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This could only last so long. Eventually, you would realize you become smarter and have much more knowledge as you age. Also, other things will eventually kick in. So now is probably a good time to learn as much as you can, by giving yourself as much break as you require.

Once you hit 2-3 burnout phases, you will realize what you've known all along.

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Turns out a lot of time when your work is your life, you are not allowing yourself time to look your work at a higher, simpler level of abstraction, and you end repeating a lot of mistakes at different levels.

Once you start taking some time off from work, you come back so refreshed and with a much better perspective too.

In long run, I think this is why slowly after your twenties, your work is not your life anymore, since you would have learned so much by then, and be smarter about everything in life.

Plus family and friends do take some more time than now.

It's all about finding the best balance that works for you, where balance does not necessarily mean equal distribution of time.

I really think this is why there is no one single formula for success and happiness, you have to find what combination of external environmental factors and internal thought process works best for you, and also it changes a lot with time.

I guess I found my solution by searching HN. I thought we don't have search anymore since searchyc closed down....and didn't come to HN much in a while. Anywho....looks like it's a good idea to host the app at shared hosting site first, and then if it does start showing signs of life at all, switch to a VPS or dedicated right away.

I guess the takeaway is always plan for the next n steps, while you are making it happen. Ad esp in case of hosting, always be ready to switch and keep your options open.

Wow that's some story... It is so awesome to know that you (one of us) actualy made his dream come true in such a short period of time... I am sure we all get to hear "do the logical/right thing and take that job" strategy from their family/friends.

I know I do a lot.....

It's great to see you were in the same situation and chose otherwise....it's really hard to make that choice and stick with it....Kudos to you brother....

About me, I am still having to make this part time, since I felt lost after getting rejected twice for investments...and decided to take a job to stay in US and continue building my dream part time.... It is really really tought to do this part time....but I sure hope I won't give up, and come across stories like yours to keep me going, since I too feel my product's gonna touch many thousands, if not millions of lives (just like yours did?)

Thanks a lot for sharing your success story Sir, these are few and far between....

P.S. - just FYI, I was also not accepted October 2009, and have been trying to make my product....wow it;s been too long but I was really sick in between, so meh....another month might actually get my prototype going....

Well said. I also think if you REALLY want it, you can make it work. It will probably be way harder.

I am someone who is on the same boat, working full time on a completely separate project, and working on side to get my web app all setup. I lost a lot of my motivation late august, due to crazy working hours/ least social life/ issues at full time job because a senior guy quit, and I got a lot more workload than expected. But I believe this way I would also learn way more than normal scenario, picking either one, and probably the best learning/productive period of my life.

I guess only way to test your limits is to push yourself to the limits and then look back and see how far you've come.

Just FYI, my full time job involves Java, GWT, GXT(Sencha), Spring, Hibernate and/or JPA (depending on the branch), MySQL, JAXB, Java Web services and other Java related tools, (Ant etc.)

On my startup side, it started almost a year ago, when I had a working prototype of an Excel addin, written in C#, which we then realised needs to be a web app, and now I am working on a web app using Javascript, Jquery, LAMP etc.

Of course, there are always hiccups, and major issues, every couple of months, and I see my life and wonder if I would change anything and I don't really know how to accept "reality" (need to get a girl, marry, get a house etc.), esp since I still want to finish what I started. I just rebounded from a serious case of demotivation, but now my doctor is telling my I might have colon cancer and what not, and tomorrow is my appointment with a specialist about it.

But I know for sure, disease or not, as long as I have some energy left, I would finish my startup work and launch it in a couple of months hopefully.

Here's to hoping all my "working-on-a-startup-on-the-side" HN brothers too are able to do whatever is needed and get it started.

From the article

"For example, those with a childhood IQ of less than 75 ("very dull") go to bed around 23:41 on weeknights in early adulthood, whereas those with a childhood IQ of over 125 ("very bright") go to bed around 00:29." Wait, so 23:41 -> morning larks and 00:29 -> Night owls.....Are you kidding me? This just sounds ridiculuous....

Oh I love the fact that we (night owls - sleeping at worst at 1AM, and worst at 4-5 AM) are called "more intelligent". :)

But if I up vote, that doesn't let the person know I up voted it. Aren't we supposed to let people know that I care? I am not sure anonymous up voting helps so much. It only says your link is popular, but you never get to see who liked it, and then you can not find out who they are. Because you never see their profile directly.

