I don't have an application circuit in my present TL494 datasheet (SLVS074E, TI 2005). But I guess, I know which circuit you're referring to.
There are several point involved:
- You have to keep th eMOSFET maximum Vgs absolutely, but should provide a sufficient Vgs to switch the transistor fully on
- Resistor dimensioning is a compromise between switching speed and power consumtion. Everything goes, you have to decide yourself.
- TL494 output is known to switch rather slow, you would want to speed it up to achieve lower switching losses. I remember, that I used a cascode output stage with TL494 many years before, even with moderately fast bipolar transistors.
P.S.: I couldn't see the circuit in your post before. Obviously, the resistor ratio has to be adjusted to the supply voltage, according to what I already said. "10 - 40 V" won't work. Or a Z-diode voltage limiter is required.