I recently read somewhere that it’s a good practice that you always start with the same energy, enthusiasm, and motivation whenever you start something.

I was once asked, “Do you wish to work for us?” (it was an online agency).

I knew some negative implications of these (more effort for less money, high dependence on a single employer, lack of diversity, losing my current clients, the bureaucracy of either closing my freelancing company or juggling a dual status – employee and having a personal company at the same time).

My answer was a hesitant yes. When confronted with the question, “Hmm, are you enthusiastic about this?” I gave some possible reasons for not being enthusiastic. As you might imagine, the talk ended there.

The thing is, I still don’t know what I did wrong. I did have fears, and they were reasonable. Did I like the new job? Yes, but with implications, and considerations, and doubts.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this, and logically and rationally, I prefer a person who thinks about the consequences of their actions to an always-happy-always-joyful person who might get disappointed.

When I start something new, I think of what might go wrong and take measures against this.

When trying to foresee what could happen, I put the evil first and take action against it.

Am I constantly happy? Generally, no, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this.

I prefer success to being happy.

Do I take risks and start things? Yes.

Am I always happy? No, and I think that is fine.

I remember an HR person at a conference in college, something like 22 years ago, who talked about a potential employee. That person said in a shallow, monotone, slow, dull voice: “I’m very enthusiastic!”. I like that person’s solution more and more as time passes.

Citește mai departe

Let’s say I want to research a topic. What are some ideas for writing a document?

Generally, I would do before ChatGPT is research the topic extensively – looking for an exhaustive list.

The problem is that I’d have to read many documents, and most exhaustive lists tend to have a lot of low-quality content.

With ChatGPT, I only need to write “Give me a list of 100 …” and voilà!.

The list is imperfect, but it’s generally much easier to read than through dozens of tabs.

I still need to intervene and use my best judgment, but ChatGPT’s low points are better than I can generally find online.

Citește mai departe

I read some posts on living frugally on online forums.

Examples include:

• I have a non-shareable coupon code; I’ll share it with others.
• I have a non-shareable account; I’ll share it.
• You can buy cheaper streaming services if you say you’re in a poorer country.
• I have an affiliate code; use mine.
• I’ll negotiate by lying about wanting to leave the company’s services.

There’s nothing wrong with trying to cut costs.

But there are some other rules than legal rules – ethical rules.

Even if you can fool a service provider with no apparent direct consequences, this doesn’t imply everything is moral and acceptable.

There are other laws than State laws.

If I can share my Netflix account, this doesn’t mean I should.

If I threaten to leave a service provider without real intention, I can definitely reduce the bills. But I’ll also decrease the value I place on personal integrity.

There are even platforms like GoSplit – you give them money to pay less than Netflix. You pay a commission for having smaller costs with Netflix. And lower integrity, of course.

Unsubscribe.

Citește mai departe