I did this for 15 years and retired early. Was it worth it? To be honest, I'm not sure.
I didn't see another path. Misery all around. Software startups, the grind, was the best option I could conceive of. I wasn't imaginative enough to carve out something else.
Freedom is valuable, but there's freedom in doing work that fills you with excitement and meaning. I'll be pushing my sons towards finding that kind of path instead of mine.
#Bitcoin
I think nothing is worse than doing what you love but staying poor. You have to get rich first, then do what you love.
I believe #Bitcoin fundamentally changes this equation, re-monetizing careers of small craft again.
If my son loves milk and small entrepreneurship, a raw milk delivery business should and would be completely viable to raise a family and retire with dignity.
Becoming secure in your craft and path is more important than "getting rich", which I consider to be a fiat mentality now.
Being financially secure solves lots of low level problems though. I used to work “a job i loved” for very meager pay, ended up being very stressful on my home life.
Hard to start/raise a family without capital and/or sufficient income
Now i do something that i have less passion for, but the pay is much better and my wife is retiring to stay home with babies
Anecdotal, but i think the point is that there are pros and cons to all paths
Some people think small, some think big. I feel like thinking big is always more beneficial. But it would be up to the kid to choose the path.
When I was 16, I read a book called “Magic of thinking big” by Schwartz. It had very profound impact on me which I didn’t realise until much later.
This brings me so much hope. This is my biggest hope for how bitcoin changes the world. I want to live in an artisan world
100% agree
Some of the greatest artist died in penury. One has to question whether the difficulty of poverty actually inspired them to greatness. We are all different and bringing out the best of our talents may require different situations
This is how I feel about continuing grad school too. I got my MBA at night school. Even with tuition reimbursement, I regret doing it. In hindsight, the time and opportunity cost was way too high.
Anytime someone tells me they’re thinking of grad school, I try my best to convince them not to do it…
My biggest takeaway from it is that even if you work a 9-5, there is SO much time in the day to do literally whatever you want.
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I'm fortunate to be working on nostr:nprofile1qqs83nn04fezvsu89p8xg7axjwye2u67errat3dx2um725fs7qnrqlgzqtdq0 possibly the most important and fulfilling work of my life
Being a starving artist is ridiculous.
Not what I mean at all.
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Out of curiosity, did you start a software company, or work at them?
My fiat job is completely soul crushing and trying to find my way out.
Can't say too much without doxxing, but I founded multiple startups and worked at many tech cos at different stages (early to IPO).
Nice! Glad you were smart enough to get out of the game once you got far enough. Too many keep going after securing their finances forever imo.
From day 1 I treated my career in software like that of a professional athlete. I knew it would be hard on my mentally and physically, and so I made big moves and took the right risks, always planning to be done in less than 20 years. That was the bet, and it worked.
I have tried a similar mentality. Worked at a hyper growth startup for 4 years, accumulated tons of options. Then, the market shifted, the VCs were smelling blood, and the company got gutted. It’s a hard game 😅
I’m hoping to bootstrap my own SaaS company that is moderately profitable and put ₿ on the balance sheet. I’m sick of playing other people’s games.
