What are engineers and entrepreneurs supposed to dream about?

by vnchr • 14 years ago

2 2 14 years ago

tricky• 14 years ago

Can't help you figure out what engineers and entrepreneurs dream about, but I can racont a story from when i was a kid that lit some lightbulbs re: the destination. I knew this guy who was a complete dick, but had a couple of decent businesses and would give me advice when I asked. Once, when asking about what I should do with my life, he said something that made a lot of sense. It sort of went like this:

"Think about what you want to have a whole lot of laying around and do that." He had a car lot and repair shop because he liked having a lot of cars. His collection of british sports cars was unbelieveable. Not because he was loaded, but because he was immersed in cars 24/7 and when a deal came up, people would call him. He said, "You want a lot of nice furniture? sell furniture. You want awesome computers? work on computers. You want a lot of jewelry and random crap? open a pawn shop. you want women? sell shoes."

I, being 15, said, "That all sounds great, but what I want is a lot of money."

He said, "It's the exact same thing. Work in venture capital or finance. You're immersed in money. When good deals come up, people will call you. I own 73 cars because that's what I do so I'm surrounded by other guys who do car deals, too. If you work in money, you'll have cash laying around because that's what you and everyone you work with will do."

I wound up choosing code instead and, yep, i'm awash with code and algorithms and surrounded by people who can make computers do real things. I know a young guy in finance. You know what? He's awash with money.

I guess this is just one more thing to think about when trying to clarify your destination. What kind of stuff do you want to have a lot of laying about?

vnchr• 14 years ago

Thanks, tricky.

Right now, it's a lot of entrepreneurs and deals laying about, but I think I'm most interested in taking what I'm learning to other learners of entrepreneurship.

Brilliant analogy, and I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my first personal blog post. I didn't expect much posting to HN except to set the bar for the quality I hope to produce.

Again, that's a very good analogy and even challenging to me right now. I love learning about entrepreneurship just a bit more than being around deals. I might find myself around more learners in an entrepreneurial setting soon but it would probably require sacrificing the other things that I have a lot of laying about.

What are engineers and entrepreneurs supposed to dream about?

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