[mrqwerty]

I have maybe 30 really good ideas in a note book I keep at home. All of them could make me money, maybe lots of money. But like all the other wage slaves out there, I do not have the time to make them happen.

Ideas are cheap, they are easy. The hard part is being born into wealth.

[joslin01]

There's opportunities for everyone who works hard toward achieving their vision. Many times, not being born into wealth ends up being a greater driver than being born into it. In my personal experience, all those ones you probably envy that are working on their "dreams" are also working 2-4 hours a day at most because their wealth has given them too much comfort. Many will spend a lot of the day just talking and delude themselves that it's work, but really, it's just laziness.

The idea that you (and presumably others) are incapable of working on your own ideas because you're not wealthy is ludicrous, and nothing more than an excuse to validate inaction. If you want something, go get it.

[Rainymood]

>If you want something, go get it.

Yeah if you wanna go to an Ivy League JUST DO IT! It doesn't matter that you have to work 20+ hours every week to support your family which can't pay the bills! Time you could have invested into school. But does that actually matter if you go to a crappy school your parents decided on? It doesn't matter that you guys don't have money to cover health insurance or regular dentist or doctor's appointments! Got a car? NO! Fuck it not enough money!

The world is WAY less meritocratic than we think.

[crdoconnor]

How many star CEOs from the inner cities or trailer parks do you know?

[volaski]

You are yourself and you can do whatever you want. The stats are just stats. Just because no one has seen a black swan before, does not mean black swan doesn't exist. It is foolish to think that it is impossible to achieve something and give up even without trying just because of the stats.

[crdoconnor]

It's shit like this that made Steinbeck call America a nation of temporary embarrassed millionaires.

[volaski]

What does "America" have anything to do with this? You could complain all day long about how bad of a situation you are in, or you could do something about it, and that's a fact.

[crdoconnor]

Boundless optimism and "the power of positive thinking" are uniquely American.

It's generally assumed that positive thinking is how you get ahead (another American belief), but that doesn't seem to be the case: http://www.newyorker.com/currency-tag/the-powerlessness-of-p...

[joslin01]

I like you volaski.

[volaski]

The reason you say stuff like this is because deep inside you are afraid of failure. Or maybe you are just lazy. It's one or the other.

[nshepperd]

Being afraid of failure is perfectly rational if one genuinely does not have any safety net. Something the middle class wealthy folks here probably forget.

[volaski]

Fear of failure itself is OK. Using lack of wealth as an excuse is not. While one guy who has access to the Internet and have enough time to post on hacker news is complaining about how he's screwed because he's not born into a "wealthy family", there are many people who are in much worse situations who actually get shit done on their own. It's just a difference in mindset. While this guy complains about how he can't take risks because he has no fallback, another guy in exactly the same situation may work 10 times harder exactly because he doesn't like his life without a fallback and wants to do something about it.

[nerdy]

Saying things like what? "I do not have the time to make them happen"?

If so, I'd say that's more a matter of prioritization (assuming at least one project is underway). For example, I think we could all agree that working on 30 projects would be an ineffective way to spend time. Mark Cuban recommends "1, not 50" [1]. You have to pick your best candidate project and run with it, and what's best depends on what your criteria are.

I think the term "fear of failure" is applied too broadly. Often this "fear" is more a healthy respect for the challenge of bringing highly functional yet simple experiences to your end user. Those experiences coupled with a product that solves a legitimate problem, absent any legal or bureaucratic barriers, is a recipe for winning. Understanding the intricacies of the challenge can make it difficult to find a single-threaded manner to work on it. It's almost more of a logical bewilderment than it is fear.

If none of the ~30 projects are being worked on then maybe fear of failure or laziness might apply but it could still be a matter of prioritization.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa5t-Hx8A7Y&t=34

[volaski]

This guy calls himself "wage slave", which means he's not some homeless bum and can sustain himself. He is also on hacker news commenting on stuff, so he does have time. Also I never said fear of failure was bad. I just pointed out that he's using his "not being born into a wealthy family" as an excuse when the real reason is in fear of failure or laziness. Lastly, does this guy sound like someone who is actually working on a project but only complaining how he wishes he had more time so he could work more?

[nerdy]

Woooo 11 comments in 501 days is really overdoing it, HN is obviously where all his free time goes.

And I didn't say you said fear of failure was bad, I said it was applied too broadly and possibly not even applicable in this case, though you seem to have thoroughly investigated his background, personality, time expenditures and other personal preferences, so I'm sure you know better.

[sparaker]

I think its the loss of excitement mid way executing an idea that makes one lazy. If an idea continues to excite you to a level where you think "you're doing justice to it" i think thats the one worth pursuing.

Try a 100 times and maybe you'll find the one that really clicks with you.

[NhanH]

Do you mind posting them here? I'm just normally interested when people says they have lots of idea.

[darkmighty]

If your certainty that they will make you money is so high, is there really no avenue to get the funding? (assuming you are willing to take the work) Like saving money, finding investors, borrowing, etc? Isn't it possible to bootstrap a concept in a few months with savings (for example by moving to a place with cheap food and accomodation off of savings).

[Rainymood]

>Ideas are cheap, they are easy.

... I was waiting eagerly for the "and execution is difficult."

>The hard part is being born into wealth.

Which gave me quite a hearty chuckle

[lordnacho]

>The hard part is being born into wealth.

How to finance the new business in a realistic way should be part of the "idea", just as much as how to make the widget and how to find customers for it.