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Comment by richcollins | Hacker News Reader

I see this story over and over again. Someone successful worked really hard and succeeded. They go on to say "I've learned that you don't have to work hard to succeed"

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Hmm. It's more like someone comes back from a long wilderness trip or a hike through Europe and they go on and say "I've learned that you don't need 30 kg of luggage". Or someone who's built a good relationship saying "I've learned you can choose not to be jealous or dependent".

I've seen all four combinations of frantic/measured and smart/stupid startups, and I think that measured + smart is the way to go. But I also think that this is one of those lessons you have to learn from experience.

Isn't that long hike still really hard work? Doesn't that relationship still require really hard work?

Just cutting out the stupid make-work doesn't take something from being ridiculously hard to being easy.

Not easy, but measured. In general I'd rather have someone who maybe thinks about a problem while having a life during the weekend then walks in on Monday with a place to start from, than someone who slept under the desk in between heroic coding sessions. There's a place for both, but having the time and mental energy to gain and maintain perspective is also necessary. You (or at least I, and many people I've worked with) do better work when they have a high thinking to typing ratio.

No, a long hike is not hard work, just ask Tim Ferris, or Miguel De La Cuadra Salcedo.

If a relationship requires hard work, then you have not the right partner to you, it's just natural, like hiking.

I think is way harder and unnatural to spend your time programming in front of a machine that hiking and loving someone, but maybe that's me.

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