

Life Outside the Fast Lane - antiform
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/mil/206782771.html

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wallflower
The power of this best-of-craigslist post is that he (a former partner-track
and then partner-at-age-30 lawyer) talks about why he is happy with his post-
superachiever life and at the same time - he does not condescend those people
who choose to be slackers, homemakers, or McMansion home owners, or whatever
they want to be (as long as it makes them happy)

I came across a definition of success on Friday that really resonated with me:
Success is not about financial independence, a big house, or fame. It's about
whether you are making progress towards worthy goals.

I like it because that allows us to feel we are succeeding now, rather than
the proverbial later.

~~~
edw519
Add to that my definition of class: How you treat others. This guy learned the
hard way, but he learned. Others never do.

Great post. Every once in a while, it's nice when someone says that which
should go without saying.

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technoguyrob
Profit of successful startup: several million in four years

Profit of successful lawyer: several million throughout lifetime

And once again, the nerds own the jocks.

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aneesh
but only a small percent of startups succeed.

whereas most people with a law degree can be "successful" lawyers.

~~~
technoguyrob
Last I heard, half the YC startups succeed, with the other half flaking out
due to some avoidable flaw (or, a very small percentage like Kiko, just plain
unluck).

~~~
SwellJoe
Roughly half of the first batch succeeded.

I believe about a quarter of the second batch have gotten there, likewise for
third and fourth batches (though it's not as obvious the later you get, as
they haven't had as much time).

One could argue that YC acceptance or receiving some level of funding is akin
to being accepted into law school: Your odds of success go up, but neither is
a guarantee. I've known people who went to law school but failed to make it
through or failed to pass the bar. Investing time in a startup is a similar
risk, I think.

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alaskamiller
Sure is nice to have a rich Ivy League lawyer tell me how unimportant success
is and just to be happy with my life.

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technoguyrob
This sounds like a summary of Click (except without the movie poet's license).

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lsmith
What??? What's this doing here? I was just at Reddit, thank you very much.

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bprater
Synthetic happiness at work.

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ghiotion
For fuck's sake. Shouldn't I have received this as a forward of a forward of a
forward of a forward (do I need to go on?) with the subject line CARPE
DIEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come on guys, aren't we better than this? Can't we transcend cliché?

~~~
ghiotion
Man, based on the overall negative response this comment generated, perhaps I
need to go back and reread the posting. I'm not above thinking that I'm never
incorrect <\-- that's a triple negative, for those that are counting.

~~~
ghiotion
Nope, I just reread it. It's as bad as I recall.

