Linus on Live Stream (I've been thinking of retiring)

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, nightwasp said:

Linus can't retire and hope that the linustechtips channel will continue.  He is the channel.  Unbox Therapy minus Lou equals dead channel.  Paul's Hardware minus Paul equals dead channel.  Jayztwocents minus Jay equals dead channel.  Bitwit minus Kyle equals dead channel. Marques Brownlee minus Marques equals dead channel.  Gamers Nexus minus Steve equals dead channel.  Linus hasn't built a linustechtips brand, Linus Sebastian the person is the brand.

I think LTT is in a different position to those channels. It has gone a different route and created new personalities under the banner. While viewers may dip for a little while if the transition is not done carefully but would probably recover.

 

I think many of us have felt like just giving up at times, I know I certainly have. When my kids were very young I missed out on a lot because of work and regret it to this day/

[tech.guru]

26 minutes ago, nightwasp said:

Linus can't retire and hope that the linustechtips channel will continue.  He is the channel.  Unbox Therapy minus Lou equals dead channel.  Paul's Hardware minus Paul equals dead channel.  Jayztwocents minus Jay equals dead channel.  Bitwit minus Kyle equals dead channel. Marques Brownlee minus Marques equals dead channel.  Gamers Nexus minus Steve equals dead channel.  Linus hasn't built a linustechtips brand, Linus Sebastian the person is the brand.

if that happens it happens. some famous singers take time off and never come back.

 

however, once you burn out and your mental health is a question you really need to stop and refocus.losing his wife and kids or suffering a nervous breakdown and depression all could happen continuing  something and trying to suffer through it.

 

hopefully hes talking to a professional about his problems.

he really needs to take time off come back and re-balance everything.

 

he knows he needs too, he says so in his video. he just doesnt know how and he also is afraid of losing everything he worked for. he cant control that, hes just got to step back because something bad will happen if he continues

[Uttamattamakin]

@LinusTech I know how you feel.  Being who I am and being an academic scientist to the degree I have been...feels like enough already.  I've thought of leaving academia, taking my pension money out of the market, and writing my memoirs.  Memoirs of a transsexual astrophysicist (There's a title).  I could even still work on theoretical physics, for a space-mission called LISA, even without an academic appointment.

 

Ok so its not lots of money but for my field I've got it made.  I could stop working in academia at least take something that demands less and pays more and a great scientist still.  

 

What brought this on, for me was also similar.  My father and sister nearly died at the same time, my sis due to an unknown infection.  I was at work when I had to be with them in hospital. The truth hit me, if a job comes between me and my family I have to choose my family.  

 

So for what little this is worth from a random Internet person... It's not unusual to reach around this age and think do I really want to do the same thing for the rest of my life.  It defines our generation we are not the ones to work 40 years 50 years at one place doing one thing.

 

That said you do make a difference 10,000,000 people say you made a difference.  People like you make sure that the general public understands these magical thinking boxes that we are surrounded with.  You educate people without having to grade them.

 

[Xplo1t]

54 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

All I'm hearing, personally, is that Linus has made the same mistake a whole lot of people do when they're running their own company: they haven't delegated enough stuff to their employees. It's really easy to get burned out if you are not willing to let go of some of the reins. Once you're burned out, it's a lot harder to come back from it.

 

At this point, Linus should just go "fuck it" and go take a 6-month to 12-month complete break and delegate literally everything to others. He'll be a nervous wreck about it at first, but the buttercup's just going to have to suck it.

Completely agree.  It takes a lot to run a small business and there is a sacrifice to making a company successful.  He's past the point were most companies fail, but to get there, he has a bunch of people that depend on him.  He can either throw that away, or suck it and figure a way to keep it going. 

 

 Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

[NuKleZz]

Take Ur Time real Friends, Staff and Followers 

Will allways whait for u to come Back, and just Jump through that train to Follow u again!!!

[Uttamattamakin]

3 minutes ago, Xplo1t said:

Completely agree.  It takes a lot to run a small business and there is a sacrifice to making a company successful.  He's past the point were most companies fail, but to get there, he has a bunch of people that depend on him.  He can either throw that away, or suck it and figure a way to keep it going. 

 

 Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Question is how can there be Linus Tech Tips ...with no Linus?  Maybe they need one more Linus, a Linus (different last name)?

[spartaman64]

6 minutes ago, Uttamattamakin said:

Question is how can there be Linus Tech Tips ...with no Linus?  Maybe they need one more Linus, a Linus (different last name)?

i mean same way papa johns is still papa johns with no papa johns as the ceo

[Ein0r]

Take a break, go on vacation with your family and work it out with them and yourself.. A month or two, no problem. The channels work well enough while you are on a break, just dont let Riley jump around in front of the camera all the time

 

[Touch My Hamm]

Running your own business and a Massive YouTube channel is different than working as a manager somewhere. The amount of stress from being a business owner is a beast on its own let alone being a major player on YouTube. YouTube has been known for changing how its algorithm works that can greatly affect income for content creators, this can be a big part of the stress as more and more creators bow down to creating what gets clicks instead of content they would want. Where 10 years ago we would have videos for fun and channels where it was a passion we now see every other channel trying to make as much money as possible with Clickbaited videos and crap content. I am not saying LTT is like this at all but its just been something I have seen. Where in highschool I myself had a channel with friends where we would do those smash videos (I was a stupid kid) were we made it on MTV special but everything was for fun and none of us thought we could make money off it let alone the money Creators make now.

