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Lol, it's about the most honest thing anyone has ever posted. Instinctively this is what drives us all to be great - the envy of our peers. Anyone who denies

Lol, it's about the most honest thing anyone has ever posted. Instinctively this is what drives us all to be great - the envy of our peers. Anyone who denies this, is just denying that they are living breathing human beings. The trick is to use these instincts to inspire ourselves to do higher level, more interesting forebrain things.

fortawesome 12y ago
My old college roommate just took his startup public. It now has a market cap of 2.81B. My childhood friend teaches a medical device class at Stanford and has been a part of several successful startups. They're both doing quite well for themselves, according to some metrics. But in the end, I don't think you can't let this stuff drive you. Gotta live your own life the way you think is right according to how you measure success. And success metrics bound to external factors tend to sap happiness in the end rather than drive it.
bqe 12y ago
I agree. Who hasn't wanted to win big to show someone that you were as great as you thought you were? To finally have a big success to brag about. To finally be someone.
Dewie 12y ago
To some degree, perhaps. But some people might be more motivated by the money, or "changing the world" (apparently apps can change the world), or something entirely different.
- blazespin 12y ago
  Why do you want to change the world? Because you want to be great in the eyes of others! People who don't care about what their peers think of them are sociopaths. I do agree though, let your forebrain help pick your friends carefully. That way you can be the envy of interesting people who make interesting choices.
  - Dewie 12y ago
    > Why do you want to change the world? Because you want to be great in the eyes of others! Or because they want to make a positive impact on the world. Changing the world is just an extreme version of that. Is that an actual reason, or just a rationalization? I don't know, I'm not in the change-the-world camp. (And don't try to continue this like a Socratic Questioning - why, why, why - that is soo passé.) I know. Absolutes is a very tempting and convincing framework to work withing. Everything-is-X is a popular perspective, from human behaviourist bloggers to language designers. > People who don't care about what their peers think of them are sociopaths. And people who are never motivated to eat will soon die. The contention was with the "this is the only motivation, ever", not with the weak version of "sometimes/partly". Don't try to weaken your stance.
    - blazespin 12y ago
      ahhhh.... where did I say this was the only motivation ever? I just said instinctively this is what drives us to be great. I will say everyone is motivated by this, but it isn't they only motivation. We're also motivated by other instincts as well. And yes, we all do have forebrains. And using our instincts to drive our forebrains is generally considered an important tactic in will power.
refurb 12y ago
I can't deny that looking good in front of others isn't a basic human instinct, but it has a flip side: you live your life to look good in front of others. Not very self-actualizing, now is it?

fortawesome 12y ago

My old college roommate just took his startup public. It now has a market cap of 2.81B. My childhood friend teaches a medical device class at Stanford and has been a part of several successful startups. They're both doing quite well for themselves, according to some metrics. But in the end, I don't think you can't let this stuff drive you. Gotta live your own life the way you think is right according to how you measure success. And success metrics bound to external factors tend to sap happiness in the end rather than drive it.

bqe 12y ago

I agree. Who hasn't wanted to win big to show someone that you were as great as you thought you were? To finally have a big success to brag about. To finally be someone.

Dewie 12y ago

To some degree, perhaps. But some people might be more motivated by the money, or "changing the world" (apparently apps can change the world), or something entirely different.

blazespin 12y ago
Why do you want to change the world? Because you want to be great in the eyes of others! People who don't care about what their peers think of them are sociopaths. I do agree though, let your forebrain help pick your friends carefully. That way you can be the envy of interesting people who make interesting choices.
- Dewie 12y ago
  > Why do you want to change the world? Because you want to be great in the eyes of others! Or because they want to make a positive impact on the world. Changing the world is just an extreme version of that. Is that an actual reason, or just a rationalization? I don't know, I'm not in the change-the-world camp. (And don't try to continue this like a Socratic Questioning - why, why, why - that is soo passé.) I know. Absolutes is a very tempting and convincing framework to work withing. Everything-is-X is a popular perspective, from human behaviourist bloggers to language designers. > People who don't care about what their peers think of them are sociopaths. And people who are never motivated to eat will soon die. The contention was with the "this is the only motivation, ever", not with the weak version of "sometimes/partly". Don't try to weaken your stance.
  - blazespin 12y ago
    ahhhh.... where did I say this was the only motivation ever? I just said instinctively this is what drives us to be great. I will say everyone is motivated by this, but it isn't they only motivation. We're also motivated by other instincts as well. And yes, we all do have forebrains. And using our instincts to drive our forebrains is generally considered an important tactic in will power.

refurb 12y ago

I can't deny that looking good in front of others isn't a basic human instinct, but it has a flip side: you live your life to look good in front of others. Not very self-actualizing, now is it?