

Fear is the mind killer of the Silicon Valley Entrepreneur - bootload
http://500hats.typepad.com/500blogs/2008/10/fear-is-the-min.html

======
hugh
I agree with most of that, but it was really annoying to read.

One would think that if one has time to make every third word a link, put some
words in red, and illustrate everything with random pieces of clip art, one
could make the effort to capitalize the first letter of each sentence.

~~~
fallentimes
I had to stop reading half way through because it was so awful on the eyes. I
felt like I was reading the dot com bubble off Scoble's belly.

Anyways, here it is in plain text (the formatting and capitalization errors
are still annoying, however):

<http://tinypaste.com/c87ae>

~~~
davidw
It's like it's 1996 and he discovered the font tag.

~~~
davemc500hats
I'm really sorry about my capitalization & font choices. I really had no idea.
I mean, i've been writing that way intentionally for about 3-4 years, but now
after readig your comments i'm so sorry and I've seen the light.

Jesus H Christ.

you want spell checkers & times roman font?

read the fucking Economist.

(and I do, but not for inspiriation & entrepreneurship).

~~~
fallentimes
Only if you want anyone to take you seriously.

If not, don't bother. It's your blog - you can do whatever the heck you want
:). Economist is great.

~~~
davemc500hats
yeah, so i get that i'm an acquired taste. maybe i'll tone that down someday,
but change isn't easy and it's probably true that i am a bit off my rocker.

agreed, Economist is pretty much my favorite print mag. too bad they don't do
more red bold fonts in their online edition ;)

------
tdavis
_THANK YOU_

This is the post I wanted to write, but every time I sat down to start
everything just came out as a stream of profanity, motivated by article after
fear-mongering article about how we're all screwed and you are probably better
off just killing yourself right now.

Everyone needs to reach between their legs, find their balls (real or
figurative) and move on. This downturn/recession/doomsday isn't the end of the
world; it's the start of an opportunity, if you ask me.

------
manishsm
Truthfully said. Thanks for trying to get the expectations real. Your post
makes me think further that we are not even considering the emerging market
opportunities wrt e-commerce. Most people in developing nations don't have
credit cards or easy means of doing e-commerce, but its definitely getting
there. Lots of scope, and entrepreneurs in the valley should definitely also
focus on these markets and get in early with market specific products.

------
alecco
> you are MacGyver. you are Jeanne d'Arc. you are Luke Skywalker. Muaddib3you
> are Paul FUCKING Atreides, and the SPICE must FLOW, motherfucker.

I beg to differ. Entrepreneurs shouldn't have be delusional but pragmatic. And
to be pragmatic they need to know how deep is the hole.

~~~
hugh
Also... Joan of Arc? Really? I don't remember it working out well for her.

Luke Skywalker did okay, but only because his dad was willing to bail him out.

------
jmtame
Wow, this guy tells it how it is. Nice style, kudos for being direct and
talking about the fear factor.

------
samson
I hope this is the punch in the face everyone here at Hacker news needed.

Stop listening to the sideline douchebags, that have just been waiting for
their "I told you so moment" or the mainstream blogs that write about it
because they know its easy pageviews.

If you believe people really want what your creating,then define your value
(or potential value), and don't be swayed by the ups and downs of the nah
sayers.The best investors know this, and I pretty sure good entrepreurs know
this as well.

"Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful"

------
alecco
I regret my vote for this story. It is completely against what I respect.

Please don't guide your life by poems in science-fiction novels. In
particular, treatment of fear has nothing to do with being a fearless bad-ass.

The bully irrational adrenaline-pumped attitude is part of the reasons for the
US problems.

------
known
True scientists celebrate failures.

------
vaksel
there is more risk, no doubt, and the financial woes will be harder.

a) No easy credit = you won't be able to self fund your startup with a credit
card b) No easy VC = you won't be able to get 20 million dollars to build
yourself a widget.

It'll also be much more invovled, you'll need to come up with a business model
that starts turning a profit from day 1. And you will probably need to start
thinking in 10 years, instead of the typical 5.

But if you started your startup w/o planning to go for VC or a short-term
acquisition, then the market really didn't change that much.

------
liuliu
The trend continues. However, there are more Internet startups than ever. They
need fund to start. But what they do, mostly, are the same: SNS, or vertical-
sns, search, or vertical-search. The market is overloaded, but thank God, the
fund is not so easy to get now.

------
soc
ha ha, good article.

------
albertcardona
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that
brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over
me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see
its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

\--- Frank Herbert, Dune - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

~~~
Eliezer
What is true is already so.

Owning up to it doesn't make it worse.

Not being open about it doesn't make it go away.

And because it's true, it is what is there to be interacted with.

Anything untrue isn't there to be lived.

People can stand what is true,

for they are already enduring it.

\-- Litany of Gendlin

