I think it should be noted that Steve is probably fairly wealthy by most any standard from GOOG & AMZN stock.
And with that wealth comes more freedom...to work on 'big' projects.
I think it's a bit disingenuous to ask people to work on non-lolcat projects when you are wealthy and set for the rest of your life. It's admirable to devote your life to working on big ideas, but I would argue most people who are doing so (even those mentioned in his talk - Gates, O'Reilly, etc) aren't really worried about money.
Most people are simply worrying about how to pay next month's rent or handle their family expenses. Sorry, but these people are not 'in' when it comes to working on big ideas.
In my case, if it came down to working for Facebook and making $10+ Million on the IPO or working to cure cancer - Facebook wins. Maybe after that I'll work to cure cancer.
Your argument is specious to the point of being crazy:
- Millionaires can work on important things. (Yes they can, but they usually just end up working on their tan.)
- Everyone else is just making ends meet. (Huh? Everyone?)
- If you have the chance, join FB early so you can be a millionaire and work on important things.
Look at the startup Color. It has brilliant people and they are all working on ways to make sharing pictures with people you don't know.
We're saying, "Stop It!" Maybe you'll get a hit and get rich but that's a stupid goal.
No one needs better ways to share pictures of your cats. There are important things to do instead, and our brightest minds, instead of engaging in ways to humanity forward, are writing PHP to get themselves forward.
Yeah, but it helps.
I think it should be noted that Steve is probably fairly wealthy by most any standard from GOOG & AMZN stock.
And with that wealth comes more freedom...to work on 'big' projects.
I think it's a bit disingenuous to ask people to work on non-lolcat projects when you are wealthy and set for the rest of your life. It's admirable to devote your life to working on big ideas, but I would argue most people who are doing so (even those mentioned in his talk - Gates, O'Reilly, etc) aren't really worried about money.
Most people are simply worrying about how to pay next month's rent or handle their family expenses. Sorry, but these people are not 'in' when it comes to working on big ideas.
In my case, if it came down to working for Facebook and making $10+ Million on the IPO or working to cure cancer - Facebook wins. Maybe after that I'll work to cure cancer.