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Comment by saurik | Hacker News Reader

There are many goals you can set and achieve that require effort but don't relate to needing to work to make money.

Maybe I'm somehow crazy on a forum of tech "entrepreneurs"... but, I like to do stuff like learn to sing and play the guitar, speak new languages, get better at drawing and painting, or plunge ever deeper into the worlds of math and physics... all of which seems eminently compatible with this "power process" thesis and which are all much more pleasant when you don't simultaneously have to work.

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Many (most?) people do like to "do something." But my observation is that many--especially later career--with a reasonable pile of money are pretty happy to travel, read, write, volunteer, watch live or other entertainment, putter around the house, etc. They may do things but don't necessarily really work in the sense that they have a lot of obligations and deliverables.

> Maybe I'm somehow crazy on a forum of tech "entrepreneurs"... but, I like to do stuff like learn to sing and play the guitar, speak new languages, get better at drawing and painting, or plunge ever deeper into the worlds of math and physics... all of which seems eminently compatible with this "power process" thesis and which are all much more pleasant when you don't simultaneously have to work

i think if you reached the point where you solved the thesis, don't have to work, and you're doing all those things...

you're not coming back to post about it on a forum of tech "entrepreneurs" :^)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave#Return_to...

Many of those don't need anywhere close to "never need to work again" money, only "2-3 years savings, or a willingness to half-ass your job". You just need the courage to make it a priority.

It's entirely possible to do most of those as a hobby. If you do need to go full-time on it, you can usually accomplish a lot in 2-3 years, and then jump back into the workforce when you get bored with your hobbies.

> You just need the courage to make it a priority.

And money. Living modestly and pursue hobbies is much, much harder to accomplish financially than it seems for most people. I don’t want to make this a conversation about healthcare, but that’s a huge part.

Those are surrogate activities, and according to the article, they are less satisfying than the pursuit of real goals (see last paragraph). The point is that when you have to work for a living, and you are successful at that, that is much more satisfying than being successful at a hobby. That sounds about right to me!

I didn't really get that from the last paragraph. Though I suppose it partly depends if you got a windfall at 30 or if you're just retiring early at 50.

> 9. No one is going to remember you in 100 years. So you might as well focus on what’s going to make you happy now, instead of what money might buy you in the future. There is a Scottish proverb: Be happy while you are living, for you are a long time dead.

That sounds like the exact opposite of what you're saying.

Amen saurik! Nice seeing you here and at Milongas. Here’s to enjoying joy and beauty.

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