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When I compared people that take on big goals later in life with those who simply simulate them in their mind, then decide their projected end results are 'pred

When I compared people that take on big goals later in life with those who simply simulate them in their mind, then decide their projected end results are 'predictable and uninteresting', I saw something interesting. Those who take on big goals are seen as naive and almost childlike, because the 'experienced' believe they already know the end results. Those who don't take on big goals get to be in the audience and throw stones, but never really amount to anything other than gloating at a possible failure. I think the experience works against you at a certain age. The projections are a lie, or possibly inaccurate at best. I've come to believe you don't know what will happen until you do it -- what your mind simulates is often only correct in the broadest sense, but way way off when it comes to the important details and compound ramifications. In otherwords, keep taking on big goals and press on to finish them, while ignoring that pesky voice which thinks it already knows how this will all turn out. And ignore the people who do the same, their words are rarely helpful.

huherto 13y ago
Your comment is very interesting. But let me argue against it. May be when you are older, you can see the end result with more clarity, and decide that is not worth the effort and the sacrifices that you have to make. Is it better becoming a millionaire when you are 30 or when you are 50? If you do it at 30, you will enjoy the fruits for 45 years. If you do it at 50, you will enjoy them for 25. (Assuming expectancy_of_life=75) Also if you sacrifice a number of years it is a larger sacrifice over the rest of your life.
- oalders 13y ago
  You may, however, appreciate your millions more if they come to you at 50, even if you aren't wealthy for as many years. I think there's a quantity vs quality argument that could be made there. I'm not saying that's necessarily the case, but perspective can be gained with age and experience and that can colour your view of the world and how much you appreciate what you really do have.
- tsunamifury 13y ago
  I'd say a sufficiently large goal is well beyond that of only self-fulfillment or making a lot of money. It would be an attempt to change a field, advance a given topic in that field, or create a system which a group of people could benefit from.
dasil003 13y ago
The first thing I'd say in response to your overall comment is that what other people think is a red herring. You'll never do anything interesting at any age if you decide to take on big challenges based on others opinions, and there are naysayers at every age. But also, the fact is that if someone says they're going to do some amazing huge thing I will be polite but I will probably not believe they can actually pull it off until they do so. This has nothing to do with my life experience, but just that talk is cheap and people like to dream. It's just a statistical fact that on average there's a lot more talk than execution, or perhaps a better way to look at it is that one ambitious idea might take 10 years of full-time dedication to execute successfully during which time who knows how many more lightbulbs would come on. But perhaps more to your point, what does my experience tell me about bold ambitions? Well, mostly I've learned that making big predictions is foolish. The older I get the more I discover how extremely subjective life is, and how dependent everything we know and take for granted is based on personal experience and perspective. I'm much less likely today at 35 to predict the outcome of a project than I would have at 25. My experience comes in at a smaller scale on more specific issues. Engineering choices for instance, I have a much finer tuned sense of where to balance hackery and YAGNI, or how to manage different kinds of business relationships. But I certainly am loathe to sit around making armchair prognostications about the medium to distant future. In short, experience does not make me think I know more, it makes me aware of how little I actually do know.

huherto 13y ago

Your comment is very interesting. But let me argue against it. May be when you are older, you can see the end result with more clarity, and decide that is not worth the effort and the sacrifices that you have to make. Is it better becoming a millionaire when you are 30 or when you are 50? If you do it at 30, you will enjoy the fruits for 45 years. If you do it at 50, you will enjoy them for 25. (Assuming expectancy_of_life=75) Also if you sacrifice a number of years it is a larger sacrifice over the rest of your life.

oalders 13y ago
You may, however, appreciate your millions more if they come to you at 50, even if you aren't wealthy for as many years. I think there's a quantity vs quality argument that could be made there. I'm not saying that's necessarily the case, but perspective can be gained with age and experience and that can colour your view of the world and how much you appreciate what you really do have.
tsunamifury 13y ago
I'd say a sufficiently large goal is well beyond that of only self-fulfillment or making a lot of money. It would be an attempt to change a field, advance a given topic in that field, or create a system which a group of people could benefit from.

dasil003 13y ago

The first thing I'd say in response to your overall comment is that what other people think is a red herring. You'll never do anything interesting at any age if you decide to take on big challenges based on others opinions, and there are naysayers at every age. But also, the fact is that if someone says they're going to do some amazing huge thing I will be polite but I will probably not believe they can actually pull it off until they do so. This has nothing to do with my life experience, but just that talk is cheap and people like to dream. It's just a statistical fact that on average there's a lot more talk than execution, or perhaps a better way to look at it is that one ambitious idea might take 10 years of full-time dedication to execute successfully during which time who knows how many more lightbulbs would come on. But perhaps more to your point, what does my experience tell me about bold ambitions? Well, mostly I've learned that making big predictions is foolish. The older I get the more I discover how extremely subjective life is, and how dependent everything we know and take for granted is based on personal experience and perspective. I'm much less likely today at 35 to predict the outcome of a project than I would have at 25. My experience comes in at a smaller scale on more specific issues. Engineering choices for instance, I have a much finer tuned sense of where to balance hackery and YAGNI, or how to manage different kinds of business relationships. But I certainly am loathe to sit around making armchair prognostications about the medium to distant future. In short, experience does not make me think I know more, it makes me aware of how little I actually do know.