6 ms·

I feel like it is hard for people to say what they truly love before they have at least $1M in their bank account. If you have FU money, your view on working at

I feel like it is hard for people to say what they truly love before they have at least $1M in their bank account. If you have FU money, your view on working at a FAANG vs building a startup can change. You will find it easier to know what you truly LOVE.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
pickdenis 7y ago
> I feel like it is hard for people to say what they truly love before they have at least $1M in their bank account. [edited to protect your feelings] Are you saying that simple introspection is hard? I completely disagree, because separating extrinsic motivation (I do this for money) from intrinsic motivation (I do this for fun) really isn't that hard.
- account73466 7y ago
  Instead of being rude, you could try to formulate your point without attacking a straw man.
  - pickdenis 7y ago
    What you're saying basically amounts to "people are blinded to what they love by their need for financial security". This may be true on some level, but anyone can see through it with a modicum of introspection. Or am I giving the average person too much credit?
    - s1artibartfast 7y ago
      I'm not the original commenter, but I think you are vastly oversimplifying the situation. Most jobs are not black and white in one category or the other. There are people who will never be completely happy with any job, and there are local maxima, where one might not reasonably expect a better fit to exist. >Or am I giving the average person too much credit? Another consideration is that this is an irrelevant question for your average person, or even 99.9% of the population.
siquick 7y ago
I'm glad all the great artists, musicians, writers, theorists, scientists, teachers, and inventors throughout history didn't read this post.
- sl1ck731 7y ago
  If we want to equate them then we should aspire to write code that is meaningless while we are alive, while living our entire lives poorly or being completely ostracized in society? I'm not sure the startup angle jives with the artist's.
  - siquick 7y ago
    Most of the code I've written in my life has been meaningless, but yes I get paid well. The ostracisation happened to a lot of devs during high school through the invention of the wedgee.
- account73466 7y ago
  I am a scientist and thousands of scientists and engineers use my work. Most great artists, musicians, writers, theorists, scientists, teachers, and inventors would not need to struggle as much if they would have some money to cover their basic needs. They would just avoid bullshit gigs and do they stuff with a greater focus. And if having $1M in their bank account would stop them doing what they love, then it is quite possible that they didn't love it in the first place.
  - siquick 7y ago
    Artistic pieces or songs are generally a representation of an event, a struggle, or a state of mind - if you lead a cushy life then no, you're not going to have the same output than if you were living on the breadline. There's a reason that history is dotted with songs and pieces of art that were written during times of struggle.
    - account73466 7y ago
colordrops 7y ago
$1M is not FU money for someone in a major metropolitan US city with kids.
- account73466 7y ago
  Yes, that is why I say "at least $1M".
- s1artibartfast 7y ago
  If someone doesn't hit FU at $1M in the bank, you probably never will, which is ok. $1M is about 20 years of coast on a modest bay area mortgage + family healthcare.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    And the remaining 30 years of life you have low ability to earn income, but face higher taxes and healthcare spend. To me, FU money is passive investments which yield a couple hundred thousand a year from businesses that can keep up with inflation.
    - s1artibartfast 7y ago
      Perhaps that gets at my intended point, which is that different people have different comfort and stability thresholds. If someone doesn't feel comfortable leaving a job to bet on a startup project with 20 years of mortgage payments in the bank, it is unlikely they ever will.
    - marvin 7y ago
      1 million is 40.000 dollars per year indefinitely, by the 4% rule, with a small risk of ruin that you'll most likely see coming years in advance. It should be possible to live in the Bay Area on that, given that the place still has cashiers, cleaning personnel and maintenance workers. It won't be a middle-class lifestyle, but you'd have to make _some_ sacrifices in order to indefinitely work at whatever you want in the most expensive place in the world.
NalNezumi 7y ago
I'd say it's less about the number in the bank account and more about the perceived safety you feel. Similar to the lower two layers of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If you don't think that the worst outcome of pursuing something you truly love is manageable, you're less likely to put yourself up to that risk. In US this might correlate more strongly to the numbers of zeros in the bank account or the salary difference to similar workers at FAANG. But feeling of safety is subjective and depend a lot on the environment you're in so I don't think that's universally the case.
neonate 7y ago
That assumes that the person doesn't change in the meantime. You might put your dreams on hold to solve the money problem, only to discover that you no longer have the energy or focus to accomplish what you could have in the past. End state: I wish I had done what I loved back then.
- account73466 7y ago
  >> That assumes that the person doesn't change in the meantime. In the meantime of what? I didn't suggest any action but merely suggested that sometimes money could clarify whether you do something because you love it or/and because you have to make money.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

pickdenis 7y ago

> I feel like it is hard for people to say what they truly love before they have at least $1M in their bank account. [edited to protect your feelings] Are you saying that simple introspection is hard? I completely disagree, because separating extrinsic motivation (I do this for money) from intrinsic motivation (I do this for fun) really isn't that hard.

