This isn't just for startups. People end up burning themselves out as contractors or even in salaried positions in well established companies, in much the same ways. You think it will work out in the end, but usually it really really doesn't.
"Eyes on the prize" is actually the right attitude, but the prizes should be your sanity, health, and friends & family. Unless you are doing something truly earth shattering like you are close to curing cancer, the world is not going to remember your sacrifice for the cause. I'm close to leaving my nicely paid job in full knowledge that I'll take a hefty pay cut doing so, but the money isn't worth the effect the current environment is having on me, I'm almost done waiting for promised changes to happen, and other changes that are happening may even make things worse (in at least the short term). I am more important than my work. You are more important than your work. If you can manage both then carry on, and it is fine to burn a bit short term to deal with unexpected crisis, but if you find yourself having to chose between the two over the medium/long term then don't chose the work.
There's one takeaway - no pun intended - that leaps out from this.
Learn. To. Cook.
I run a small, scrappy company that's been in startup mode multiple times over the last 20 years. Being a good cook might well be the most valuable skill I've used over those years.
It lets you drop to very low personal expenditure very easily - far lower than you could manage on all but the junkiest of ready food - whilst still eating well and keeping your health up.
Thinking about it, would a "How To Cook For Hackers" video / ebook / webseries be of use or interest to HN? With the right instrumentation, absolutely anyone can learn to cook nutritious, tasty, cheap meals.
> Thinking about it, would a "How To Cook For Hackers" video / ebook / webseries be of use or interest to HN? With the right instrumentation, absolutely anyone can learn to cook nutritious, tasty, cheap meals.
The need for cheap, healthy and delicious meals isn't mutually exclusive to "Hackers." In fact there are many sites out there that have this aim already. One such site is called Budget Bytes [1] which my wife and I use all the time.
I'm not entirely disagreeing, but learn WHAT to cook.
Woe is me, I cannot bake a cake from scratch and my souffle always collapses, well, off to McDonalds for a double cheezeburger. OK, well, its pretty hard to mess up the "cooking" involved in making a salad. Oh you want a snack instead of a meal and its too hard to scratch bake homemade cookies so you'll just drive to krispie kreme and eat a dozen donuts, nope, go eat a carrot. Let me describe the "cooking" steps in preparing a raw carrot snack. Wash off the dirt. Optionally cut off the green end or just don't eat it. If you're lazy and wealthy you can buy a bag with carrots in it where this advanced "cooking" has been taken care of for you. I can provide similar "cooking" recipes for grapes, apples, pears, bananas, cherries, blueberries and many more. Meat is microscopically more complicated, but not much worse. Put raw chicken parts in slow cooker. Do not lick hands until after washing them. Dump BBQ seasoning packet (for those who can't handle mixing 8 or so cheap, practically free, dry ingredients by themselves...) on chicken. Put cooker on high for 5 hours, or follow packet directions. Its about that hard.
Another "what to cook" problem is you'll get into huge arguments with people addicted to junk food, because taco bell 35% "meat", which they call beef filling and there have been lawsuits filed to forbid them from calling it "beef", in a shell, is a lot cheaper than seared kobe beef tenderloin, and thats the only option for cooking at home, therefore its too expensive to cook anything at home, so welcome to taco bell for all meals.
Edited to add another common anti-pattern heard continuously on HN is insisting on comparing fake food to out of season organic imported hydroponic food. I live near blueberry country so I'm used to paying about $2/pound once a year. Yet out of season, you can easily pay over $15 per pound. Invariably someone will use as an example, blueberry flavored kool aide vs out of season organic hydro grown imported blueberries at $15/pound at whole foods, which isn't all that fair. My brilliant solution to the annual variation in blueberry prices is not to eat them when the price is above $5 or so per pound. And I can and freeze them. Freeze them on a cookie sheet THEN bag them so they don't clump up.
> Thinking about it, would a "How To Cook For Hackers" video / ebook / webseries be of use or interest to HN?
What's the hacker angle on cooking? In my experience, cooking is much more of a craft than an intellectual exercise, which doesn't make it very 'hackable'.
Personally, I'd recommend start with something like these [1][2] - good, fast, cheap, nutritious food has been focus for many others than hackers, for quite a while.
Yeah, this hits a little close to home. My own (mis)adventure is pretty well documented[1], so I won't bore anybody with details, except to say: I'm living proof, and very nearly dead proof, of important parts of what Rui says. It's so easy to let your health go by the wayside, pushing yourself harder and harder, and thinking "I'll lose the weight next month" and then "next month" is "in six months" and then it's "next year" and so on.
