
Ask HN: Books to read when you are down and lost - throwaway9178
This is my throwaway and I dont want to reveal too much. I am 31.<p>More than 10 ideas I&#x27;ve launched with only 1 app that generates some revenue (~250$&#x2F;month).<p>so many failures.. i feel miserable.. I just went to the store, bought cigarettes, then to another store and a lighter and started smoking.. I never smoked before.<p>Nothing is going for me.. no love life... crappy regular job.<p>Anyone has a good motivational book to recommend?
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pro_zac
I always go back to "This is Water" by David Foster Wallace. Not technically a
book (It was a commencement speech). I keep the pdf on my phone. Puts things
in perspective for me when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

[http://metastatic.org/text/This%20is%20Water.pdf](http://metastatic.org/text/This%20is%20Water.pdf)

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Japhy_Ryder
Fantastic recommendation. I got the book version of this for my brother after
he graduated high school (or was it college?). DFW really saw through the
noise. May he rest in peace.

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mindcrime
It's kinda cliched, but Tony Robbins' stuff always helps me.

I'd try _Awaken The Giant Within_ and/or _Unlimited Power_. Another good
motivational book is _Relentless_ by Tim S. Grover. There's also _Unleash The
Warrior Within_ by Richard Machowicz.

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throwaway9178
thank you. your recommendations means more than I can express

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CB09_
Mark Manson- "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck" and "Everything is fucked."
I know the titles don't spark hope, but the content might. Helped me through a
tough season. Good luck!

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WheelsAtLarge
Hold on, failure is important for success as long as you learn from it.
There's something that gets lost when we fail and that's the more you try the
more you learn and it makes it easier the next time.

I suggest you study your past failures and review what went right and wrong.
Take the time to look at it alone and then with someone else to get a more
objective view.

Also keep in mind that an idea or product are not a business so I would
suggest you learn that part. Grab a copy of "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most
Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It" to get you started.

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santa_boy
This is not directly motivation oriented but I think Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor Frankl will help level the mind and put things in perspective
leading into a more positive outlook.

I recently read on some controversy around the book, but honestly I don't
care. It helped to be oblivious to this information.

And BTW $250 p.m. at 31 and 9 failures is quite encouraging actually. Maybe
you need a mentor. There are lot of good guys on HN. Try approaching them.

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going_to_800
Almost the same age as you. I've failed on about 20 projects in the last 12
years until I found the one that started my company.

My mistake was that I always tried to have some new, innovate ideas.... that's
super hard to make it work. I switched to looking at what works well, has a
great mature market, but it's not working well for a specific niche.

Build something that serves that niche much better and your chances of success
increase 10x.

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is_true
You got the willpower to launch 10 things? Teach me, master.

How do you choose what to launch?

Do you think it's a market fit problem?

Have much have you tried to promote your products?

And to answer your question listen to HIBT (podcast), the last episode was
amazing (salad chick). And if you want to read, I personally love masters of
doom, that book is fuel for me.

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lioeters
I'd like to recommend the book, "The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of
Loving-Kindness" by Pema Chodron. It's written by a Buddhist nun, and her
words helped me when I was down and lost.

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jesuslop
Give yourself a breath, forget entrepreneurship for a moment and palate some
good old English comedy from P. G. Wodehouse. Any Bertie Wooster story would
do.

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francescopnpn
1) get a better job 2) get a partner 3) do smth rewarding such as non profit
work

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ryanmccullagh
250 per month? How long have you been working on this project?