Are we supposed to only find new HNers by reading through all comments? Isn't that kinda counter productive? We being startup founders and all, we have so less free time anyways.

Also,is there some way I can see who up voted my links?? Maybe I don't know of it, and that features exists, kinda like some other features on HN, which are intuitive, but not mentioned specifically, and you end up finding them by just noticing them or by some other post.

As a matter of fact, I found up voting this way. And yes, I can be considered new, because I really used to be crazy busy (Being a first time entrepreneur (founder and a single programmer) did that to me). Besides I didn't really feel like I had anything to say, so didn't used to comment much.

(No prior active forum-ish experience, HN is the first, and sadly the only one I can be regular at even now. I am sure other good forum-ish communities exist like HN....some day....)

Why the down vote? I don't understand. I just liked that quote.

Right on point. Yesterday, we went to Romano's Macaroni Grill. My dinner was delayed by an hour, and the manager apologized. And I was not angry. I understood. I got it. How tough it could be to make things run perfectly.

I think we learn a lot of humility and patience, doing our startups.

(We did get a free dinner, but somewhere deep inside I wanted to do something nice to him. And although I usually never have dessert, I ordered a Tiramisu, and paid 34% tip on it, to show them indirectly that we understood.

Before when I was a student, I would have just taken the dinner free as if I was entitled to it. )

Like :)

Really? From what I know about Carlin, he was onto comedy for at least >3 years before he started getting some attention. Before that it was just a job that barely kept his expenses going. And I am pretty sure that was not the kind of world we live in. Becoming famous enough took time back in his time.

I am pretty damn sure there must have been days he would have hated his "job" as a comedian, because it didn't look like it was going anywhere. And remember, this was the era when fighter pilots and airforce people were considered the coolest ones, and he was kicked out before even completing his Air Force enlistment.

So, I guess it would be safe to say, he had doubts about himself, and he was trying to explore what he was meant to do. And I think we can agree, there must have been days when he hated his "job" as a comedian, but just HAD to keep going.

Just because you love your job, doesn't mean you are not going to hate/ don't care about it anytime in future. I don't think Love/Hate are mutually exclusive. At some point, there must be days when they occur intermittently.

And very similar to high school/ college (undergrads?). I wonder if that's the reason charismatic founders end up succeeding.....Jobs, Zuck.....come to mind.

Wow, Google is giving away their OS for free, and Motorola is locking it up. It's not even theirs to lock up. We PAID for it....do they not get the concept of money or what?

So, I kinda got a little too excited when I heard a new desktop. But then, I have already seen all these concepts pretty much, haven't I? From what I got form the article, it seems like we will only get a couple of new "shortcuts". I REALLY am hoping his headline is true, and we do get a new desktop experience at least, when this releases...and I would LOVE it if GNOME surprises me when it comes out and is more than what I think it is.

9.00 AM Rise from bed 9-9.45 AM Get ready, breakfast, bath etc. 10 AM - Leave for work (that pays real money and keeps immigration officers off my back) 10.15 AM - Reach work. start working(Java, GWT related, I know, learning PHP, JS and Jquery now. ). 1. PM - Lunch. 1.45 PM - Start work again. 6.30 PM - Leave work, Go home. 7 PM - Start working on my startup. 8.30 PM - Dinner. 9.30 PM - Start startup work again. 1.00 AM or 2.00 AM - Dead tired, go to sleep.

Repeat.

I sense from this comment that you are trying to do what a lot of my Indian friends seem to do. They try to weigh work vs. benefits scenario.

That's not the right way to live life. You need to find your passion in work. It's a lot like finding love. You might fall a lot of times, but remember, when you find about what you are most passionate about, and what you really want to be and do, you will have much more fun and lead a much satisfying life, than worrying about the news, and quiestioning some of your best decisions. Also, hate to repeat it, but you probably need to really hear these:

Grass always looks greener on the other side.

All in all you just need some focus. You say you do some Js hacking. Why not buy this book, Jquery in action, second edition. Hack some cool shit, and real soon you will be able to see a new world, a world where you control a lot of the browser through very little code. A world, where you can make whatever you want using awesome jquery ui interactions, and make those web apps you always wanted to.

