4 ms·

Is there such a thing as too much freedom?

18 points by sivers 17y ago

daeken 17y ago
There's a balance to everything. I don't think your issue, though, is having too much freedom. I think it likely has a lot more to do with not knowing what's right for you. If the right choice for you is to travel, you have the freedom to do it; if the right choice for you is to settle down, you have the freedom to do that too. Freedom of choice without knowing the right path to choose can feel awfully non-free, though.
shrikant 17y ago
No. There is always something new to be learnt. New books to read, new knowledge to obtain, new culture to imbibe, new things to say, new experiences to be had. Wait a minute, he answers it himself: I'm definitely happy and complete, so there's no sense of longing or lacking. Just a constant pursuit of learning and experiencing all I can before I die.
ankeshk 17y ago
There is a saying: if you achieve your dreams during your lifetime, you aren't dreaming big enough. Sivers has achieved a lot. But maybe he just needs to dream a bit bigger for himself? Everyone should have a Polaris that guides them. An unmovable object / idea that helps in making life decisions. Because an aimless life won't be satisfying.
koenbok 17y ago
Makes me think of this great talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_ch...
gjm11 17y ago
Shorter Derek Sivers (at least every Derek Siders post that ever makes it to HN): "Hey, everyone, I'm rich and can do whatever I like. Isn't it great being rich? It's so much better than not being rich. Why doesn't everyone do it?". (Only with more boldface.) (I took a look at his blog, including some posts that I didn't see on HN. Perhaps it's only 1/2 or 1/3 of his posts that have that form. But it does seem to be those that get onto HN.)
eleitl 17y ago
Heh. There's literally not enough money on the entire planet for most of my projects. From the description, he's stuck in a rut. Instead of starting a yet another company, how about using the companies you have to fund something worthwhile. People are dying, you know.
onreact-com 17y ago
"There ought to be limits to freedom."* *George W. Bush 1999 I don't agree though. Now that you can do everything you want it's time to devote yourself to a good cause.
BearOfNH 17y ago
Read The Sovereign Individual published 1997. Don't like your current location? Pick up your capital and move. (In the book, ultimately big government loses as the rich people move away and there's nobody left to rob.) A dozen years later we've got a prime example. Yep, being rich is definitely better than not being rich.
adrianwaj 17y ago
If I've got 99 things that need to be done, and I can get 98 of those things done by other people instead, am I truly free? - the issue is need, not freedom

18 points by sivers 17y ago

There's a balance to everything. I don't think your issue, though, is having too much freedom. I think it likely has a lot more to do with not knowing what's right for you. If the right choice for you is to travel, you have the freedom to do it; if the right choice for you is to settle down, you have the freedom to do that too. Freedom of choice without knowing the right path to choose can feel awfully non-free, though.

shrikant 17y ago

No. There is always something new to be learnt. New books to read, new knowledge to obtain, new culture to imbibe, new things to say, new experiences to be had. Wait a minute, he answers it himself: I'm definitely happy and complete, so there's no sense of longing or lacking. Just a constant pursuit of learning and experiencing all I can before I die.

ankeshk 17y ago

There is a saying: if you achieve your dreams during your lifetime, you aren't dreaming big enough. Sivers has achieved a lot. But maybe he just needs to dream a bit bigger for himself? Everyone should have a Polaris that guides them. An unmovable object / idea that helps in making life decisions. Because an aimless life won't be satisfying.

koenbok 17y ago

Makes me think of this great talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_ch...

gjm11 17y ago

Shorter Derek Sivers (at least every Derek Siders post that ever makes it to HN): "Hey, everyone, I'm rich and can do whatever I like. Isn't it great being rich? It's so much better than not being rich. Why doesn't everyone do it?". (Only with more boldface.) (I took a look at his blog, including some posts that I didn't see on HN. Perhaps it's only 1/2 or 1/3 of his posts that have that form. But it does seem to be those that get onto HN.)

eleitl 17y ago

Heh. There's literally not enough money on the entire planet for most of my projects. From the description, he's stuck in a rut. Instead of starting a yet another company, how about using the companies you have to fund something worthwhile. People are dying, you know.

onreact-com 17y ago

"There ought to be limits to freedom."* *George W. Bush 1999 I don't agree though. Now that you can do everything you want it's time to devote yourself to a good cause.

BearOfNH 17y ago

Read The Sovereign Individual published 1997. Don't like your current location? Pick up your capital and move. (In the book, ultimately big government loses as the rich people move away and there's nobody left to rob.) A dozen years later we've got a prime example. Yep, being rich is definitely better than not being rich.

adrianwaj 17y ago

If I've got 99 things that need to be done, and I can get 98 of those things done by other people instead, am I truly free? - the issue is need, not freedom