Don’t Take Things Too Seriously

June 27, 2007

Starting a company is tough. Expect plenty of mistakes, and lots of lessons learned. You’ll have moments of sheer panic and other moments of absolute euphoria. It’s a roller coaster ride.

But don’t take things too seriously. Some things are more important than work. It might not feel that way from time to time, and in some instances work will be the one and only priority, but the minute you take things too seriously you’re digging yourself a hole.

Standout Jobs is a crazy startup. Tons of moving pieces, crazy deadlines, high expectations and plenty of stress. But I try to avoid getting overwhelmed…my older son Sam, helps.

I brought him to the office recently (forgot his daycare was closed and couldn’t miss an important meeting) and we had some fun. I introduced him to the team, played some golf and ran around the huge, empty space. We’re squatting at the moment in a 6,600 square foot downtown office, taking up one tiny corner. Lots of room for Sam (and me!) to have some fun.

Sam in the Standout Jobs officeSam in the Standout Jobs office

Sam in the Standout Jobs office

Sam in the Standout Jobs office

But everything isn’t fun and games! We’re still looking for great Ruby on Rails developers, so I thought it was time to get Sam on the computer. He’s a fast typist, just not terribly accurate:

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Comments
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  • Someone mentioned that this comment box wasn't working, I'm testing it out.
  • Pierre - Those are great pictures.

    Truth be told, the entire office (with the "mess" left behind) is a very clear indication of how much fun you guys had...*smile*

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
  • Heh, you've sat him right where I used to sit! :-)

    http://people.nit.ca/~mich/niti/sergeant-oatmea...

    If you have half as much fun as we've had, I think you'd still be doing all right! ;-)

    http://people.nit.ca/~mich/niti/pierre-bicycle....
  • Joe - Life is serious, but since you only get one you better enjoy it. That doesn't mean you don't work hard. And it doesn't mean you ignore your responsibilities or duties. It doesn't mean life isn't serious, it means you need to enjoy it or there's no point to it.
  • I can't believe that someone can say this. how is it possible not to take things seriously? i thought live was just that.
    when you are starting a business, you can be overwhelmed, but you should not give up in the pretext of not ' taking things seriously'.
  • Mishka - There were a number of reasons we went with Ruby. Speed of development was one. There certainly are a lot more PHP people. We haven't had THAT hard a time finding Ruby on Rails people, although many of them are choosing to stay contractors because the money is good. In my opinion that can be a shortsighted approach.

    The reason I keep saying "We're hiring Ruby on Rails programmers" is because I believe in ALWAYS recruiting. Even if I'm not desperate to hire someone tomorrow, I'm going to be recruiting to find the best.
  • Nishanthe - That's a tough question. How to balance your day job, freelance work and life. There's no easy answer. The best answer I can give that's relatively short is this:

    If the freelance work is something you're truly passionate about, and you know that's what you want to do, you owe it to yourself to make a run for it and do what you can to build that up to the point where you can quit your day job.

    If you're not truly passionate about the freelance work, but you enjoy it still, then try and cherry pick the most fun/interesting side projects without overwhelming yourself.
  • Sam's sweet. Thanks for sharing the picture and the video. And yes, he should be in front of a Mac. But PC laptops make fair frisbees.
  • Hey Ben,

    I'm curious, if it's not divulging company secrets, why you chose to go with Ruby on Rails, when it would appear to me that it's been difficult to find developers to fill your requirements. I'm guessing any Rails developers out there, can pretty much set their price right now. Why not go with PHP or something else that's been around a lot longer?
  • Hi Ben,
    I am a full time office worker (Not It related) and I do development works in after office works and week ends. In the mean time I am married and I find its very hard to balance everything specially when my freelance projects are tight deadlined. I am reluctant to resign from my permanent job yet, because my freelance income is not steady. Do you have any special advice, and I really appreciate if you could comment on this.
    Thanking you,
    -Nish
  • Ben,

    I nominate your entry for blog post of the month!

    Thanks for sharing a message that should resonate strongly among those of us with a Type A personality and an at-times oppressive workload.

    Sam is adorable. If perchance he doesn't follow his Dad's footsteps, please let him know that we'd love to have him consider an alternate career.

    When your travels may bring you to Southern California, please let us know. We'd love to welcome Sam for a visit to a Neighborhood Fire Station.

    Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

    Brian Humphrey
    Firefighter/Specialist
    Public Service Officer
    Los Angeles Fire Department
  • Andy - Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Always great to "see" new faces around here.
  • Francis - You better believe it! Of course, I'm the only one that has a kid...
  • Great pictures!

    I remember how fun it was as an 7-8yo kid to visit my Dad's office and play table tennis in the rec room. I also loved the attention from his female colleagues!
  • No revenues (yet), no real office (yet), no full staff (yet), but a "bring your kid to work" day? No problem :P.

    Kidding aside, Sam looks adorable! And speaking of child labour, I came across an interesting site that may come in handy later on:

    http://www.payjr.com/

    In short, helps parents and kids track chores and allowances online.
  • I appreciated this post. We should never forget why we are starting up companies: we want to have fun building something that inspires us. If it becomes to stressful, this means that we are doing something wrong. Kid's wisdom, sport or meditation can then be of great help to put things back in the right context.
  • Gary - That's exactly how I felt! "No Sam! All those unsaved changes!"

    Heri - I'm sure you're right. Although by the time he's of the age to blog I wonder how blogging will have changed?
  • seeing how natural the laptop is for him, I foresee a future blogger.
  • Mat -- Labor laws? Ha! I laugh in the face of ... wait, was that a knock on the door?

    Considering how much work Sam puts me through, I think it's completely fair to put him through a little bit himself. *grin*
  • Mat
    I like this post because it resonates with my own philosophy - play time is one of the most important things we undervalue as a society.

    By the way Ben, I'm pretty sure there are child labor laws here in Canada that prevent you from bringing your son on board as a Rails developer...
  • LOVE it! I think it is so important to give our kids a glimpse into our working worlds. It looks like you had lots of fun.
  • Great video, Ben!

    Nice to share a little insight into your family. If I hear of any Ruby on Rails developers I'll be sure to let you know.
  • Gary Haran
    No son! Don't press the self-destruct button!!!
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