contrapositive is "If success matters, then you are doing what you love". That... might be true. If I'm just working at a McJob, what do I care about the success of the business? I'm just there to do what they tell me, punch a clock, and cash paychecks. It pays for the parts of life that I do care about. But if I care about the success of the business, then on some level, I love that business.

fragmede 3mo ago

Damn. I'm trying to do a startup and have been asking myself some questions and this really hits. Thanks!