Re:Ask HN: Finally have loose change and spare time, but no ...
by pedalpete on Friday December 10, 2010 @03:18PM
(#1993001)
You're groaning in the wrong headspace I would say.
You're looking at your life and groaning about the lack of passion and interest in the things around you.
Everything you find is 'good enough'. Damnit man! Get dissatisfied!
You've got a healthy dose of skepticism, which is highly underrated, now you need to develop your ability to find issues, flaws and opportunities in what is around you. Products, services, the way things are done. They may be done better than you could do them yourself, but are they done the best they ever will be? How would you improve them, then learn how to build it yourself and that makes a better product.
One of the interesting things I've found about passion is that in some ways, it can often be found lurking within you and just needs to be discovered and awakened.
I think one thing shared by all passionate people is that they rarely seem passionate about something that involves only them. It is in the service of others that most people find their passion. As an example, look at the Charlie Rose interview with Andrew Mason of Groupon http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/10/groupon-masin-charlie-rose/
Mason talks about what Groupon does for businesses, what it does for people. It isn't about what it does for him. FourSquare is somewhat useless, but Crowley talks about how people are going to the gym more often and getting healthier because they use it. It is often these purposes which lurk beneath the surface where the passion can come from.
You're looking at your life and groaning about the lack of passion and interest in the things around you.
Everything you find is 'good enough'. Damnit man! Get dissatisfied!
You've got a healthy dose of skepticism, which is highly underrated, now you need to develop your ability to find issues, flaws and opportunities in what is around you. Products, services, the way things are done. They may be done better than you could do them yourself, but are they done the best they ever will be? How would you improve them, then learn how to build it yourself and that makes a better product.
One of the interesting things I've found about passion is that in some ways, it can often be found lurking within you and just needs to be discovered and awakened.
I think one thing shared by all passionate people is that they rarely seem passionate about something that involves only them. It is in the service of others that most people find their passion. As an example, look at the Charlie Rose interview with Andrew Mason of Groupon http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/10/groupon-masin-charlie-rose/ Mason talks about what Groupon does for businesses, what it does for people. It isn't about what it does for him. FourSquare is somewhat useless, but Crowley talks about how people are going to the gym more often and getting healthier because they use it. It is often these purposes which lurk beneath the surface where the passion can come from.