The fact of the matter is that making $100,000 from starting up is significantly harder and costlier than it would be to make $100,000 holding down a day job. I know the audience here knows that especially well, and I know that you specifically know that very well. I just feel like it devalues what startups do when people just hand-wave away the fact that being successful necessitates blood, sweat and tears.
This is one of those Real Scotsman pieces of lore which I think we repeat to flatter ourselves. I bleed a lot less for my startup than my day job, let me tell you.
Patrick didn't say there wasn't work involved.
Please note I don't discount these things, and those metaphysical wonders surely do exist (imo), but rather, it is a better builder of character to believe that everything is the result of personal decision and action.
As an aside, this is why I always stay away from the Tim Ferris bickering. Everyone wants to believe he's a fraud. Whether he is or not is not important to me or you. Tim Ferris does things. That's it.
Probably a bit too romantic, but I like movie script endings.
The payoff for this guy was $100,000, and he seems content with that payoff. For me, just the fact that I don't have to answer to a boss, be in the office at a certain time each day, or have to deal with constant meetings or corporate culture, is enough incentive for me to voluntarily value my time lower than I would working for someone else. Add in the potential for a very large payoff in the future (either an acquisition, an IPO, or just building a multi-million dollar business) and the trade is more than fair. I'd actually do it all for much less than I'm currently paid and less than I expect to be paid in the long run.