In Vas3k Club, which I deeply respect, users have to pass moderation before they’re allowed into the community. Nothing too strict — basically, you just need to write a short story about yourself that gives others one or two reasons to ask you follow-up questions.
Still, one of the most common reasons people are asked to rewrite their intros is that they sound like the intro of an average IT guy. The kind who loves to travel, works for the man, dreams of launching their own project, and has the usual faint itch for moving abroad.
There’s nothing wrong with being “like everyone else.” In fact, in most aspects, we’re all similar to millions of other people. Let me guess: you’d like to have a strong family. You’d also like to have enough money not to worry about it — no need for a yacht, but you do want the basics fully covered for life. And of course, you’d want to carry friendships through the years, and it’s nice to believe that after you’re gone, there’ll be something left behind besides a worn-out couch — some kind of trace “for the better” in the world.
These are all perfectly natural desires, and I share them too. What actually makes us different is the price we’re willing to pay for each of these desires — and the pain we’re ready to endure in the process of reaching them. For example, I know that my rejection of financial stress closes the door to full-on entrepreneurship for me. I’ve accepted that I’ll never be super-rich, because that kind of money simply doesn’t come without a level of risk-taking I’m unwilling to embrace. Or here’s another: I recently realized I don’t go to parties where I could meet new people. Why not? Because parties mean late nights, late mornings, and less efficiency when working on pet projects. Just like that old saying goes: “Told my wife I was with my mistress, told my mistress I was with my wife — but really, I was in the attic doing mathematics.”
If you want to get to know a person, don’t ask what they want. Ask what inconveniences they’re happy to embrace — the kind that make everyone else look at them like they’re crazy. How come this person knows they’re making life “worse” in the conventional sense, yet keeps doing it anyway? And if you want to understand yourself better, ask the same question: what are you willing to pay for your passion?