I very literally almost died, and while there are a lot of factors in having a heart-attack (weight,genetics,stress,nutrition,etc., etc.), there is no question in my mind that three of the big contributing factors for me where A. stress, B. nutrition and C. weight. And sadly all three of those things are things I could / can control, unlike genetics.
Seriously folks, if you're out of shape, if you don't exercise, or if you are the living embodiment of that old joke about "the four food groups for programmers" (salt, sugar, fat and caffeine), please, please stop, wake up, and start taking nutrition seriously.
And don't think "I'm young, I'm only in my 20's, I have nothing to worry about". That's bullshit. You'll be 40 eventually (if you are lucky enough to live that long) and what you're doing with that mindset is letting "20 year old you" fuck over "40 year old you". It takes decades for the bad nutrition, lack of exercise, too much sugar, smoking, etc. to do their damage, so even if you don't see any outward signs now, the damage is being done, and the piper will need to be paid eventually.
> It takes decades for the bad nutrition, lack of exercise, too much sugar, smoking, etc. to do their damage.
Well what if those decades were your childhood? I've been fat since the day I was born, because I was a child of a lazy welfare queen who thought food equals bag of potato chips a day. I dropped out of high school and went on to sick leave because of severe sleep apnea. (Slept 0-4 hours a night, I had so much fat on my body that it blocked my breathing in certain positions and the weight on my lungs caused them not to work properly.)
My future was already ruined because of malnutrition and the only thing I have left is sitting at home on my computer. I've already disowned my mother, but it won't bring my health back. Just the thought that I have to work on my body the rest of my life and it still won't be presentable just makes me want to kill myself.
I am addicted to Coca-Cola and need the caffeine to stop the headaches, my diet consists of quick easy takeout so I have enough time to work in the evenings and spend time with my 3 month old daughter. I am currently working on a side project that I hope will prove itself worthy of "giving it a shot". Now I'm thinking I need to get my health right before I even consider that...for want of a better saying, it's definitely food for thought.
If you are drinking Coca-Cola just for the caffeine the first thing to do is switch to unsweetened coffee. That's much safer at least. The phosphoric acid in Coca-Cola will really mess you up if you drink a lot of it.
Then reduce the number of cups you drink - or if that's hard then mix using 10% decaf and slowly increase the ratio, while keeping the number of cups the same.
I have been a Coca-Cola addicted for years, I was drinking at least a liter per day, sometimes two, this when I was a teenager. I've never been fat nor with health problem. One day I decided to stop, It took me two weeks of headaches to kick it off, but now I'm far less nervous, I sleep much better and my life improved a lot. Still if I drink a can of coke I'll have headaches for at least two days, as I don't drink any caffeine.
So do it, use painkillers when you can't handle the pain, but don't exaggerate with them, it's worth it not only for the long run but you will quickly see improvements on your daily life, good luck!
Honestly, I had that same thought when I started, and it never stopped. I'm glad you're reconsidering it, especially because you need to eat better. Trust me, it'll even make you more productive.
Two thoughts about exercise which keep me motivated:
- exercise is therapy for my body and mind => clears your head after work, better sleep, helps with anxiety/panic attacks. That's the reason why I simply HAVE to exercise, it's almost free therapy for me.
- exercise is a good willpower training => more willpower in everything in your life
There's a million and N ways to die, both as a company and an individual, if you let them. Basically, expect failure as a default state, don't (or try not to) take it personally. Don't give up on something that people want (and will pay money for)... you may hit 2 to 5 patches where it's "this sucks, I wanna die" times. Get over it (you can if you really want it bad enough), move ahead. (If not, take a break and recover... Working crazy hours/conditions if it kills you doesn't help anyone.) Even if you have to live in a car or tent, put in the effort to make the best shot possible. It's basically impossible to die of starvation in Amerika at least... More caffeine, exercise and less "ambient eating"... Self-restraint is paramount. Get back in the saddle, get up off the ground, another biz model awaits expermentation... Maybe have some survivor bias eventually, if not start a practical business. It'll all work out, on way or another. Have a good time along the way. :) No one has a perfect formula or perfect advice, just do the best possible and hire people that do whatever it is much better.
(Picking cofounders carefully as one would their SO, because it's effectively marriage.)
