Work on stuff that matters, first principles (2009)

Doing what you love / care about, at least partially, while still making a living is an interesting task. Also a highly nontrivial one unless/until you've already made a few millions.

One way to do this is instead of watching TV, playing WoW, etc, that is, instead of pleasant but exclusively consumer activities. Seen at this angle, the advice does not look all that bad.

This is not unlike having kids. You don't quit work to have kids; to the contrary, you work harder to give the kids a head start (nice toys, good books, advanced kindergarten). You don't stop working for money, but you spend the money for what you love more than money. If this works for your child, it could also work for your brainchild (which is often less demanding, too).

Have patience. Your situation will not always be so bleak. The time will come when you can focus more on meaningful work. Just be ready for it when it comes -- Don't get trapped by a personal burn rate that needs a 150K salary, when you could really live on half that.

You certainly have a point, but it can also be said there is a lot that can be done to increase the ability to work on what matters to an individual by reducing outgoings and cutting working hours.

The truth however is that many people don't have a "what matters", a single burning passion or idea. Most want a comfortable life in which they can convince themselves that they are ahead of their peers and they don't lack for anything important. It is incredibly sad to see how much crap some people deal with at work to have these lifestyles.

What matters to me? A very small number of people, a lot of solitude and a lot of learning and playing with my mind. To do this I have a job at a very small company with a custom contract to work just four days a week - for this I have taken a cut in pay of course. As a by-product there are lots of things I can't afford that my "peers" can but the funny thing is they are insistent they can't afford the time to learn the piano or take the long weekend to see their dying parents, they haven't visited the local national parks or escaped the intensive weekend shopping.

I fully agree. "Do what you love" sounds like survivor bias.

The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.

-- Fred Wilson (also credited to Nassim Taleb)

I can always spot someone who has amassed so much money that they're not worried about it. They say things like, "Follow your passion and don't worry about money."

>> "Work on something that matters to you more than money."

> This is incredibly naive.

It is incredibly challenging - given the economic and social constraints of 'modern' life.

I am currently homeless and have been for closing in on four years. I have 23 cents to my name today and will not be eating today. But I work on things that matter to me, while also trying to solve my financial problems and the health problems they are rooted in.

Your rant sounds incredibly petty and insulting to me. You seem to be confusing momentary pleasure for love. They are not the same thing.

A charitable interpretation of what he said is that if you have to spend your days working to earn a living anyway, try to find or make a job that delivers a fulfillment beyond just money. I'm a big believer in making the job you want. Build up a reputation for getting things done, and then nudge the organisation to assign you the work you want to do that also benefits them.

O'Reilly is addressing the community of people who are reading his company's books and reading his blog because they intend to create something. He's suggesting that they work on stuff "that matters".

I can think of no reason to believe he is intending this advice to apply to every person on the planet, or you in particular.

> Money is like gas in the car — you need to pay attention or you’ll end up on the side of the road — but a well-lived life is not a tour of gas stations!

See, he acknowledges the importance of money. But once your basic needs are met, you can start discovering what matters to you. Music and creating your programming language are just to points in a huge space of things you could potentially enjoy. There are many jobs that, even though they don't sound sexy, allow you to explore this space and gravitate to things you like. The choice is not always between being a slave or dying from starvation.

Find a job that doesn't intrude on your life outside the office, if you can't directly monetize your passions.

I work a corporate gig, getting paid below what many on this forum might consider appropriate, because I live in an affordable area, near family and friends, and the job doesn't ask anything of me after my 8 hours are done.

That last part is most important. The things that I was passionate about when programming was my life (I got a bit burnt out), were not things I could have gotten a job doing (easily) without a graduate degree, something that I found I didn't have the emotional fortitude to get through. So I did them as hobbies after hours. Now, programming isn't a passion of mine so much. I'm rediscovering old interests (languages, martial arts, travel, art) that had fallen by the wayside.

When I leave work at 4 (most days), I go do whatever the hell I want. Now, if you're not single and childless like me, this isn't as easy to do. But if you are, it's pretty much trivial. Pick your priorities, and do them. Right now, for me, it's fitness first (most days). I go for a run or cycling, then go to a fight gym for a couple hours. It's a lot more than is needed just to stay healthy, and more than I'll be doing in a few more months, but I enjoy doing it. I'm traveling to Italy, so I'm learning Italian. This is easy to do with just my downtime. I use Memrise and Duolingo, this weekend I'll be looking into Italian podcasts to listen to on my commutes.

You may not be able to make a living performing music, but are you good enough to get hired out for gigs? I have several coworkers that play instruments in bands in this area. They don't get a lot for their gigs, but it's more than nothing and covers the cost of their equipment and lets them do what they really want, perform.

Plenty of people (based on Show HN posts) seem to have made their programming languages without monetizing them. It may require a time sacrifice (you can't go out with your friends most weeknights, because the language is your "second job"), but it can be done.

Now that sounds like a problem that matters. :)

Besides beambot's excellent observation ... do the best you can. In recognition of your inexperience, don't hold your opinions too strongly, and don't be disappointed if you decide you're working on something that doesn't matter. Everything you do gives you more understanding.

As you consider what you're doing through the years, consider what matters to you, your employer, their customers and users, and society. You may or may not be able to satisfy all of them, but they're all interested stakeholders.

What matters to you should come first, because you may not give something the effort it deserves if it doesn't matter to you.

This was a reaction to the 2008 financial crisis. I believe that Tim first started publicly talking about this at a keynote during OSCON. A year later he gave a more evolved version at a publishers conference that he runs.

Here's a video where he elaborates:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc7Z5gmwXOg

I'm working on research for an open data project and have been revisiting thousands of bookmarks I'd saved over the years. Decided to read it again and was struck with how relevant it still was six years after he wrote it. Kind of true with both PG's and Tim's essays is that they are both timeless.