Hacker News with Generative AI: Motivation

Ask HN: 15 Years, 9 Startups, 0 Big Wins – Should I Quit or Keep Going? (ycombinator.com)
Hey HN, <p>I'm Bibin Mohan, a 37-year-old founder from India. I started selling firecrackers at 15 and jumped into entrepreneurship full-time at 22. I’ve been at it ever since — 15 years, 9 different startup attempts, and still grinding.

Entrepreneurship, Startup Advice, Failure, Motivation, India

10 points by bibinmohan 6 days ago | 17 comments

Ask HN: How to get my development passion/productivity back? (ycombinator.com)
I am unsure if this is burnout, depression, totally normal or something else entirely.

Software Development, Productivity, Motivation, Burnout

49 points by ttmuncher 8 days ago | 25 comments

Don't try to take care of the world (mleverything.substack.com)
In a recent post by Paul Graham, he ponders the question of “what to do”. It’s a question that has plagued most ambitious people, especially early on in their life where they have energy without much direction.

Life Advice, Personal Development, Motivation

4 points by bko 19 days ago | 0 comments

It Is Now or It Is Never (kottke.org)
It is now or it is never, and if it is never, I will not continue to work here.

Motivation, Decision Making, Time Management

30 points by wawayanda 36 days ago | 3 comments

How I Stay Motivated Working on My Solo SaaS (When It Feels Like Nobody Cares) (ycombinator.com)
I’ve been grinding on my solo project—a little app to help remote workers find coworking spots nearby—for months, and some days it feels like I’m yelling into the void.

Motivation, Solopreneurship, SaaS, Remote Work, Coworking

119 points by Sayyidalijufri 39 days ago | 55 comments

Putting Bounties on My Goals (krayorn.com)
Sending 30€ to my friend if I didn't post on my blog this month.

Motivation, Productivity, Goals, Rewards

31 points by krayorn 53 days ago | 27 comments

Ask HN: If you work for Elon Musk, what keeps you motivated? (ycombinator.com)
Many brilliant people work for Musk at companies like Tesla and SpaceX. Given the recent controversies surrounding him, I'm genuinely curious—how do they stay motivated to do their best work?

Motivation, Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, Work Culture

29 points by hedayet 58 days ago | 54 comments

Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022) (mooreds.com)
I think it is important to have a bias for action. Like anything else, this is something you can make a habit of. Moving forward allows you to make progress. I don’t know about you, but I’ve frozen up in the past not knowing what the right path was for me. Moving forward, even the smallest possible step, helped break that stasis.

Decision Making, Habits, Motivation

749 points by mooreds 62 days ago | 276 comments

Ask HN: Wantrepreneur who's run out of energy/ideas. What now? (ycombinator.com)
I’ve been trying to launch startups on the side for the past 3 years, indie hacker style. Many evenings and weekends were burnt. Yet I gained very little traction, and made a big fat 0 dollars.

Entrepreneurship, Side Projects, Burnout, Motivation, Indie Hacking

14 points by mmarian 75 days ago | 41 comments

The Selfish Contributor Revisited (lwn.net)
Open source is often described as a "gift economy"—an ecosystem where contributors are motivated by a desire to make the world a better place. That is, sometimes, true. However, James Bottomley used his main track slot at FOSDEM 2025, on February 1, to make the case that it is better to bank on the selfish motivations of individuals to drive community success than to rely on their altruism.

Open Source, Community, Motivation, Software Development

13 points by pabs3 78 days ago | 0 comments

I conditioned myself to fail (brainbun.com)
Over the years I’ve literally built hundreds of projects. Some with a lof of potential. Others just batshit crazy ideas.

Personal Development, Motivation, Productivity

162 points by brainbun 82 days ago | 78 comments

Show HN: Hold yourself accountable for gym visits with a $10 stake (gymbully.fit)
Hit your target or donate to charity. Ready to challenge yourself?

Fitness, Motivation, Charity, Accountability

10 points by paul_brook 95 days ago | 18 comments

Work Is Just Work (robinrendle.com)
I love work. It drives me. It’s exciting. Everything about building things with folks is a pure thrill.

Work, Motivation, Building, Collaboration

6 points by tobr 100 days ago | 0 comments

Nobody cares (grantslatton.com)
Why does nobody care about anything? The world is full of stuff that could be excellent with just 1% more effort. But people don't care.

Motivation, Society, Technology, Effort

1071 points by fzliu 101 days ago | 976 comments

Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things (ycombinator.com)
Seeking recommendations for books about how hard things got done.

Self-Improvement, Biographies, Success Stories, Motivation

495 points by zachlatta 110 days ago | 437 comments

Ask HN: What Motivates you to keep going? (ycombinator.com)

Motivation, Productivity, Ask HN

23 points by Jaedon_Proctor 122 days ago | 37 comments

Pay, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Performance, and Creativity in Work (2014) (researchgate.net)

Work, Motivation, Performance, Creativity, Research

20 points by JustinSkycak 132 days ago | 2 comments

Haunted by my own projects (cassidoo.co)
I feel like my own side projects haunt me sometimes. I want to build new and shiny things, I buy domain names, I get 90% of the way there… and then eh. Time for something new and shiny again.

Side Projects, Personal Development, Motivation, Software Development

129 points by mooreds 149 days ago | 51 comments

Ask HN: What projects are you going to work on if no need to work? (ycombinator.com)
Ask HN: What projects are you going to work on if no need to work?

Personal Projects, Motivation, Work-Life Balance, Lifestyle

15 points by hnthrowaway0328 158 days ago | 26 comments

Hate the Process (ninjasandrobots.com)
The journey is the reward.

Motivation, Philosophy, Self-Improvement

14 points by nate 191 days ago | 5 comments

We avoid effort even though it can improve our well-being (newscientist.com)
Understanding the “effort paradox” can help you reshape your relationship to exertion so that you commit to those hard but truly meaningful activities

Psychology, Well-being, Motivation, Decision Making, Behavioral Economics

52 points by XzetaU8 205 days ago | 48 comments

Clever, Brave, Persistent (camhashemi.com)
I wonder: is there anything more predictive of success than being clever, brave, and persistent?

Success, Personal Development, Motivation

32 points by 1penny42cents 209 days ago | 18 comments

Ask HN: Anyone else get depressed when you're not actively digging into a topic? (ycombinator.com)
Sometimes I'll be "done" exploring a topic/project, but haven't yet found another one to dig into (or just run into some sort of a break/gap in mental activity), and I'll basically get depressed (not technically, just temporary low mood) without having something keeping my brain engaged.

Productivity, Mental Health, Motivation, Learning, Technology

4 points by samh748 218 days ago | 9 comments

How to Become So Good They Can't Ignore You (2014) (businessinsider.com)
When asked for advice, comedian Steve Martin likes to say, "Be so good they can't ignore you."

Self-Improvement, Career Advice, Success, Motivation

4 points by squircle 226 days ago | 0 comments

Ask HN: What to build (to get excited again)? (ycombinator.com)

Software Development, Career Advice, Motivation

10 points by purple-leafy 234 days ago | 9 comments

Ask HN: What motivates you, what are you working towards? (ycombinator.com)

Motivation, Career, Personal Development

9 points by icdtea 238 days ago | 14 comments

Ask HN: How to finish last 30% of a side project? (ycombinator.com)

Side Projects, Productivity, Motivation

68 points by HowToFinishP 281 days ago | 56 comments

The Right Kind of Stubborn (paulgraham.com)