"But it dawns on me that luck is just the product of all these other qualities"<p>This, to me, highlights the flaw in the whole article. They nearly died. They were saved by a chance encounter with a friendly boat. This encounter was SO OBVIOUSLY not a product of their own motivation, boldness or any of the rest of that guff.<p>This is the worst form of survivor bias.
It’s easy to take this observation in literal terms. Most of the comments point to the danger of “risking everything (financially)” and of course there’s a potential stupidity in that.<p>Reframed as psychologically risking everything is perhaps a more resonant alternative view. What this means is the notion that “you’re all in”, all of you. That your entire being is at risk. Sports perhaps the easiest illustration, where your entire idea of person is at risk. That’s when the dopamine flies along with the adrenaline. It’s often why you see huge dysfunction in the hyper successful, because the drive is so strong. It’s why an outsized proportion of UK Prime Ministers for example had lost a parent young.<p>There’s a danger in narrowly framing risking everything. As the material provides far less of a drive than the psychological. It’s also much scarier to put your whole self at risk.<p>Elon getting as far as away possible (Mars) from his possibly quite mad father, is perhaps a much stronger incentive/drive than making a few more billion.<p>As to whether it’s desirable, well that’s surely another question altogether.
I see a problem with risking everything that is if your goal is to either make it to the top or make it to the bottom, then risking it all is the way to go. Yet, that’s a poor long-term strategy. Eventually risk will realize and you’ll lose it all.
I can't believe this story ended with a bunch of slogans fit for big corp motivational posters.<p>This was a story of depravity, desperation, starvation and the horrible choices one has to make when they feel that the only choices left all lead to likely death.<p>To draw career or enterpreneurship inspiration from it just seems... wrong...
I really like that the author helped them and it sounded odd to me to read "The prevailing wisdom for this seafaring situation is <i>“Don’t Stop.”</i>", before I realised that in different countries there are different threats. Sailing mainly in the Baltics, there is the opposing rule of having the duty to help people in distress at sea.<p>I'm not sure I fully understand the "learning" part, isn't this a bit of survivor bias, especially the boldness part? Risking all your money in a society with a safety net is different to me than risking your own life on high sea, mainly w/o knowing in what situation you bring yourself. There is a huge group who's story can't be told anymore. However, maybe I'm already too lazy and unwilling to take risks.
A reminder that this story plays out dozens of times every day in the Mediterranean right now.<p>42,549 irregular border crossings were reported in July 2022 on the Central Mediterranean route [1]. The number of those who drowned will never be known.<p>Many of these Africans who dare to cross the sea have already travelled for weeks or months and survived the Sahara. They are not celebrated as risktakers, though. Unlike this article, nobody sings odes to the boldness, inventiveness, motivation, honor and leadership qualities of the African migrant. Maybe they should.<p>[1] <a href="https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news/news-release/eu-s-external-borders-in-july-increased-number-of-crossings-on-the-central-mediterranean-vCtsyr" rel="nofollow">https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news/news-release/eu-...</a>
I had to do this when young... I was homeless, rough sleeping. Honestly... it's a terrible piece of advice.<p>Those risking everything have no other choice.<p>If you're reading this person's blog post, if you're on HN... you probably have a choice, and you probably aren't "risking everything". I cannot imagine anyone on here actually <i>choosing</i> to potentially have nothing at all, no network, no funds, no assets, no nothing... and I do not believe the author of the article would either.<p>I am reminded (again) of this comment: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15659076</a><p>> Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something.<p>>
Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on.<p>> Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work.<p>> Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it.<p>Only the privileged get to choose what to risk... and that risk isn't as real as when there was no choice. Those who know that would never choose it.
Beautiful short story. I'm happy there were no comments yet on it, as I'd normally browse the comments and then leave. If you are like that, then I recommend to read the article, it isn't that long.
It's a nice story but imo would be better without the forced lesson at the end. As most here have pointed out, it's just survivorship bias with some poetic phrasing.<p>As for taking risks: I don't think I'd lose single utilon if I never hear another affluent ex-entrepreneur talk about the importance of taking risks. I've been broke before, I've nearly missed rent on several occasions, and none of those times had me working at my baseline competence, let alone at my peak. If those people do better at those circumstances, they must have some quirk that I'm missing.<p>In practice I perform at my best when I'm emotionally invested but don't really care about the outcome. My two successful businesses were both side gigs I started for fun that scaled well when I noticed that I had greatly underestimated demand. I didn't risk anything for either of those beyond maybe a hundred hours of initial setting up time.
Good story.<p>Being a good human is important. Helping someone without being involved in (aside from sustaining them) is noble as well.<p>Not every problem in this world needs a solution, those seeking will or will not find their solution. If in a position to help them humanitarianly, do so. Don't set expectations or guidance, resolve a need. Unless you have other extraordinary means.
Maybe I'm a bit cynical, but I don't see anything admirable about this mindset. In fact, I think it's incredibly selfish. What kind of inhumane person would "risk everything" on a business venture?<p>This reads like a dystopian horror novel exploring the extremes of a deranged entrepreneur's mind.
This is a crazy story. It is a tale of compassion and human perseverance against nature.<p>But parts of it really bother me. To equate risking everything for a chance at a decent life with the struggles of foundership is discarding the inherent worth of life. The two are not equivalent things. The former is about basic dignity and human rights and the chance to live a happy life and the latter is about trying to build something.<p>I don't discount the challenges founders face; on the contrary I have tried it and failed spectacularly; it is not easy and that it requires a set of skills that is hard to learn and harder still to master.<p>> We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.<p>- from the US Declaration of Independence<p>I believe strongly in that, and I will say further that I believe that all human beings are created equal, and have inherent rights. Many countries have similar mottos: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness#Comparable_mottos_worldwide" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_...</a><p>I believe it is a disservice to humanity to compare foundership and basic human rights and dignity.<p>> <i>Luck</i> On a day when it really counted, they had some of it. But it dawns on me that luck is just the product of all these other qualities.<p>Really struggling with this quote. It is in my opinion a serious mistake to believe that luck is not a factor. I have been extremely lucky; I was born in a democratic country and I had easy access to health care and education, and by god I had access to a computer at a young age. These accidents of birth are nothing more or less than luck, and they made a tremendous difference in my life and had a significant positive impact on my life. Even in my own city, people are suffering in poverty, have a lack of access to medical care, etc. These people simply don't have the good luck that I have had.<p>As other commenters like buro9 have mentioned,<p>> Those risking everything have no other choice.
Migrating to the United States or Europe for these desperate souls seems the least risky option.<p>Sure the journey is difficult and you might die, but this isn’t worse than the alternative of starvation or enslavement in the place from which you flee.<p>The boat migrant is risking everything. But it’s a calculated risk and he doesn’t have much to lose anyway.
Not much, but related:<p><i>Risk Everything</i> - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40192" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40192</a> - Aug 2007 (2 comments)
From Rudyard Kipling's <i>If</i>;<p><pre><code> If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’</code></pre>
I take objection to this line:<p>> When I share this story with other sailors, they are universally aghast that we helped these refugees.<p>I wonder what kind of sailors they are conversing with, if at all.