Playing the game from a weak base and trying to win through tricks (sleeping in a car, caffeine, etc., etc.) is not a good approach. It's like switching from the poker game to the slot-machines so you can try to hit the jackpot with those last nickels.
Having a strong base to build on is much more powerful. Have good health. Good relationships. Good savings. Good income potential. Use that base to build your company on; when the base breaks down rebuild it first and only then resume work on your company.
It's much more powerful in the long term; and especially so after 30 when your body can no longer handle everything that's thrown it at.
dspillett|11 years ago
"Eyes on the prize" is actually the right attitude, but the prizes should be your sanity, health, and friends & family. Unless you are doing something truly earth shattering like you are close to curing cancer, the world is not going to remember your sacrifice for the cause. I'm close to leaving my nicely paid job in full knowledge that I'll take a hefty pay cut doing so, but the money isn't worth the effect the current environment is having on me, I'm almost done waiting for promised changes to happen, and other changes that are happening may even make things worse (in at least the short term). I am more important than my work. You are more important than your work. If you can manage both then carry on, and it is fine to burn a bit short term to deal with unexpected crisis, but if you find yourself having to chose between the two over the medium/long term then don't chose the work.
ruidelgado|11 years ago
I wish you the best of luck leaving your job and chasing something it'll make you happier. Thanks for your input!
thenomad|11 years ago
Learn. To. Cook.
I run a small, scrappy company that's been in startup mode multiple times over the last 20 years. Being a good cook might well be the most valuable skill I've used over those years.
It lets you drop to very low personal expenditure very easily - far lower than you could manage on all but the junkiest of ready food - whilst still eating well and keeping your health up.
Thinking about it, would a "How To Cook For Hackers" video / ebook / webseries be of use or interest to HN? With the right instrumentation, absolutely anyone can learn to cook nutritious, tasty, cheap meals.
TarpitCarnivore|11 years ago
The need for cheap, healthy and delicious meals isn't mutually exclusive to "Hackers." In fact there are many sites out there that have this aim already. One such site is called Budget Bytes [1] which my wife and I use all the time.
1: http://www.budgetbytes.com/
VLM|11 years ago
Woe is me, I cannot bake a cake from scratch and my souffle always collapses, well, off to McDonalds for a double cheezeburger. OK, well, its pretty hard to mess up the "cooking" involved in making a salad. Oh you want a snack instead of a meal and its too hard to scratch bake homemade cookies so you'll just drive to krispie kreme and eat a dozen donuts, nope, go eat a carrot. Let me describe the "cooking" steps in preparing a raw carrot snack. Wash off the dirt. Optionally cut off the green end or just don't eat it. If you're lazy and wealthy you can buy a bag with carrots in it where this advanced "cooking" has been taken care of for you. I can provide similar "cooking" recipes for grapes, apples, pears, bananas, cherries, blueberries and many more. Meat is microscopically more complicated, but not much worse. Put raw chicken parts in slow cooker. Do not lick hands until after washing them. Dump BBQ seasoning packet (for those who can't handle mixing 8 or so cheap, practically free, dry ingredients by themselves...) on chicken. Put cooker on high for 5 hours, or follow packet directions. Its about that hard.
Another "what to cook" problem is you'll get into huge arguments with people addicted to junk food, because taco bell 35% "meat", which they call beef filling and there have been lawsuits filed to forbid them from calling it "beef", in a shell, is a lot cheaper than seared kobe beef tenderloin, and thats the only option for cooking at home, therefore its too expensive to cook anything at home, so welcome to taco bell for all meals.
Edited to add another common anti-pattern heard continuously on HN is insisting on comparing fake food to out of season organic imported hydroponic food. I live near blueberry country so I'm used to paying about $2/pound once a year. Yet out of season, you can easily pay over $15 per pound. Invariably someone will use as an example, blueberry flavored kool aide vs out of season organic hydro grown imported blueberries at $15/pound at whole foods, which isn't all that fair. My brilliant solution to the annual variation in blueberry prices is not to eat them when the price is above $5 or so per pound. And I can and freeze them. Freeze them on a cookie sheet THEN bag them so they don't clump up.
tegeek|11 years ago
Over the years I've discovered that cooking is the most enjoyable hobby that saved me going into constant stress & depress.
mseebach|11 years ago
What's the hacker angle on cooking? In my experience, cooking is much more of a craft than an intellectual exercise, which doesn't make it very 'hackable'.
