Shane M. Gillard

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[Alvin @Alvin1492840]

I told my therapist:

“I feel like I’m running out of time to build the life I want.”

She didn’t even ask why.
She just looked at me gently and said:

[Deedy @deedydas]

The vibes in SF feel pretty frenetic right now. The divide in outcomes is the worst I've ever seen.

Over the last 5yrs, a group of ~10k people - employees at Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Nvidia, Meta TBD, founders - have hit retirement wealth of well above $20M (back of the envelope AI estimation).

Everyone outside that group feels like they can work their well-paying (but <$500k) job for their whole life and never get there.

Worse yet, layoffs are in full swing. Many software engineers feel like their life's skill is no longer useful. The day to day role of most jobs has changed overnight with AI.

As a result,
1. The corporate ladder looks like the wrong building to climb.
Everyone's trying to align with a new set of career "paths": should I be a founder? Is it too late to join Anthropic / OpenAI? should I get into AI? what company stock will 10x next? People are demanding higher salaries and switching jobs more and more.

2. There’s a deep malaise about work (and its future).
Why even work at all for “peanuts”? Will my job even exist in a few years? Many feel helpless. You hear the “permanent underclass” conversation a lot, esp from young people. It's hard to focus on doing good work when you think "man, if I joined Anthropic 2yrs ago, I could retire"

3. The mid to late middle managers feel paralyzed.
Many have families and don't feel like they have the energy or network to just "start a company". They don't particularly have any AI skills. They see the writing on the wall: middle management is being hollowed out in many companies.

4. The rich aren’t particularly happy either.
No one is shedding tears for them (and rightfully so). But those who have "made it" experience a profound lack of purpose too. Some have gone from <$150k to >$50M in a few years with no ramp. It flips your life plans upside down. For some, comparison is the thief of joy. For some, they escape to NYC to "live life". For others still, they start companies "just cuz", often to win status points. They never imagined that by age 30, they'd be set. I once asked a post-economic founder friend why they didn't just sell the co and they said "and do what? right now, everyone wants to talk to me. if i sell, I will only have money."

I understand that many reading this scoff at the champagne problems of the valley. Society is warped in this tech bubble. What is often well-off anywhere else in the world is bang average here.

Unlike many other places, tenure, intelligence and hard work can be loosely correlated with outcomes in the Bay. Living through a societally transformative gold rush in that environment can be paralyzing. "Am I in the right place? Should I move? Is there time still left? Am I gonna make it?" It psychologically torments many who have moved here in search of "success".

Ironically, a frequent side effect of this torment is to spin up the very products making everyone rich in hopes that you too can vibecode your path to economic enlightenment.

[Shane M. Gillard @ShaneGillard]

@keridaplaza @keridaplaza - I’m sorry to hear you went through this. But, as a former GOP staffer, not surprised one bit.

Completely agree with (1) &amp; (2) 👏🏼

Rooting for you from afar!

[Shane M. Gillard @ShaneGillard]

@MeghanMcCain She’s just mirroring rhetoric the right uses all the time? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Shane M. Gillard @ShaneGillard]

@MeghanMcCain @ABC Kind of like how @FoxNews hates Democrats?

“One way or another it was always going to inevitably have ramifications.”

[Ezra Klein @ezraklein]

In the last few years we've seen:

- The plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer
- The Storming of the Capitol and pipe bombs left at the RNC and DNC
- The break-in to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and the brutal on Paul Pelosi
- Multiple assassination attempts against Trump
- The assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and the shooting of on State Senator John Hoffman and his wife
- Luigi Mangione's assassination of Brian Thompson
- The assassination of Charlie Kirk

Political violence is contagious. It is spreading. It is not confined to one side or belief system. It should terrify us all.

The foundation of a free society is the ability to participate in it without fear of violence. Political violence is always an attack against us all. You have to be so blind not to see that.

[Shane M. Gillard @ShaneGillard]

@AmandaMGoetz Last time I checked, first class conveniently offers more space for passengers (who can afford it).

Breaking out a laptop in the economy section is strenuous and difficult.

Other than reading a book, the only bearable thing to do is sleep or watch a movie 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

Your entire life will change the day you realize discipline is the highest form of self-respect. It’s choosing what you want most over what you want now. It’s keeping your word. It’s an act of service to your future self.

[Ramit Sethi @ramit]

HUGE

Congratulations to every YIMBY and YIMBY org that helped dismantle CEQA misuse. This is one step to making housing more affordable in California

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope other institutions follow suit.

[Shane M. Gillard @ShaneGillard]

@KratomCoalition @KratomCoalition where is this data coming from? Did the GKC conduct primary research? Are all findings available to the public?

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

Do hard things. Because life is hard. And when you take on voluntary struggle, you’re better prepared for the involuntary struggle that inevitably enters your world. Embrace the suck.

[The Pissed Off Lawyer @legaltweetz]

Can’t have any pronouns, but measles is all good.

[Shane M. Gillard @ShaneGillard]

I never been a big #football guy, and likely won’t be… but damn—there’s something powerful about #SuperBowlLIX bringing folks together when so much else pulls us apart.

[Cheri Jacobus @CheriJacobus]

Remove all the wheelchair ramps from the Texas capitol and the Governor's mansion.

[Dominic Michael Tripi @DMichaelTripi]

BREAKING: President Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has reportedly limited Elon Musk's direct access to the President.

[Jen Psaki @jrpsaki]

Could not love this speech more…(no it’s not political. It will strike a chord with any woman who has been doubted or underestimated… many many times)

[Daily Mail US @Daily_MailUS]

Texas cheerleader, 17, is charged with animal cruelty for 'poisoning her rival's show goat' https://t.co/HWj5p5opDq

[Shane M. Gillard @ShaneGillard]

a 2020’s cultural zeitgeist

[Saturday Night Live @nbcsnl]

Kamala Harris talks to Kamala Harris