If you are devoid of ideas (which I doubt), shoot me an email.

I don't think that starting late would have been your issue. Most people tend to avoid risks, and like to live easier life any given day. I am 26, and I asked my friends to join my startup when I was 25, still no one seems to want to take that risk. Also, location might be a big factor. Here in Dallas, Texas, not many people want to jump into startups straight away. In my case, the problem was also not so well defined, and there's not too many people working on this. Except some BIG corps.

I am also doing everything myself, until this point at least. i do have a co founder, but he is a busy man (Department head of CS form my university.)

I am also doing everything alone, that too on the side (I had to start doing a job some 6 months after starting my startup, due to financial and immigrations issues).

So, here I am , a 26 year old, immigrant startup founder, who doesn't know how to get more people (or if I want more people). I am getting to know and learn a lot more, and I am doing it very cheap. So successful or not, personally I think I will gain a lot. My question really was due to the fact that I might be failing soon enough, and more and more I see my friends and they all SEEM to be enjoying more and relaxing more doign their regular jobs. So, I am more afraid I might not be able to do more later on, and do any more startups if this one fails.

Somewhere in my head, at least I know one person who did it in his 40s. Gives me some level of confidence that it's not too late. Also, hearing all these stats about younger guys doing it and succeeding, Zuck and the likes, doesn't boost confidence either. Quite few times, I end up thinking, maybe this is it, after I am old, I might not be able to do it, since not so many people seem to be doing successful statups, or at least we don't hear about them much.

Score 1, Still feel like I am close to failing. I hope I was in CA, but then again, my problem was so peculiar, and so tough ( NP-Complete), it will probably take more time to build than it might require doing other parts of business. I certainly hope so. That making it work will pay off eventually. I like to compare myself to Google guys. Only in that they tok close to three years before the search engine was good enough to take investments. Of course, I think they were smarter, so does that give me more years to work on. I hope not..

:)

Interesting. I would like to know more about your accomplishments. I am pretty sure others here would agree. It's not every day that we find successful examples,and the general consensus has been that people over 40 are "not stupid enough". You can be a role model for us. At least to immigrants, it should be pretty comforting, considering the fact that it takes almost 10 years fo asians (esp Chinese and Indians, I am not sure what the numbers are like for others.) before they get a green card, and are free enough to move from one company/ city to another, without risking getting deported from US.

I am 26, and my professor was quite clear. He said you have maybe a couple of years when you can take all the risks and pursue your startup dream. (Yes, my score is 1 and I am still close to failing. How about that...)

Would really appreciate sharing your accomplishments to inspire and give hope to people, telling youngsters they have more time than they think they do, and more experienced ones the push they might need to make that jump.

I had the EXACT same experience. Same situation, same results.

Although I never called my credit card company to do a charge back. In fact, right until this moment, I did not even know I can do this. It's been a year now. I am a cofounder and sole developer of a startup, and I am working full time to pay my bills and for immigration purposes. Basically, I figured I would rather not waste time at all, since I am really out of it. So do you think it might be worth a shot to even try to get that charge back from my credit card company, after almost a year? In my opinion, it might lead to more issues. It's 50 bucks. What do you suggest? Worth my time?

I know I am going to get down voted probably here. But seriously, if you are starting out, Java might be a very good thing to start with too. As a language, it's very mature. The documentation is pretty good. I know setup might be a a little tricky for a noob, but it's not that bad. Although, I agree, if you are focusing on ROI, Ruby or python, or even PHP are more inviting. And you can probably do a lot more faster that way.

But for learning things inside out, Java might be a very good choice. Good books, great amounts of algorithms, in fact great algorithm books too. One really good one is Effective Java, sEcond edition. Another algorithm related (short but solid) book is Data structures and algorithm analysis in Java.

Now, don't take me wrong. I might be a little biased, because I find it easier to do a lot more in Java on Eclipse IDE, than anything else.

Started a startup right after MS, didn't go so well. Still stuck in Dallas, TX. Would love to move to CA, but immigration issues plus financial burdens.