Personally, I'd recommend start with something like these [1][2] - good, fast, cheap, nutritious food has been focus for many others than hackers, for quite a while.
1: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/books/jamie-s-15... 2: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/columns/dinner_tonight/
ruidelgado|11 years ago
borski|11 years ago
mindcrime|11 years ago
I very literally almost died, and while there are a lot of factors in having a heart-attack (weight,genetics,stress,nutrition,etc., etc.), there is no question in my mind that three of the big contributing factors for me where A. stress, B. nutrition and C. weight. And sadly all three of those things are things I could / can control, unlike genetics.
Seriously folks, if you're out of shape, if you don't exercise, or if you are the living embodiment of that old joke about "the four food groups for programmers" (salt, sugar, fat and caffeine), please, please stop, wake up, and start taking nutrition seriously.
And don't think "I'm young, I'm only in my 20's, I have nothing to worry about". That's bullshit. You'll be 40 eventually (if you are lucky enough to live that long) and what you're doing with that mindset is letting "20 year old you" fuck over "40 year old you". It takes decades for the bad nutrition, lack of exercise, too much sugar, smoking, etc. to do their damage, so even if you don't see any outward signs now, the damage is being done, and the piper will need to be paid eventually.
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8550315
fatass|11 years ago
Well what if those decades were your childhood? I've been fat since the day I was born, because I was a child of a lazy welfare queen who thought food equals bag of potato chips a day. I dropped out of high school and went on to sick leave because of severe sleep apnea. (Slept 0-4 hours a night, I had so much fat on my body that it blocked my breathing in certain positions and the weight on my lungs caused them not to work properly.)
My future was already ruined because of malnutrition and the only thing I have left is sitting at home on my computer. I've already disowned my mother, but it won't bring my health back. Just the thought that I have to work on my body the rest of my life and it still won't be presentable just makes me want to kill myself.
ruidelgado|11 years ago
iqonik|11 years ago
mootothemax|11 years ago
It's tough, but really worth it.
After my daughter was born (she's 18 months now), I set a rule that no matter what happens, 18:00 to 20:00 is guaranteed for her and her alone.
It's a double win: something for me to look forward to every day; and my daughter gets quality time with her father before going to bed every night.
ars|11 years ago
Then reduce the number of cups you drink - or if that's hard then mix using 10% decaf and slowly increase the ratio, while keeping the number of cups the same.
0x5f3759df-i|11 years ago
pm|11 years ago
100timesthis|11 years ago
So do it, use painkillers when you can't handle the pain, but don't exaggerate with them, it's worth it not only for the long run but you will quickly see improvements on your daily life, good luck!
ryanobjc|11 years ago
ruidelgado|11 years ago
jules|11 years ago
rab_oof|11 years ago
monort|11 years ago
patatino|11 years ago
- exercise is therapy for my body and mind => clears your head after work, better sleep, helps with anxiety/panic attacks. That's the reason why I simply HAVE to exercise, it's almost free therapy for me.
- exercise is a good willpower training => more willpower in everything in your life
kazuki49|11 years ago
tmmm|11 years ago
ruidelgado|11 years ago
rab_oof|11 years ago
There's a million and N ways to die, both as a company and an individual, if you let them. Basically, expect failure as a default state, don't (or try not to) take it personally. Don't give up on something that people want (and will pay money for)... you may hit 2 to 5 patches where it's "this sucks, I wanna die" times. Get over it (you can if you really want it bad enough), move ahead. (If not, take a break and recover... Working crazy hours/conditions if it kills you doesn't help anyone.) Even if you have to live in a car or tent, put in the effort to make the best shot possible. It's basically impossible to die of starvation in Amerika at least... More caffeine, exercise and less "ambient eating"... Self-restraint is paramount. Get back in the saddle, get up off the ground, another biz model awaits expermentation... Maybe have some survivor bias eventually, if not start a practical business. It'll all work out, on way or another. Have a good time along the way. :) No one has a perfect formula or perfect advice, just do the best possible and hire people that do whatever it is much better.
(Picking cofounders carefully as one would their SO, because it's effectively marriage.)
mtrimpe|11 years ago
Having a strong base to build on is much more powerful. Have good health. Good relationships. Good savings. Good income potential. Use that base to build your company on; when the base breaks down rebuild it first and only then resume work on your company.
It's much more powerful in the long term; and especially so after 30 when your body can no longer handle everything that's thrown it at.