Derek Sivers: There are always more than two options | Hacker News Reader

Derek Sivers: There are always more than two options

sivers.org

76 pointsstakent12 comments

Go into work 2 hours early, but spend the first 2 hours just setting up your new company. Use lunch breaks and downtime as well. Do this until the income from the new company is 50% of your salary, then quit.

I would _really_ recommend not doing this. Anything you do using employer resources is employer property and can cause major headaches for you down the road.

Definitely. Better to go to a coffee shop to work for 2 hours before heading into the office rather than take any chances.

He said it was an option. He didn't say it was necessarily a good one.

Exactly, and it's ruling out the less desirable options at the very beginning that may keep you from stumbling upon more desirable variants of them later on. Don't brain storm with a pencil, the eraser will end up "costing" you more than you'll save on paper.

It is bad in a totally different way than his other patently silly ones (become a tour guide in NZ) though because it's not obvious what's wrong with it unless you know how IP is attributed and the marginal utility of working in your employer's office vs a starbucks down the street is not worth risking all of your IP.

The risks with going to NZ and becoming a tour guide are much more obvious.

That is why that option is particularly pernicious.

"One choice is no choice, two choices is a dilemma, three choices is a good start." -- Dr. Richard Bandler (?)

(I immediately remembered this quote and tried to track down its source; I'm not sure if he's the original source, and he's not where I heard it from.)

Interesting! Thanks for finding and posting that. I'd never seen that before. It must have been something I heard years ago and it's been sitting in my head so long I thought it was mine. :-)

It's a great quote. I think it even applies to political systems.

I just remembered where I originally found that quote: I read it in Manage It!, published by The Pragmatic Programmers, citing The Secrets of Consulting by Gerald Weinberg.

It must have been something I heard years ago and it's been sitting in my head so long I thought it was mine.

It happens. That effect even has a name. It's called Cryptomnesia. :-)

Siver's writing is so good you only need to read the title to benefit.

Or so atrocious, he doesn't add anything more than what the title says.

I don't really believe that - he's one of the best people I've had (albeit limited) correspondence with. There really ARE more than two options. Your point is well-made :)

option_count = f(scenario_perspective)

Best illustration ever :-)

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