Comments on: Corporate gets you Donkeys; Entrepreneurship gets you a Princess

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:16:32 +0000

Hey, aren’t we forgetting that there’s a third option besides corporate and entrepreneurship? You could be a bum or street musician! I’m not kidding. That is arguably an much more secure path to happiness and fulfillment if you are willing to let go of your desire for wealth and influence in favor of a simple life. Now, I’m not advocating this but it’s interesting to think about after sat down and had an hour lunch with a street musician named Rolando a few weeks ago, and wrote about it.

What it comes down to in the end is your goals, and whether your willing to live a lazy or eager lifestyle. I think both are equally valid, and it’s a personal choice, although most people make it unconsciously.

Tony’s last blog post..Eager vs. Lazy Lifestyle

By: Tony thinks… » Eager vs. Lazy Lifestyle

Tony thinks… » Eager vs. Lazy Lifestyle — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:14:10 +0000

[...] going. My favorite example are my entrepreneur friends Yu-kai and Jun from FD Career. They say that corporate gets you donkeys; Entrepreneurship gets you the princess, haha. Yu-kai talks about what he calls his “Diablo epitome” in high school. It [...]

By: Yu-kai Chou

Yu-kai Chou — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:33:46 +0000

Max has a good analogy indeed. Generally speaking, the stock market requires a bit more skills and active involvement while still possibly making you lose all your money. For bonds, you can generate income in a pretty steady and straightforward way that’s more hands off (60 hours of work a week is like vacation to us )

Yu-kai Chou’s last blog post..A collection and rating of Twitter apps and tools

By: Ian Selvarajah

Ian Selvarajah — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:53:52 +0000

@Max - “Bonds are to corporate life as the stock market is to entrepreneurship.”

Excellent parallel!

Jun, I think that sums it up pretty well. Both routes are essentially means to the same end, just that one is more… exciting, I guess you could say!

By: Jun Loayza

Jun Loayza — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:51:07 +0000

Max, good to hear from you.

It’s true, the discussion began because I see so many people glorify entrepreneurship and knock on the corporate life. The conclusion to be drawn from it is that it’s a personality and lifestyle choice.

Now, I will argue that corporate life IS a walk in the park compared to entrepreneurship. The reason for this is that all you really have to do is walk into work, do what is necessary, and then go home and sleep. I am generalizing here because I’m not including Doctors in the ER room, high profile case lawyers, or directors and executives of companies.

Even you just do what is necessary in entrepreneurship, you will die. You will not get paid, no one will know your name, and you will fail. That’s why we say that we’re playing on hard.

Good input

- Jun

Jun Loayza’s last blog post..FDTV Episode 24 - Promote your talents on youtube with Olivia Thai

By: max

max — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:41:21 +0000

I think you’re putting corporate life and entrepreneurship into too much of a dichotomous perspective. Corporate life can be challenging too, its not like you just show up and get a predetermined check. Doctors and Lawyers open their own practices, bankers and sales people need to execute; even the waitress is an entrepreneur working of commission (tips) in a sense.

Bonds are to corporate life as the stock market is to entrepreneurship. Sure, the latter entails more risk and higher payoff, but they are both essentially a means to the same end.

As long as you just enjoy whatever you’re doing… I always thought that wealth made people happy and successful, because most of the rich people I knew were happy. I think it’s the other way around: people get to be rich and successful because they are happy and have a positive mindset. Happiness is a conscious choice, irrespective of career path, wealth, or status.

max’s last blog post..It’s Called Adulthood

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:42:02 +0000

Thanks, and yeah I did! I start on Tuesday

By: JunLoayza

JunLoayza — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:35:47 +0000

True words of wisdom. Thanks Stejo.

Congrats on the offer btw! Did you accept? Let me know

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:31:16 +0000

Oh, and I’d like to add Bill Joy to the list! I oddly didn’t know about him till I read Outliers (another Gladwell book) and I highly recommend it!

Actually, from Outliers directly it seems that all three of those all matter a lot (and from what I’ve read elsewhere as well - though most of the other stuff I’ve read puts a decent amount of weight on the make-up of the person).

It makes the point that 10,000 hours of practice seems to be what makes someone great at something… and to get those 10,000 hours of experience you are probably going to need some luck and you’re absolutely going to need a whole lot of persistence!

By: JunLoayza

JunLoayza — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:06:55 +0000

@Stejo - There are few superstars… but there is always a chance.

In your study, what did you find gave the greatest chance of success: persistence, previous experience, the idea, or sheer luck?