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> Sure, if you tank a startup, you likely lose only your investment, and you'll probably learn a lot. Problem is, you've also just spent N years of your life do

> Sure, if you tank a startup, you likely lose only your investment, and you'll probably learn a lot. Problem is, you've also just spent N years of your life doing little but working like crazy. If you're lucky, you've got about 80 years to enjoy on this planet. You've got about 15 of those as a young adult. How much are they worth? I have recently come to the thinking that a life in search of fun and happiness leaves one feeling empty in the longer term, where a life with intense focus on a cause you deem worthy will have plenty of fun and happiness along the way. Now, most people are kind of in a borderland where they're not focused on something intensely purposeful, nor are they enjoying their life. It's a sort of limbo. But to get out of that, I think focusing on finding something worth striving hard for that will produce plenty of short term joy and enjoyment to go along with long term fulfillment.

iron_ball 17y ago
intense focus on a cause you deem worthy Such as, to pick a startup at random, online ticket sales? Is that -- by itself, without any consideration of reward or profit -- worth the sacrifice? The answer for this, and for 99% of other startups, is HELL NO.
- lionhearted 17y ago
  Business is just problem solving. It's like playing a slow paced, higher stakes video game that you get real money for beating instead of virtual money. Now, it's more complicated than even a complicated game, and the rules or winning conditions aren't always clear. But once you get acclimated, there can be a sublime beauty and enjoyment to doing almost any sort of business. Smart people who don't initially like the more persona-driven types of business often become the best businessmen. Engineers, etc - business is just critical thinking, and getting it done. I've found enjoyment in many types of business, and just "doing business" (solving problems) is a right good time.
  - californiaguy2 17y ago
    At the risk of sounding crude, I experimented with all sorts of drugs and sex in college, but the best high I've found yet is scoring business. Maybe I am a money loving robot, but that's my position on the matter.
dhimes 17y ago
One of the problems people have is confusing happiness and pleasure. They are not the same. For instance, some of the things that give us great pleasure can cause us to be quite unhappy, and some of the things which are unpleasant help us be happy.

iron_ball 17y ago

intense focus on a cause you deem worthy Such as, to pick a startup at random, online ticket sales? Is that -- by itself, without any consideration of reward or profit -- worth the sacrifice? The answer for this, and for 99% of other startups, is HELL NO.

lionhearted 17y ago
Business is just problem solving. It's like playing a slow paced, higher stakes video game that you get real money for beating instead of virtual money. Now, it's more complicated than even a complicated game, and the rules or winning conditions aren't always clear. But once you get acclimated, there can be a sublime beauty and enjoyment to doing almost any sort of business. Smart people who don't initially like the more persona-driven types of business often become the best businessmen. Engineers, etc - business is just critical thinking, and getting it done. I've found enjoyment in many types of business, and just "doing business" (solving problems) is a right good time.
- californiaguy2 17y ago
  At the risk of sounding crude, I experimented with all sorts of drugs and sex in college, but the best high I've found yet is scoring business. Maybe I am a money loving robot, but that's my position on the matter.

dhimes 17y ago

One of the problems people have is confusing happiness and pleasure. They are not the same. For instance, some of the things that give us great pleasure can cause us to be quite unhappy, and some of the things which are unpleasant help us be happy.