Do you really want to be rich?
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Do you really want to be rich?
1–10 of 84 posts
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#2Yes, of course I do, and the generalizations here are gross and condescending. You will not convince me that I do not want this.
I lean towards the Comfort angle, but I also start tinkering and producing when I am bored, so I could hardly be considered to walk the lazy path. I look for freedom from lower-level concerns so as to begin address higher-level needs. Money provides a layer of abstraction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs
I am sure someone can link to the study that refuted the "money can't buy happiness" claim.
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#3It's a lesson that some people will understand, and some won't ever.
I'm curious about this: does anyone who doesn't want to be rich - at all, or not in the correct third way - fall into the group of "those who don't understand"?
I think I understand that if I had a desire to be rich - endlessly, endlessly rich - and not for the things it brought me or for comfort, then I might prefer to work with other people with the same attitude. But is it necessarily the case that if you understand this lesson, then your desires fall into line?
Socrates thought this about being good: if you understand what goodness really is, then you immediately have the appropriate desires. I don't think desire and understanding work this way, generally speaking.
I certainly don't see any attraction in "being rich" as described in the piece, but I don't think that means I failed to understand something.
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#4Yes, of course I do, and the generalizations here are gross and condescending. You will not convince me that I do not want this. I lean towards the Comfort angle, but I also start tinkering and producing when I am bored, so I could hardly be considered to walk the lazy path. I look for freedom from lower-level concerns so as to begin address higher-level needs. Money provides a layer of abstraction. http://en.wikiped…
I was going to reply myself, but you've basically said exactly what I was thinking.
Some of us enjoy what we do, but would rather have a self-sustaining lifestyle that lets us do what we enjoy doing not because we have to, but because we want to.
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#5[deleted]
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#6I don't like any of those categories.
1st group: starfucker douchebags, properly characterized by the OP. Prone to serve the "high-status" set they want to join as soon as they have access to those people, and therefore a liability to anyone who wants .
2nd group: contains a lot of clock-punching mediocrities, also correctly portrayed by OP.
3rd group: driven by empty ambition, likely psychopaths. These people are responsible for the "next quarter" mentality that has ruined the US and shaken the world economy.
What unifies types I and III is the narcissistic character of a toxic and dangerous personality. What differentiates them is low (I) vs. high (III) self-image. The stronger self-image of the third set makes these people more dangerous, IMO.
What about?
Group 2+: Those who want to be comfortable, so they can spend their mental energy on things that are actually interesting and useful. These are people who wouldn't mind getting rich, but are more interested in solving interesting problems and making the world a better place than in having toy X at age Y.
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#7It's a lesson that some people will understand, and some won't ever. I'm curious about this: does anyone who doesn't want to be rich - at all, or not in the correct third way - fall into the group of "those who don't understand"? I think I understand that if I had a desire to be rich - endlessly, endlessly rich - and not for the things it brought me or for comfort, then I might prefer to work with other people with t…
I know several people in the 5 to 100 million range and I don't really want to be that rich. A close friend growing up had 6-7 million in trust fund + a lot more on the way and it was a lot harder than you might think. You don't have enough to "change the world" but working is almost pointless etc. So he took a lot of stupid risks to feel alive and died at 30.
I have that type of personality and while I like taking 6 months off, it gets old and I want something meaningful to do.
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#8I don't like any of those categories. 1st group: starfucker douchebags, properly characterized by the OP. Prone to serve the "high-status" set they want to join as soon as they have access to those people, and therefore a liability to anyone who wants . 2nd group: contains a lot of clock-punching mediocrities, also correctly portrayed by OP. 3rd group: driven by empty ambition, likely psychopaths. These people are re…
I think the advice about Group 2+ would be "don't partner with them either. They've got priorities other than making money, and making money is hard enough you can't do it accidentally."
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#9I'll never do business with someone who doesn't know when enough is enough. This post is saying to do business with greedy people. Kind of sad really, but I'm glad I'm the kind of person the author doesn't want to do business with.
I look on people like this with pity. For them, money is an addiction. They'll do anything for their fix. They'll lie, cheat, steal. Those aren't the kinds of people to do business with, because eventually they'll look to get their fix from you.
Re: Do you really want to be rich?
#10I disagree. I think that there are not enough categories.
For example, I've got a comfortable lifestyle, I earn a decent passive income (~18k a month) and it affords me time to work on the stuff that I want to work on.
I'm working on something now because I look at the industry that I'm targeting and I all I see is flaws. The products don't match the consumers wants. I want to fix that and I see a big opportunity eventually.
So I don't match the "don't want to be poor" crowd, because I'm not poor (I'm not rich either) and yet I'm still working on making more.
I don't really care if anyone knows my name. I'm not that vain.
Lastly, while I like the idea of making more money - that in itself is not the big motivator for what I'm doing. I want to build something that changes the game, not because of any external factor other than a personal goal.
Maybe I'm just an edge case, but I don't think you can quite classify everyone into 3 categories.