I started out as a C++ job in my current company that hired me, with some more AMPL (Mixed integer programming). Read Ruby on Rails book, Agile programmingusing ROR or something by DHH (David heinemeir hanson). Loved it, but found ROR a little limiting for what I am doing. But my day job ended up being in Java. I do prolog hacking, although haven;t really done that in while. And still for fun, and continuing my startup on side, and completing a dream of solving a bunch of NP complete problems in seconds, still using a mix of C#, Excel, PHP, Prolog. Very soon jumping onto Javascript or Jquery probably, since I wanna move into making a real Web GUI, instead of a C# GUI.

So, yeah after all this, I found easiet and very helpful where C# on Visual studio and Java on Eclipse IDE. Loved ROR, found it quite easy too, esp the book is great. For PHP, I still am doing structural coding, although sometime in future I am def reading PHP Objects, Patterns and Practices .

I wish that would help you pick one. Because you sound a lot like me, I was so confused in college, no idea where the world is going. Personally, my research and doing my startup later opened my eyes to the real world. Of course, Paul Graham essays and HN were so much more helpful too.

Of that reminds me, go read PG's(Paul graham) essays first. I think you need to understand programming in general first, the startups and then pick up a language to learn.

Oh, Oh, MUST READ for you....I wish this came out when I was in high school or early college.

This will give you a little more perspective.

http://www.paulgraham.com/int.html

Right. I was referring more to the whole "Unions tend to go more towards some sort of combo of blackmail/ bribery".

Or they just end up being controlled by a few union leaders, and then we are serving another middle man (union leader), who is probably only making himself richer in the process.

I have this feeling that usually unions tend to grab attention of more cunning people, who know how to play that system in their favor mostly, thereby hurting both the employer and the employee, in a even more hidden manner.

Of course, I have never been part of one, so this "opinion" of mine about unions is what I formed from hearing about 'em. Correct me if I am wrong.

So, why is it that even after all the long -hours, all the trash talk about us being "resources" and after all other issues, we "programmers" (I would like to call ourselves "hackers", but whatever) still continue to serve others while taking all this BS. I know why I do it, is because I am an immigrant here, hoping to make my dream project work while working on the side. I am one of the mere 1% or so of american population. (An excuse, but a valid one. I tried making the company work for almost a year, before I realized I would be kicked out if I don't get employed and get a H1B ) But what stops US citizens from putting an end to this BS?? Is that because we "programmers" tend to be people who are always optimistic and hope that things will get better as we go? Are we really that naive to keep working on something, hoping for better conditions, happier days, a bonus or a raise?

Or is it that we are not united enough? Is that it? Are we not networking enough?? (I am guilty, I know).

I mean, I hear of all these stories about inhuman treatments (I'm looking at you EA). And I somehow always go back to work, almost always being thankful it wasn't me. Are we selfish to think that? Why are we thinking it's ok until it happens to us?

How can we make this better, without making a traditional Trade union? I am serious.

I wanna know.

There must be some way we can unite ourselves to get better work conditions for everyone, AND still not hurt our bosses and companies in the process??

Suggestions?

Logitech MX 5500 - Awesome keyboard, best keys ever, Bluetooth connection, and this is part of keyboard- mouse package. The mouse is totally awesome, def worth the money. probably one of the most expensive keyboards from Logitech, but worth the money. Awesome battery life too. Zoom, all other multimedia keys too. really lightweight, and very nice keys.

It's back on now. I kept checking it for 15 minutes and it didn't.

Anyways, you are right. I better start doing that. Any other service you might recommend? or are you suggesting a backup on the regular old browser bookmarks?

Same here....knew about it and assumed everyone else knows about it too. I think a lot of good stuff remains hidden because people never really 'reach' them. And the ones who know about it, don't care to keep reminding people, since repetition sounds weird and is frowned upon amongst us hackers. (On a sidenote) Interestingly enough, revision/ repitition is how our minds remember things too. So, in some cases, things we know exist, are bound to be forgotten by us, if we don't spread the news, regularly. I know I have definitely forgotten many of these "interesting, i gotta read it sometime later" websites.

Hey, maybe we should make a Bot that keeps sending others info about these kind of sites that we know, and dont share much, so that once someone else knows about it....slowly it still keeps spreading , instead of just dying and never reaching a lot of audience, until way later....

Oh, yeah. I should do that.

But I figured people working on web stuff can be found here. So...