

Ask HN:  What do you want, and why? - photon_off

I'm curious as to what HN'ers want, why they want those things, and how they decided to want those things.  Same goes for not want.<p>Personally, I find these questions difficult to answer and frequently occurring.
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tryitnow
Honestly, I want to stop spending so much time on HN. Or rather I want the
part of me that is productive to win more battles over the part of me that is
unproductive.

I would very much like to improve my focus and concentration and spend less
time just wandering the web. I consider this just as important as any desire
for wealth, health, etc. I could have all the money in the world but that
wouldn't do anything to help me improve the concentration, self-control and
discipline that are required to do really cool stuff in life.

And on that note, I'm quitting HN for the evening and I'm going to go learn
something cool.

(Oh, and a whole lot of money wouldn't be bad either).

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kerryfalk
To create amazing things that other people value, to leave a legacy, and to
become a better person.

Why? Because if I'm not striving for that then why am I here? Simply, _why
not_?

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Houston
I want to not have to borrow money from my kids to pay the bills and put food
on the table like my parents did with me.

I want to be my own boss, because I have some innate aversion to having my
livelihood be at the whim of anyone but myself.

I want to be able to have the luxury of being able to do what I want, when I
want without being constrained by the amount of money I do not have in the
bank, because although the romantic in me wants to swear up and down that
happiness cannot be bought by material things, the realist in me knows that
money makes the world go round. And, to quote Boiler Room, "Those who say
money can't buy happiness doesn't fucking have any."

I want all of these things because at the end of the day, when I have a family
and my kids ask me about my life story, I want to be able to look at them and
tell them I came from nothing and made the life I live of luxury, void of
financial stresses and the like, all by myself through unadulterated hustle
and the belief I am meant for greatness. I want to be able to tell them that
they, too, can achieve the same as long as they beat the fuck out of any
obstacle life throws their way.

I want to be me.

------
katherinehague
I want to build something that I can be proud of. I want to prove to myself
after years of watching other people succeed, that I too can create something
meaningful.

I want to be able to dictate my own schedule. I can't see myself being happy
any other way.

Oh, and I want to be rich. I've always thought...if other people can do it,
why can't I? I don't want to have to worry about money like I did growing up,
and I want to be able to one day invest to help other people make their dreams
a reality.

~~~
pcharles
All is good but do not aim for 'rich', prefer 'well off'. Because rich is
temporary.

------
ahi
To crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentation of
their women.

Perhaps if I was better read I would have quoted Nietzsche instead.

~~~
bartonfink
I think Nietzsche would agree with you that those are fine goals.

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sixtofour
I don't want to be at the mercy of an employer for income and health
insurance. Without both I'll probably die. That really pisses me off.

~~~
dmm
You are going to die regardless of income and health insurance.

~~~
sixtofour
But I'd rather it be off in the vague future.

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evlapix
I want to live off the grid and be self sustaining.

I use to be a mechanic. I liked figuring things out, learning. That's how I
stumbled into programming. Unfortunately, programming makes for a really good
living in a culture I largely don't enjoy.

I want to get that satisfaction on my own terms. I want to give myself what I
want.

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tobylane
Find purpose, because I keep reading that I should and it sounds right. As
weak as that sounds, it's a goal that probably can't be completed till I
finish education, and I wouldn't normally consider it before then. Thinking
about it early makes it feel weak. What's the purpose of thinking about my
purpose early?

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jiganti
I want to partner with a programmer in San Francisco who is willing to get
paid to make my ideas become a reality, in order to justify my moving here
last year.

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steventruong
I love to learn. I love master what I learn. I love to apply what I learn.
Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

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sampsonjs
The world, chico, and everything in it.

