Comment by doubleplus | Hacker News Reader

Comment by doubleplus | Hacker News Reader

21. Don't let people walk all over you. Chase down the bastard who took your car.

It looks like someone already wrote the inspirational post generator I was working on.

Seriously, though, he says at the end that he wouldn't want to be anywhere other than where he is today, and that he had to make all the above mistakes to arrive there. Which is true imho - I feel the same way. He also says his 18 year old self wouldn't listen. That's also true - this certainly isn't the first time I've seen someone say "don't drink to excess, don't watch too much TV, stay fit, and watch your personal finances." So his conversation with 18-yo-self would be wasted. I'd like to see a list of things he would say to an 18 year old that would actually lead to some change in behavior towards healthier living and a happier life. That would be something I haven't read yet.

"I'd like to see a list of things he would say to an 18 year old that would actually lead to some change"

OK, I'll start.

"Anyone who's good at anything knows that there's an inverse correlation between talking about it and being good at it."

(Opps, I almost forgot...)

"Dude."

Speaking well instead of performing well will make you twice as likely to be hired by the average Megacorp, Inc. Quality provides satisfaction; appearance provides money.

"appearance provides money"

Until it doesn't.

Well, you can't be a total phony. There are weighted values applied to skill and appearance in corporate HR. My experience has shown that the weighted value applied to appearance is roughly 2x the value applied to skill. (Assuming that the typical HR person can even measure skill. Most can't.)

I suppose you're right about that at Megacorp. Another reason so many of us are starting our own.

Just to clarify, I do find your original statement to be absolutely correct: "Anyone who's good at anything knows that there's an inverse correlation between talking about it and being good at it." The reason you have to explicitly say it, though, is that it goes against the grain of human behavior.

Being the type of person who actually does things without wasting time talking about it, I've had to learn the hard way that that's not what hiring managers look for. I would not trade my satisfaction of good work for money, but I've found that by spending a little more time on marketing skills rather than on programming skills, I can greatly improve my income.

I offered it because, if I remember correctly, that's about the only advice that would have reached me when I was 18.

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