Words I can relate to — This is exactly how I feel. So people's thoughts really do flow in the same direction... What work means to us When I left Illinois in 1999 and came to Silicon Valley, this place was packed with strange people. Among them were millionaires, ten-millionaires, and billionaires, some who had ten-odd living rooms at home or a private golf course. And yet those overflowing-with-money people would show up every day at an unimpressive office in a small city and work 80 hours a week. What on earth for? At first I thought they were insane. Isn't it normal to work, save money, buy a car, buy a house, and then enjoy some leisure playing golf? But anyone who has actually played golf for two months straight knows. Work is something you do because you love it, not because you're trying to get something else. (p. 309) |
| From Steve Chen & Zhang Liming, trans. Han Minyoung, "The YouTube Story — YouTube founder Steve Chen's boundless challenge" (Olim) |
Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube. The man who became famous after selling YouTube to Google for a huge sum. A few years ago he left Google, "the best workplace in the world," and started yet another internet company, AVOS. His new office is about 200 square meters on the second floor above a seafood restaurant. Since there's no separate space, he reportedly has to wash dishes and coffee cups in the restroom every day. On this, Steve Chen says that work is something you do because you love it, not because you're trying to get something else. It sounds like a "textbook" line, but it is the "truth." "Many people tell me — if they had that much money, they would never work, and they would just play every day and enjoy themselves. But they don't know: that very thinking is the reason they will never gather a big amount of money in their lifetime. Money is not the goal. Nor should it be." Steve Jobs, who died of pancreatic cancer. Even after he got sick, he kept going to work and appeared on stage for Apple's product launches. If he had thought only of his health, rest would have been the answer, but Jobs did not go that way. It connects with Steve Chen's remarks. What does work mean to us, and what does achievement mean... Looking at Steve Chen and Steve Jobs, this is a question worth turning over once. |
