Comment by AussieWog93 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by AussieWog93 | Hacker News Reader

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I am part of this younger generation, turning 29 this year (Jesus Christ!).

Hustle culture is definitely a thing - I personally quit a career in software 2 years ago to sell second-hand video games on eBay (making about double now what I was then, and with the high likelihood that it will increase another 30-50% over the coming 12 months), but based on the people I know IRL I'd suspect it's less than 10% of us that are doing any sort of "hustle" at all seriously.

Earning 200k a year is absolutely not something that people scoff at, either. The "why spend your life working" meme is more about people dedicating a huge part of their week to their work only to barely get ahead. If you're getting a large wage, you can invest a huge amount of what you earn without having to go without anything materially.

The anti-work attitudes and hustle culture that you talk about are definitely there, but exaggerated hugely by reddit and other online forums.

What sucks about hustle culture is that 90% don't make it and they waste valuable time.

When there is an alternative that's been around for decades (centuries?) and it works.

Build skills, work hard, live frugally, invest whatever you can for 40 years, you will end up just fine.

Heck you don't even need to get all of those right, the only mandatory one is the last one, the other three just make it easier.

But this strategy is slow and nobody wants to hear it, it's preached by lame boomers like Warren Buffet and Robert Kiyosaki.

People would rather scroll through the Instagrams of a couple hustlers who are living large and dream. I get it on some level, there's never been a better time in history to get lost in fantasy.

Unfortunately, there are millions and millions of people who build skills, work hard, and live frugally, and still aren't left with enough to invest anything, because the world has shifted in ways that make it impossible.

The idea that this is open to everyone—that working hard will guarantee you a decent income—is the big lie that's being increasingly recognized by young people today.

The underlying here is people don’t want to “work hard” for decades because that is no longer considered a good life.

Not quite. As I said, it is possible to avoid the working hard part. The part you can't avoid is investing for the long term.

So they don't want to do that, or they don't realize how important it is.

On one hand I identify with a lot of the criticisms of "Generation Tiktok" and the anti-work movement and so on.

On the other hand, I didn't appreciate the significance of long-term investing as much in my 20s as I do now, either. And I know plenty of people in their 30s and 40s who still don't.

The only real mistake we make imho is telling these people they're right when they're not.

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