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leanrob
6y

Do any other devs here have serious entrepreneurial ambitions and the drive to achieve them?

How do you manage the conflict between your day job and your ambitions.

I find every employer is looking for someone with just enough ambition to “move up” in their company but any ambition of your own outside that seems to come off as threatening.

I try to keep the 2 separate but I have always thought that by not wanting people with actual ambition a company is only hurting themselves.

Thoughts?

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  • 4
    You do the ambitions on the side until they aren’t ambitions anymore and you can raise funding/make some revenue/etc to make your ambitions your main focus. That does involve doing two jobs at once. It’s not fun, at least not until you are just working on the ambition.

    -Founder of two startups each founded while working for a Fortune 500 company
  • 0
    @awhiteside Exactly.

    Same path over here. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
  • 0
    @awhiteside Also, hows your latest venture going?
  • 0
    @Floydian Not much bothered. Life generally is good on both sides.

    I have always felt though that the disconnect is disingenuous. Having to control the entrepreneurial mindset while operating as a cog has always felt like something to be escaped.

    However, that has also been a great drive to work the 80+ hour weeks needed. So maybe it is all for the better.

    ———

    Best quote I read all day “Best read without Internet Explorer” well played sir.
  • 0
    @Floydian You got that.

    It takes strength of both mind and will. But in the end it is the most rewarding thing I’ve done and couldn’t imagine stopping.
  • 0
    Wise words @Floydian

    It reminds me of a book I read recently called “Principles” by Ray Dalio. One of the many invaluable lesson in the “Life” section of the book regarded that topic.

    It proposed that the focus on long term satisfaction was more valuable that short term happiness. The focus on the long goal and the loving (or at least not hating) of the journey is key and through those struggles comes success.

    You said it more concisely though
  • 1
    @leanrob 1st is still kicking, though I don’t do much with them any more except show face at some events.

    2nd is in the final stages of being acquired, hopefully signed sealed and delivered by the end of June!
  • 1
    @leanrob not counting the 10s to hundreds of products that never made it to the company stage over the years.
  • 0
    @Floydian Oh I absolutely couldn’t put it down.

    There were parts of it where I just thought. “That’s exactly how I have always felt that thing should be done but I never had the words or Durham’s to explain it that elegantly”, it all felt so well thought out and explained with ease.

    It is a book I could not recommend enough.
  • 0
    @awhiteside That’s an awesome feeling right there man! Hopefully all the due diligence works out fast and smooth.
  • 0
    @Floydian I purchased it on Amazon I believe.

    But it was so good that I also decided to buy the audiobook on audible when I was done and listened to it again.

    So yeah. It cost me a couple of bucks for sure. Haha
  • 0
    @Floydian But, now I may be wrong here, I think all the principles are on his site for bridgewater capital.

    The book is comprised of principles they learned and documented over the years. And with their motto of “extreme transparency” they posted it all for free online I believe...

    The book is just a structured version I think.
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