"Why won't you?" Indeed. I created this HN user almost two years ago, before I applied to YC. In these two years I did pretty much nothing towards my goal, except reading HN, nodding in agreement over good posts, and bookmarking stuff on Delicious, adding to the hundreds I already have. What stops me? Fear? No, I just know I can be successful with my idea. Laziness? Maybe, but I've worked 18 hr days on projects I liked. So what? I don't know.
Meanwhile I will upvote this article and bookmark it.
This is exactly what I feel too! I'm generally lazy when there is no goal and no pressure, but I do work hard on things when there is a need, interest, deadline or even peer pressure. But when it comes to the big dreams, I procrastinate, and I don't know why.
> when it comes to the big dreams, I procrastinate, and I don't know why.
It's difficult to break down big goals into a series of attainable steps. Faced with this challenge, it becomes easier to maintain the status quo and not do anything.
Man, you hit the nail on the head. I, too, have been struggling with this for years. I move slowly, and know others who are absolutely paralyzed. That's the part of the article I identified with. The part about being misunderstood doesn't apply. Everyone I know, even in the suburbs, grasps the concept of entrepreneurship as a life choice, even if they don't have the courage to try it.
I used to wonder, What's keeping me from working hard on this? Now, I think the problem is not that there is something slowing me down, it's that I'm not accountable for anything related to my own project. There are no deadlines. My consulting work carries me, so there's an infinite runway. There's no pressure to start. When I finally start, and really ramp up, somebody comes to me with a paying gig. That feels like an annoyance, an interruption, but I succumb, because it offers accountability. And maybe because it's easier than my own project. And rent ain't free.
How do we obtain (or fake) accountability? I think the answer is a cofounder, but where I'm at (SoCal) they're tough to find, and coming to the table with a specific technology stack (Java) and idea makes it even harder.
Edit:
I mean, Is that goal what you want.. Really want to do?.
If you were to die in 1 week, would you feel that you missed out on accomplishing your goal?
Meanwhile I will upvote this article and bookmark it.