

Advice I Wish I Could've Given Myself 5 Years Ago - vacanti
http://viniciusvacanti.com/2012/08/06/advice-i-wish-i-could-have-given-myself-5-years-ago/

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mgkimsal
Would you have listened to yourself or anyone who'd told you that 5 years ago?
I've got some people in town that I do some mentoring with, and I've given
them most of this list over the last few years, and generally it's ignored.
However, I'll get a call, email or coffee with some 'hey - gotta tell you
something!'. I listen as they excitedly share some revelation which is pretty
much exactly what I'd told them 2 years earlier. I initially took it
personally, but I think now it's more a case of "you gotta learn for
yourself". As much as people think they can 'crush it' by reading garyv's
book, it's not until you're out there living things day to day that most of
this stuff is really driven home.

Another thing I've learned is that it's not what you say, but who you are when
you say it. Both who you are to yourself, and who/what others perceive you to
be when you're saying it.

~~~
overgryphon
It's hard to give others advice that will help them. You know what you wish
you knew 5 years ago, but much of that may be inapplicable to others in a
similar position now.

Take the list posted here. It could be terrible advice to a different start-up
founder with similar goals if that person already knows how to code, and is
working on a product that is more complicated than a 2 week prototype can
cover.

~~~
mgkimsal
agreed, the 'learn to code' is bad advice for someone who knows how to code.
almost self-explanatory, really. but other 'advice' - guidelines, really -
that I've doled out has centered around networking and marketing. And I get
ignored, in favor of people burying themselves in code and minutia (logo
sizings, colors, etc).

But if when FamousPersonX suggests that "you should be networking more,
getting feedback, and iterating on smaller offerings of functionality while
expanding your network of interested customers", somehow that's revelation
from on high, and how insightful that is, and wow... no wonder they're a huge
success, etc.

Doesn't even actually mean the people in question _follow_ the advice
(generally they don't) but the reaction is annoying.

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Jun8
Thing is: I don't think your younger self would have listened to this advice
because your mindset is a function of time. I know I wouldn't have. Unless, of
course, the advice giver can show you _actual proof_ that the things he's
saying are true, e.g. like the Almanac from the future that the older Biff is
clutching. Or to show Archimedes how to derive the volume of a sphere using
calculus (should you show him how to generalize the formula for a n-dim
sphere, maybe not).

So that brings us to the following thought: There are two kinds of advice a
time traveler can give: (i) "Objective" stuff that _will_ actually happen, and
that perhaps you can provide proof for, i.e. the Instagram advice; and (ii)
"subjective" stuff that may or may not turn out that way, i.e. "don't marry
that girl".

BTW, due to the Butterfly Effect
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect>) these two are not as clear
cut as above.

~~~
itmag
I've often wondered if it's possible to actually get to a place where you
_are_ receptive to learning from the experiences of others without having to
experience the mistakes yourself. Perhaps it's this thing that people call
wisdom :)

~~~
nrmehta
If my dad were on Hacker News, he'd be all over this. I clearly don't value
his advice enough even though it's been pretty dead-on. One thought to add
though. I think one problem people have with advice (at least a problem I have
with advice) is sometimes, when delivered the wrong way, it oversimplifies the
complexity of the situation you're in. You're in a situation and the decision
looks hard. And someone comes in and gives you advice which is great but
sometimes in the process makes your problem seem simple. If you struggle with
a problem that to others seems simple, how do you feel? Answer = dumb. So when
I'm asked for advice, I try to keep this in mind - to not minimize the
significance or complexity of the person's struggle.

~~~
itmag
I see most things in life as a three-step process: first there is (apparent)
simplicity, then there is the pain of discovering the real complexity of
things, then there is a third step of attaining enlightened simplicity. But
this only comes after having been through the complexity. So the goal to
strive for is simplicity on the other side of complexity.

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mgarfias
I would have told myself to divorce the ex then, instead of waiting 5 years
and prolonging the misery.

~~~
_Lemon_
I was in a similar position with my ex -- although I think I used my start up
as an escape putting more time into it than I would have otherwise. Then
again, I could just have an addictive personality and it might not have made a
blind bit of difference.

Either way, dwelling negatively on the past does not help as you cannot change
it. I don't believe I would have come to the same conclusions if I had not
experienced it first hand. Remember: work smarter, harder not longer!

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pclark
it's really challenging to give any advice that i would follow without having
walked the path to have came to that conclusion. thusly, it'd be things where
time = output. such as taking up pilates, playing more golf, waking up
earlier.

my favourite high level advice is: the best time to plant a tree was 5 years
ago, the second best time is today.

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dave_sullivan
This is good advice.

I started out on my own startup path almost 2 years ago now, and it's dawned
on me by now that things don't change. If you're building a company (or
anything worth building really), you will always have problems, they will
often catch you by surprise, and imminent success or failure always seems like
it's right around the corner.

Best case scenario, you get to deal with higher quality problems, make more
money, and still love what you do. Worst case... well, I guess you go get a
job (and/or go bankrupt?)

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krupan
I thought he was going to say, "sell your house, now!"

~~~
umsm
Right now may be the best time to buy your first house

~~~
sukuriant
5 years ago may not have been. That might have been the joke.

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Nursie
Wait for global financial crisis. Sink all available money into apple stock at
$82 in January '09 and hang onto it for three years.

Hindsight is always 20/20...

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SinFulNard
This is so timely and poignant its almost as though it was written just for
me!

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AznHisoka
How is that Yippit doing?

~~~
theorique
The article suggests: _"We’re now 25 people, raised $7.3 million, and just had
our best month ever."_

~~~
AznHisoka
I know, but 2 out of the 3 is vanity stats. They had their best month ever,
why not put numbers on that figure versus # of employees or funding.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
Very few startups are going to release revenue numbers, for a variety of
reasons.

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praveenhm
wonderful!!

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codegeek
Good advice. The last point is terrific.

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Ataub24
This is a must read.