 

Love the content and hope it stays for a while since it gives me something to watch over half the garbage put up on YouTube these days. 

[prince10bee]

I'm sad now because not only do I enjoy his videos (not that LinusTech is going anywhere) but I honestly respect this man and how he runs his business. No doubt he has some serious cash but I hope he's happy with the next stage of life.

[Stu_Bear]

I'd retire and have no regrets...life isn't about work...life is about spending time with the ones you care for.  Anyone tell you different...run away from them.

[Hendo16]

Linus, really hope that you see this: I've been watching for years and I don't think I could have ever gotten into PC's, hardware or tech in general if I never found your videos. I wish nothing but the best for you but from personal experience please, put yourself first. At the core of everything that you do, that any of us do, is our well-being and that needs to be tended to, not put off to the side. Eventually that breaks, and then everything else crumbles. Nothing's more important than you and your family and as much as it would break my heart to see you disappear (lets be honest though, I'm sure you'd always be around for a video or two), the thought of you pushing yourself and your family further than it can breaks my heart even more. We're all here to support you and want the best for you - personal struggles such as these should be tended to and I hope that when you feel like you're up to dialing it back a bit you allow yourself that option, which is what it sounds like you're openly admitting in this video which is good. I've never met you but I love ya man, honestly, and wish you and your family goodwill and know that whatever decision you do make the community will support and stand behind you.

[TempestCatto]

You need a nice, year long sabbatical - with the whole family.

 

Then come back, and stay more behind the scenes. Work on something you want to work on. Just tinker and experiment. Don't work as many days/hours as you do and spend more time with your family in general. Don't force yourself to do something a team member can do.  

 

Also, let your wife retire from the company and either get a job she wants to do, or be a stay at home mom. From the stream, it sounds like she has just as much weight on her shoulders as you. So remove those weights by both taking a step back. We all love you more than we love the content or the company. If you moved channels and companies, 98% of us would follow. But you should let others be the presenter in videos and take a few steps back so you can just marvel at your success and focus more on your personal life.

 

In the stream you mentioned you don't have friends outside of work, in a very literal sense. We would all love for you to just focus on your social life, which one does need to be healthy (speaking as an introvert here btw). So go make those friends, maybe with your kids' friends parents, or maybe with other people who enjoy doing the same things you do (not just tech).

 

It was obvious you were in emotional pain in the stream. You've been emotionally drained for a very long time, it would seem. The only thing keeping you chipper on the outside was some of the neato things happening in the tech world. On one hand, I'm happy to hear you don't actually want to retire. But on the other, I kinda wish you would, but still hang around here and there and make an occasional appearance (especially on the WAN show). It's a real shame we all have to just stay fans instead of personal friends, as I know there's at least a few people (and quite honestly, only a few) on this forum who could do you some social good (not me tho, introvert.exe).

 

Whatever you chose, don't chose it because of us. Make the choice you and your family want to make. I've always wondered with how busy your schedule is, how you have any time to be with your kids and help with with school stuff, eat, fix things around the house, clean, cook, do dishes, laundry and other normal house hold things that seem to happen daily for everyone else. As has been said loads of times, take the family and live a normal life for at least a year. See what your mindset is then. If you want to go back, awesome - do it. If you want to stay as far away as the moon - go for it. You shouldn't shorten your lifespan over any of this. Don't worry much about what we think because we're not you. Only you, are you. Regardless, we love you no matter what and stand behind you 100% of the time 100% of the way.

 

EDIT: maybe to reduce the shock of you stepping back, phasing out your daily appearance would help. Slowly but surely, you wouldn't be the main presenter in a video. As time passes, more and more team members begin to present as you slowly present less. Rather that just "Hoowaaaah Bada Bing Bada Boom I'm Gonzo Gazo Outta Hea!" Idk, just a though I'm sure you've already had.

[jamiethomaswhite]

Linus,
You've made me laugh, and now you've made me cry. You might not know it, but you've kept me company through severe clinical depression, abuse, breakdowns, break ups, through long nights that I wasn't sure I'd make it through. You weren't alone, there were others, but you were one of the ones I let it in, that mattered most. Every night and day, still, I look forward to seeing you, and if I don't, I miss you.
But I'm stronger now, thanks to those that stood by me, including you. I can let go now, and you deserve to live, you need to go, be with your family, be a family. You helped to give me that back, now I want to be one of the ones to give it back to you. We'll survive. You helped show us how to build things, see through the bullshot and choose for ourselves, save money, but you also showed us how to have fun whilst doing it, how to teach others and share it with them. Especially now, you've shown us how to aim high and achieve unbelievable things. It's time we went to do that. I'd be happy to see you pop-up in the background of videos or on WAN show, but you go live the life you built, and we'll go build our own.

