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Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 24, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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What life advice do you have?

(Yes, this is a very generic question. Make it as narrow or broad as you like. It does not at all need to be tailored to me.)

In your 30s, cherish each moment with your parents.

Especially true for immigrants. I visit my family annually. If my dad lives till a ripe old age of 80, then I'll only meet him 20 more times.

People pay an order of magnitude less attention to you than you think. Live your life and don't worry about what other people think.

Stay hydrated.

Confess Christ as your Lord and Master.

Why?

I mean this in the most sincere way. Other responses have straightforward mechanisms. I do not understand how that could be true for adopting a belief which I do not—can not?—rationally hold.

So I would be genuinely interested in hearing your justification.

Depends on your understanding of the word "rationally."

You could take a sort of meta-rational view and see that people who believe in Christ tend to have better life outcomes, and overall have their values and morals aligned in a more positive-sum way. Therefore the rational decision is to make Him the apex in your set of values.

Something like that. But it's complicated ofc.

Know exactly what kind of person you are.

Know what you want to do, and figure out an actionable plan to get there.

Now is the beginning of the rest of your life whether you want it to be or not. Make use of it.

As a general rule, the right time to do or start something is always now. Looking back on my life (about to broach mid 30s), everything would have been better if I had just started it earlier instead of trying to time it right. Whenever I thought "I want to do this, but now isn't the right time," I was wrong and I should have just started. From school, relationships, moves, investments, starting my business, etc.

I'm going against this advice, albeit temporarily. The counter advice is -

you can only prioritize 1 hard thing at a time.

In 2024, I took the 'just do it' advice. I wanted to start a startup asap. I began moonlighting. Built decks, figma walkthroughs, demos, talked to customers. But, all I have to show for it is a YC reject. I lost my cofounder (still my best friend) when he decided to pursue family goals instead. I couldn't do the startup justice while juggling another taxing job. I burnt the candle at both ends, and ended the year with a bad health scare.

I should've 'set myself up for success'. But the desperation to move at all costs put me on the back foot. I still want to start the startup, but I'm now going to do it by going back the basics.

2025, I'm taking a chill stop gap job. I want to take my time evaluating the right cofounder, getting health sorted so I can do a startup long-term and proposing my GF so my long term relationships are solid. It seems like a detour, but I'm hoping it'll make the start up doable the next time I try.

Second that. It took covid mess for me to realize that if I don't do some shit now, I may not even have a chance to do it at all. So if I think I should do stuff, then I should start doing it and not postpone it to the right time.