

For God’s sake, follow your dreams - ajotwani
http://www.ajot.me/for-gods-sake-follow-your-dreams/

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freshfunk
I'm guessing the author does not have a family.

I've been in both spots. I've quit to work on a startup full time making no
money (luckily I had my wife to support me). At the time I didn't have kids.
Now I have one kid (and another 2 on the way) and I'm going to work at a large
stable company.

In my case, at least I tried. But I completely understand this other guy.

It's not just saying no to a pay check. For many people they are giving up
money, healthcare, and stability. Perhaps people discount stability but
stability is often needed for safety and happiness. Losing stability means
stress and conflict. I know families that have been destroyed to these kind of
stresses (eg. divorces that came about because the father nearly bankrupted
the family).

So it's not just the paycheck, per se, but what the paycheck and stable job
give.

With that said, I think people who've saved enough money and don't live
outside their means can get to a point where they give themselves 6 months to
1 year to try something. Even if that's the case, in families it's not just
one person's decision but should be both parents decision.

Unfortunately, that is probably not as common. People grow into their
paychecks with mortgages, car payments, day care/tuition, vacations, home
help, and so on.

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groby_b
The author is _completely_ missing the "family" part, no? Once other people's
welfare is coupled to your financial success, taking risk is becoming _much_
harder. You can't just drop everything and "follow your dream" if there's a
mortgage for a house, tuition for kids, etc.

You _can_ talk to your spouse and figure out a plan, but it's definitely not
an easy road to travel. And sometimes, you can only prepare for travelling
that road a few years hence.

And it sure as heck would be nice to be spared glib "just do it" advice from
people who are not in that situation.

(Also, many people who are in a relationship _do_ follow one of their dreams -
being with a person they love. Sometimes, you have to choose between different
dreams)

~~~
tlear
That is my current family plan, no mortgage (since rent is cheap and it does
not tie you down a lot of it is mental rather then purely monetary). For kids,
I am not slaving away so they can party at college for 4 years. Disclaimer. I
do not have kids yet(have wife) so who knows maybe they screw with my head
enough to change my mind. I have enough example of nutty parent friends who
whine about how their work sucks but they got to have the paycheck!

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zinssmeister
Most of us get more conservative with age and the more responsibility is
attached to us and as a result the less likely we are to simply jump into
something. Following your dreams in my opinion starts by preparing yourself,
working towards making it possible, saving money, lowering bills. Society
makes it way to easy to tie yourself down: Buy a house, take out a loan for
that shiny new car. If you really wanna chase your dreams you should untie
yourself first.

