You’re probably right on a lot of sites. I think that the YouTube phenomenon really messed with a lot of people’s minds. “I can get 1.6 billion dollars with 6 months of work!” That is definately the exception and not the rule.

However, if people are creating worthwhile services that are drawing a crowd, and that crows gets value from this service — then in time that will turn into $$. I think the current structure of google adsense is almost worthless. But no one can argue that having millions of dedicated users valuing your service cannot be monetized with some help and a little creativity.

I agree with pretty much everything.

And it’s true that pretty much nobody will tell you they are building a business purely to flip or IPO. But often when I’ve talked to folks if you listen to them closely, in terms of how they spend their time, and what they optimize around, it’s clearly the only viable option they’re considering, because they’re not putting any serious thought into the other dimensions of their business.

So sure, an entrepreneur tells me that they believe in their business for the long term, but often (not always) their behavior doesn’t match their stated aspirations. So either they’re bs’ing me, or more likely they are kidding themselves which is super dangerous.

As far as working your whole life, or not working, I think that is beside the point. Obviously no one will live the rest of their life, even rich just playing xbox all day. But I think the converse of that, going to work a pointless 9-5 so you can earn $40,000 + a 3% 401k match (which less people take then should), is just as pointless.

I think anyone who does something they love, and feel like they can make a difference will be happy. Having a good payout here and there to give you the flexibility, and freedom to pursue those things just makes it better.

Traveling now and later, and having experiences is all part of life. I am also a healthy person, and when I see people at my job who say “I can’t work out, because I don’t have time, the deadline is coming up.” — This screams lack of balance, and is not something I want to be a part of.

…

I could go on.

Well man, I can’t wait to meet both of you one day in the not-to distant future.

Kurt

If you’ve noticed the flapping of late about “A-list” bloggers holding down the others, yada yada yada. Almost exclusively the most recurring response from said A-listers is the amount of consistent and persistent work they’ve done to “get there”. And I’d add that they likely had some sort of goal or plan to get there as well.

And to your concepts of the IPO winner who could lie on the beach for the rest of their natural lives: sure, I’ll bet it happens, but look at how many of them get back into the game before very long. Seems to just be the nature of serial entrepreneurship.

Sounds like you’ve got those same genes

I share your sentiments exactly. Even if I had the luxury of not ‘having to work,’ I’d still need something to drive me and keep me engaged – some sense of professional purpose (the ‘ying’ to balance the ‘yang’ of family/personal life).

While this may also sound corny/idealistic, the main lesson I want to pass along to my kids is “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’ve see far too many miserable people pursuing “dream exits” that turn into nightmares. Too much focus on the destination, and not enough on the journey.