lowtek
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FASTLANE INSIDER
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It's one of those things that sound great on paper, but the reality is quite different.
I'll reflect on my own experiences.
I worked at Intel as a process engineer in Albuquerque NM. Not as sexy as working for Google or Facebook in the Valley, but I was getting around 110 a year in a city with a cost of living maybe half of the Bay area. Pretty good money.
What do I think of working at one of these places for several years, then planting a money tree? I think you have better chances of winning the lottery.
You'll end up infected with slow lane mindset (average of 5 peers and all that), buying a car you don't need (see my post in the "what car do you drive" thread) and a house twice as big as you need. Then you work round the clock to keep what little of your paycheck is left over.
Even if you don't do that, the comfort is still a trap. Don't get me wrong, answering phone calls at 2 am to deal with some bullshit problem isn't easy. But you get used to it, and it becomes what you know.
Starting a business is the unknown, and it's scary if you've never done it. Compared to the phone calls, it's will seem too daunting.
With each passing day, the chances of you jumping ship and pursuing your dreams diminish.
Tick tock. Life is wasting away. Is that a grey hair?
What's a man to do? Guess I'll just put up with the on call and start a business next year.
Yeah, next year will be better. I'll have more in the bank and I'll be another year wiser.
Let's start next year.
Next year will come... and it will go. You? You'll just be older, but no wiser. You haven't grown as a man in years. Why would you expect more wisdom?
Sure the bank account will be fatter, but the bank of dreams will be empty. And so will your heart.
The beast will have you, and there will be no escape.
You'll end up just another Joe Blow, who once had a dream of starting a business. What a great idea you had. You could've been rich.
Except you didn't even start.
I know this for absolute certainty, because I saw so many of my peers fall into it.
Yet, I'm here. What gives? How did I get out?
I'd love to say it was courage. I've always wanted to be a hero.
I can't, though. That would be a lie.
Truth be told, I got laid off. They made the choice for me.
They told me I was a repeat poor performer and that they had made the difficult decision to let me go. Six months of pay for my trouble. Career placement services if I wanted it. I heard their job placement services were 90% effective.
No thanks. I saw the beast and there is nothing more terrifying than a life unfulfilled.
In hindsight, it was the greatest day of my life. I was given a gift more valuable than all the gold on earth. I was given the freedom to become the man I've always wanted.
My advice to you? Don't tangle with the beast. Don't risk years of your life for a paycheck and a pipe dream of investing in a money tree.
Inertia is real, and it is every bit a property of human action as it is bodies moving through space.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, just do it. If you have to take a job to pay the bills, then that's OK - but don't identify as an employee of XX company.
I'll reflect on my own experiences.
I worked at Intel as a process engineer in Albuquerque NM. Not as sexy as working for Google or Facebook in the Valley, but I was getting around 110 a year in a city with a cost of living maybe half of the Bay area. Pretty good money.
What do I think of working at one of these places for several years, then planting a money tree? I think you have better chances of winning the lottery.
You'll end up infected with slow lane mindset (average of 5 peers and all that), buying a car you don't need (see my post in the "what car do you drive" thread) and a house twice as big as you need. Then you work round the clock to keep what little of your paycheck is left over.
Even if you don't do that, the comfort is still a trap. Don't get me wrong, answering phone calls at 2 am to deal with some bullshit problem isn't easy. But you get used to it, and it becomes what you know.
Starting a business is the unknown, and it's scary if you've never done it. Compared to the phone calls, it's will seem too daunting.
With each passing day, the chances of you jumping ship and pursuing your dreams diminish.
Tick tock. Life is wasting away. Is that a grey hair?
What's a man to do? Guess I'll just put up with the on call and start a business next year.
Yeah, next year will be better. I'll have more in the bank and I'll be another year wiser.
Let's start next year.
Next year will come... and it will go. You? You'll just be older, but no wiser. You haven't grown as a man in years. Why would you expect more wisdom?
Sure the bank account will be fatter, but the bank of dreams will be empty. And so will your heart.
The beast will have you, and there will be no escape.
You'll end up just another Joe Blow, who once had a dream of starting a business. What a great idea you had. You could've been rich.
Except you didn't even start.
I know this for absolute certainty, because I saw so many of my peers fall into it.
Yet, I'm here. What gives? How did I get out?
I'd love to say it was courage. I've always wanted to be a hero.
I can't, though. That would be a lie.
Truth be told, I got laid off. They made the choice for me.
They told me I was a repeat poor performer and that they had made the difficult decision to let me go. Six months of pay for my trouble. Career placement services if I wanted it. I heard their job placement services were 90% effective.
No thanks. I saw the beast and there is nothing more terrifying than a life unfulfilled.
In hindsight, it was the greatest day of my life. I was given a gift more valuable than all the gold on earth. I was given the freedom to become the man I've always wanted.
My advice to you? Don't tangle with the beast. Don't risk years of your life for a paycheck and a pipe dream of investing in a money tree.
Inertia is real, and it is every bit a property of human action as it is bodies moving through space.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, just do it. If you have to take a job to pay the bills, then that's OK - but don't identify as an employee of XX company.