Thank you, a thousand times. Love you man.

[harryk]

I suspect you're reading this thread Linus so

 

I challenge you to take an indefinite sabbatical starting TODAY. Appoint someone to serve as interim CEO for daily operations and then go home. LMG will be fine. Spend time with your kids, volunteer at their school, do stuff that makes you happy and enjoy daily life. Work on some personal projects or hobbies. Play games if you want to. Reach out to your friends and hang out. If you never find yourself bored or unhappy, congratulations you've now retired. But more likely you'll find yourself longing for something. Find that something and do it. Maybe it's returning to LTT and making tech videos like before or maybe with a different intention or style. Maybe you'll find an entirely new passion. I don't know, but if you don't take the time to explore you'll never know either.

[kieguru]

It seems to me that Linus is still trying to tackle his business as if he was still running a small 1-2 person channel, at this point no wonder he feels burnt out.  From my perspective it would be worthwhile Linus looking at hiring top tier management staff to take the workload off his shoulders.  He could hire himself as possibly a part time employee to do the jobs he loves.

 

The best thing he did was open up to the community though.  It takes balls to publicly address struggles like this and, I hope, he feels better for doing so.

 

Chin up Linus, just remember to do things that make you happy.

[Spoops]

I cried as I grew up with the channel and can remember back when they did reviews in the kitchen, truly the one channel I can say had a deep impact on my life and interests

[Uttamattamakin]

5 minutes ago, kieguru said:

It seems to me that Linus is still trying to tackle his business as if he was still running a small 1-2 person channel, at this point no wonder he feels burnt out.  From my perspective it would be worthwhile Linus looking at hiring top tier management staff to take the workload off his shoulders.  He could hire himself as possibly a part time employee to do the jobs he loves.

This would be a good idea if he can find the right person.  The thing is who can run a new media/ internet 2.0 company better than someone who already does that? Everyone who does that well has a job running their own company.   Anyone with an education to maybe possibly do it right has student loans to pay for that MBA.  I suppose he'd have to hire another tech tuber. 

Or maybe one of those itinerant royals that are looking for work in that town?  

[PositiveRaisin2]

8 hours ago, Lord Xeb said:

He isn't going to retire but taking a different look on things. Though the guy should step back a bit. He has been working so hard for so long. 

He has build an amazing team he can trust to make great content.

 

[intertan]

Think linus should step back from being the main person in all the videos, have others take up the task, have 3-4 hosts and assign dates so daily videos can get released.

1 mon and wed

2 tue and thurs

friday could just be the wan show

3 could be weekends, possible 2 part larger videos

 

As for linus, still be part but focus on things you like to do. some examples were the electric car charger in your garage, dropping multiple pc's into 1 unit. Things you enjoy and show how you did it, mistakes you made and interesting finds during the project.

[jamman2019]

Thank you linus for all of what you have done.at school I am known as the nerdy weard kid who will they can only make fun off. And I know what it felt like to talk in front of people I had to talk in front of my 300 people year group about computers and a raspberry pi game console I made from scratch.and all they can call you the nerdy weardo.

[papajo]

53 minutes ago, intertan said:

have others take up the task,

he should find those others though... besides the linux guy the "other" currently on roster dont seem to know much about computers

[Tristerin]

You will regret it.  Unless you have something else to fill your cup.  Whether its family, another hobby, etc.  My advice if you retire is to ensure that your next hobby is your family, and giving them experiences to cherish forever.  That's the only thing I can think of for myself that would keep me sane if I were to retire right this moment.

 

Me - I wont retire early, and Im building my empire to ensure that occurs sooner rather than later.  I will take on less, so that the time I have available is more focused on whats really important.  The main reason I wont retire is a body in motion stays in motion.  If I pump the brakes things may come to a halt and there is no adventure in that.

 

 

 

 

[GalacticRuler]

9 hours ago, LogicalDrm said:

 

He's bit young for hitting midlife crisis, but then again, he is entrepreneur and having stress over handling your own company doesn't work for everyone.

33 isn't that young for a midlife crisis, especially if you're managing a large company. Anyone would be weathered down dealing with the stress of company management, especially when being forced to make choices you may not like (like what happened with Ivan).

[intertan]

8 minutes ago, papajo said:

he should find those others though... besides the linux guy the "other" currently on roster dont seem to know much about computers

some of the team has done some video's in the past. Sure it will take time to train and possibly find others but having 1 host do the vast majority can burn him out. 

Wasn't there a video or Riley wanting to do more reviews and linus shot him down live on wan show? someone to start with.