account73466 7y ago
Instead of being rude, you could try to formulate your point without attacking a straw man.
- pickdenis 7y ago
  What you're saying basically amounts to "people are blinded to what they love by their need for financial security". This may be true on some level, but anyone can see through it with a modicum of introspection. Or am I giving the average person too much credit?
  - s1artibartfast 7y ago
    I'm not the original commenter, but I think you are vastly oversimplifying the situation. Most jobs are not black and white in one category or the other. There are people who will never be completely happy with any job, and there are local maxima, where one might not reasonably expect a better fit to exist. >Or am I giving the average person too much credit? Another consideration is that this is an irrelevant question for your average person, or even 99.9% of the population.

siquick 7y ago

I'm glad all the great artists, musicians, writers, theorists, scientists, teachers, and inventors throughout history didn't read this post.

sl1ck731 7y ago
If we want to equate them then we should aspire to write code that is meaningless while we are alive, while living our entire lives poorly or being completely ostracized in society? I'm not sure the startup angle jives with the artist's.
- siquick 7y ago
  Most of the code I've written in my life has been meaningless, but yes I get paid well. The ostracisation happened to a lot of devs during high school through the invention of the wedgee.
account73466 7y ago
I am a scientist and thousands of scientists and engineers use my work. Most great artists, musicians, writers, theorists, scientists, teachers, and inventors would not need to struggle as much if they would have some money to cover their basic needs. They would just avoid bullshit gigs and do they stuff with a greater focus. And if having $1M in their bank account would stop them doing what they love, then it is quite possible that they didn't love it in the first place.
- siquick 7y ago
  Artistic pieces or songs are generally a representation of an event, a struggle, or a state of mind - if you lead a cushy life then no, you're not going to have the same output than if you were living on the breadline. There's a reason that history is dotted with songs and pieces of art that were written during times of struggle.
  - account73466 7y ago

colordrops 7y ago

$1M is not FU money for someone in a major metropolitan US city with kids.

account73466 7y ago
Yes, that is why I say "at least $1M".
s1artibartfast 7y ago
If someone doesn't hit FU at $1M in the bank, you probably never will, which is ok. $1M is about 20 years of coast on a modest bay area mortgage + family healthcare.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  And the remaining 30 years of life you have low ability to earn income, but face higher taxes and healthcare spend. To me, FU money is passive investments which yield a couple hundred thousand a year from businesses that can keep up with inflation.
  - s1artibartfast 7y ago
    Perhaps that gets at my intended point, which is that different people have different comfort and stability thresholds. If someone doesn't feel comfortable leaving a job to bet on a startup project with 20 years of mortgage payments in the bank, it is unlikely they ever will.
  - marvin 7y ago
    1 million is 40.000 dollars per year indefinitely, by the 4% rule, with a small risk of ruin that you'll most likely see coming years in advance. It should be possible to live in the Bay Area on that, given that the place still has cashiers, cleaning personnel and maintenance workers. It won't be a middle-class lifestyle, but you'd have to make _some_ sacrifices in order to indefinitely work at whatever you want in the most expensive place in the world.

NalNezumi 7y ago

I'd say it's less about the number in the bank account and more about the perceived safety you feel. Similar to the lower two layers of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If you don't think that the worst outcome of pursuing something you truly love is manageable, you're less likely to put yourself up to that risk. In US this might correlate more strongly to the numbers of zeros in the bank account or the salary difference to similar workers at FAANG. But feeling of safety is subjective and depend a lot on the environment you're in so I don't think that's universally the case.

neonate 7y ago

That assumes that the person doesn't change in the meantime. You might put your dreams on hold to solve the money problem, only to discover that you no longer have the energy or focus to accomplish what you could have in the past. End state: I wish I had done what I loved back then.

account73466 7y ago
>> That assumes that the person doesn't change in the meantime. In the meantime of what? I didn't suggest any action but merely suggested that sometimes money could clarify whether you do something because you love it or/and because you have to make money.