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Back to @DHH on startups and parenting in the new age.

How Do You Make Work Meaningful

Part of it is figuring out what work is, and what your aspirations and goals are. Maybe you do not have to crush the competition all the time, and to dominate all the time. War mentality and zero-sum approach to everything is not healthy. You do not have to strive to annihilate each other.

Transcript

@DHH on startups and parenting in the new age ·

Geek at Sea

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  1. Why Does David Heinemeier Hansson Still Work If He's Rich?Given that neither Jason (co-founder of Basecamp) nor David H. Hansson need to go to work, they should only continue because working brings them joy.
  2. Can You Only Work on What You Like as the Company Gets BiggerAt the early days of Basecamp David had to do a lot, as he was the only technical person, all the technical issues therefore were his.
  3. Are Wealthy People Really Happy With LifeDHH says that if you are fortunate to make authentic choices about the way your life should be, it is your obligation to do so.
  4. Can You Only Do Your Favorite Things All the TimeYou can get to do your favorite things most of the time, but probably not all of the time.
  5. David Heinemeier Hansson Explains Stoicism and Stoic PhilosophyStoic philosophy teaches people to re-examine how they view the world, and by adjusting one's expectations, thus improving the way we live life.
  6. How to Live the Good LifeStoicism is this ancient Greek and Roman philosophy school that focuses a lot on our expectations and how the things that we think that are bad or good are…
  7. What Is ExistentialismExistentialism is a notion that we are free to make our own choices. This freedom can be scary, and to protect ourselves we pretend to not have a choice.
  8. The Definition of a Job Is Changing. Can We Work Differently Now?Absolutely. At Basecamp they only work 40 hours a week, and in the summer they take Fridays off and work for 32 hours and enjoy their long weekends.
  9. Is It Possible to Maintain a Life-work BalanceOf course it is, but you have to fill your scale with both.
  10. How Did DHH Figure Out His Own Metric for SuccessEarly on in life DHH realized the importance of intrinsic motivation. He wanted to do what he wanted to do.
  11. Why Did @DHH Consciously Near-fail a Class in High SchoolAt some point DHH made a conscious decision to stop working on his homework so that he could instead find the time to play with computers and learn something…
  12. What Is the Meaning of "it Does Not Have to Be Crazy at Work"A lot of people get wrapped up into what work should look like, that being busy is what work is, and being busy is good.
  13. What Do You Mean That Slow Is FastCalm and careful inputs on the steering wheel drive the race car faster, and the same is true in business and work.
  14. Does Money Spoil Our ChildrenDavid has a suspicion that most spoiled kids end up that way not because they had access to money, but because their parents brought them up to be spoiled.
  15. Did Hard Work Make DHH RichDHH says he did not work harder than most people, but he ended up creating something that many people found valuable, and the economic system rewarded him for…

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