What I learned spending a lifetime making the world a little bit worse for everyone else for fun and profit.
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Their entire mindset seems to be, "how can I take advantage of other people making mistakes to make a few dollars here and there? and how can I induce them to make even more mistakes in my realm of influence so it is even easier to profit from them?"
This is why he is always chasing the latest fad—"dropshipping massage guns, rug tufting, rainbow-loom bracelets, you name it"—people who follow fads are less likely to do their research and more likely to click buy on the overpriced TikTok ad. AI just empowers him to do more of this.
The only skill he seems to work on is his "taking advantage of others" skill. It's astounding that he got to this age without knowing even the basics of programming... and he only learned those basics once it became relevant to taking advantage of others. Rather than trying to create something new, or create a better version of something old, he just wants to disrupt efficient commerce so he can skim off the top.
I'm sure he makes a ton of money doing this. I wish that weren't possible.
This takes me back to the weirdness of my post-college years; the pressure to show that I know what I'm doing but no actual work or life experience. The transition from doing things for a grade and realizing that success at work is figuring out what the questions are and how much effort I should put into answering them.
I definitely relate to the crux of the article though:
> I realized getting to a point where you reap the benefits from what you’re hoping to learn requires you to do it yourself and fail. A lot.
I also had to work hard to shift from the fixed mindset: "I'm smart therefore I need to be good at this. If I'm not good at this, then I'm dumb" to "I'm going to put the effort it and give myself the grace that learning takes a long time".
I learned this most clearly from running, where I had no expectations to live up to. I ran consistently for years and saw clear improvement when I put in the work, with no pressure to live up to some idea of what I "should" be, and ran faster and further than I expected. I'm never ashamed to say "today was a crappy run" or "I didn't do very well, better sleep it off". Then why was I afraid to say "I don't get this complex idea yet, I better spend some time reading it 12 more times until it starts making sense"?
It seems these days everybody is determined to call themselves an entrepreneur.
Alan Sugar was right when he told off a contestant on The Apprentice UK for doing it - it's not meant to be something you call yourself, it's something others call you as a means of recognising your success if you've earned it. Pity that doesn't appear to be the dominant viewpoint.
It's also noticeable how the vast majority of well-known people are described on Wikipedia as either an entrepreneur or a businessperson. The rationale is sometimes as simple as "their management team sells merchandise with their name and image"! I've read that it's a very deliberate attempt by their marketing people, who push their ideas via Wikipedia etc, to give them more credibility than they supposedly get from things like sports or acting, by jumping on this fashion.
This is a joke, right? It's horribly written, and full of financebro bullshit. I feel like I'm back in law school talking to the business majors who couldn't get a good job and used law as a fallback.
I commend him for trying to learn new skills. no one needs to know this shit. It's not instagram.
Alternative title:
What I learned spending a lifetime making the world a little bit worse for everyone else for fun and profit.
-----
Their entire mindset seems to be, "how can I take advantage of other people making mistakes to make a few dollars here and there? and how can I induce them to make even more mistakes in my realm of influence so it is even easier to profit from them?"
This is why he is always chasing the latest fad—"dropshipping massage guns, rug tufting, rainbow-loom bracelets, you name it"—people who follow fads are less likely to do their research and more likely to click buy on the overpriced TikTok ad. AI just empowers him to do more of this.
The only skill he seems to work on is his "taking advantage of others" skill. It's astounding that he got to this age without knowing even the basics of programming... and he only learned those basics once it became relevant to taking advantage of others. Rather than trying to create something new, or create a better version of something old, he just wants to disrupt efficient commerce so he can skim off the top.
I'm sure he makes a ton of money doing this. I wish that weren't possible.
This takes me back to the weirdness of my post-college years; the pressure to show that I know what I'm doing but no actual work or life experience. The transition from doing things for a grade and realizing that success at work is figuring out what the questions are and how much effort I should put into answering them.
I definitely relate to the crux of the article though:
> I realized getting to a point where you reap the benefits from what you’re hoping to learn requires you to do it yourself and fail. A lot.
I also had to work hard to shift from the fixed mindset: "I'm smart therefore I need to be good at this. If I'm not good at this, then I'm dumb" to "I'm going to put the effort it and give myself the grace that learning takes a long time".
I learned this most clearly from running, where I had no expectations to live up to. I ran consistently for years and saw clear improvement when I put in the work, with no pressure to live up to some idea of what I "should" be, and ran faster and further than I expected. I'm never ashamed to say "today was a crappy run" or "I didn't do very well, better sleep it off". Then why was I afraid to say "I don't get this complex idea yet, I better spend some time reading it 12 more times until it starts making sense"?
> six months of being stupid on purpose
Those are rookie numbers.
I've been doing that for 40 years
A true master of their craft. You can't see it, but I'm bowing right now.
> I’ve been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember
Yeah, ok… Not for me.
It seems these days everybody is determined to call themselves an entrepreneur.
Alan Sugar was right when he told off a contestant on The Apprentice UK for doing it - it's not meant to be something you call yourself, it's something others call you as a means of recognising your success if you've earned it. Pity that doesn't appear to be the dominant viewpoint.
It's also noticeable how the vast majority of well-known people are described on Wikipedia as either an entrepreneur or a businessperson. The rationale is sometimes as simple as "their management team sells merchandise with their name and image"! I've read that it's a very deliberate attempt by their marketing people, who push their ideas via Wikipedia etc, to give them more credibility than they supposedly get from things like sports or acting, by jumping on this fashion.
Somehow I doubt it’s entirely written by a human
Maybe my writing style is just out of this world
Title reminded me of this: https://i.imgur.com/17qzK8h.jpg
Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMhwddNQSWQ
This is a joke, right? It's horribly written, and full of financebro bullshit. I feel like I'm back in law school talking to the business majors who couldn't get a good job and used law as a fallback.
I commend him for trying to learn new skills. no one needs to know this shit. It's not instagram.
Can't tell if this is n8n viral marketing
Dw its not, paying them for anything is a scam. Self host until death.