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Do you really want to be rich?

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Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#51

Post by dnsworks »

pw0ncakes wrote: post #6

I 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…

Group #1: Social Media Scene people. You'd meet them at any networking event in San Francisco, like tonight's SF Beta

Group #2: These are your friends who work at Facebook or Google.

Group #3 ???

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#52

Post by pw0ncakes »

Retric wrote: post #49
pw0ncakes wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, but if you ask me, the "almost pointless" excuse is pretty pathetic. All else equal, being rich gives you strictly more options, and therefore the means to make work more meani…

I am not saying he made good choices but it's hard to picture all that many well balanced people working when they don't need to. Let's say you are 18 and make 20k / month and that's the tip of the iceberg you are going to get another 50+ million by the time your 40 even if you do absolutely nothing. Do you really think you would aim for an office job? What's your ROI for "wasting" one of the few thing you can't buy…

I wouldn't aim for a traditional office job with that kind of money, but I'd want to be doing something. He could go to graduate school, write a novel, start (or at least join) a non-profit.

With a trust fund that can support him indefinitely, he certainly has nothing to lose in taking a job. If it turns out to be a hideous waste of time, he can quit.

One of the intractable unfairnesses of the work world is that those who need or rely on their jobs are destined (all else being equal) to be less successful in their careers, because they can be trapped into a dead-end and because they do have a reason to fear the boss. Your friend, on the other hand, didn't have that problem. He can take a job and, if it turns out to be a waste of his time, quit^ and do something else.

(^ I am not, of course, suggesting that he ought to quit just because a job gets difficult. What I'm saying is that the biggest danger of the career minefield is stagnation and unrecognized toil, in which case one really is wasting one's time in going to work, and your friend had an inexhaustible "get out of jail free" card.)

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#53

Post by wynand »

pw0ncakes wrote: post #6

I 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…

Exactly. Group 2+ is also the most valuable to the world in the long run, if only because people's mental health will be much better.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the members of Group 2+ generally hate the control that the typical manager exerts.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#54

Post by gridspy »

Confusion wrote: post #44

How strange: the post does not actually give a reason for only wanting to go into business with people that chase money for the purpose of chasing money. It does not explain why the reason that people want money matters. It states a preference of the author, without a single justification.

I thought the justification was obvious - you don't want to build a relationship with a partner who will drop out for personal reasons.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#55

Post by fnid2 »

migpwr wrote: post #50
fnid2 wrote: post #9

I'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, b…

You do business with the people that will bring you a profit. In theory, it doesn't matter what personal views the person across the table has if they adequately provide the services you need. Learn to identify the wants/needs of those people that operate around you and plan accordingly. Business is about profit, not feeling good about the people you buy/sell services from/to. Defend yourself if you see a need. Don't…

I'm of the opposite opinion. I have the freedom to choose who I work with, who I buy products from, and who I sell my products to. There is a lot of room in the world to do business with people who are considerate, responsible, and of a mindset that I think makes the world a better place.

I've refused to create accounts for other types of individuals on more than one occasion. If they want to use a competing product, that's okay with me. I don't mind losing business from customers I don't appreciate. If someone is a nasty person I don't want them to benefit from the use of my product. Check out some of the firing bad clients threads. Best just not to do business with them in the first place.

It's my little way to shape my world and surround myself with people I appreciate -- that's more important to me than money.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#56

Post by wynand »

mediaman wrote: post #32

People here are showing a lot of dislike for the third category, those who want to make money. I think that's because of how the author describes them, not how they actually are. People who want to make money for money's sake love building things. They can't stand to sit still. They understand long-term relationships, and the smart ones learn that trust and inspiring leaders within your own and other organizations is…

That's an interesting take. At least in the case of Buffett, I think he really likes what he does (I mean, the man still lives in a normal family house).

To me there is a distinction between people who want to make more money and people who want to build things. The former is in it for power, whilst the latter is in it for recognition.

I realize how simplistic that sounds. But many of our current problems came about because people don't care about what's behind the money. We need less indirection in the financial world. If I invest in something, I should give some kind of damn about it.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#57

Post by pw0ncakes »

dnsworks wrote: post #51
pw0ncakes wrote: post #6

I 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…

Group #1: Social Media Scene people. You'd meet them at any networking event in San Francisco, like tonight's SF Beta Group #2: These are your friends who work at Facebook or Google. Group #3 ???

Wall Street.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#58

Post by ZeroGravitas »

aarongough wrote: post #42
callmeed wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does Wikipedia relate to this at all? It's a non-profit.

It may be a non-profit but it does still have people on the payroll, people who get paid to do what they love...

And could be raking in millions in advertising dollars, like the non-profit Mozilla, if it chose to.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#59

Post by jhancock »

froo wrote: post #10

I 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 eve…

oh come on froo, you can't drop "I'm making 18k/month passively" and not give at least a tickle as to what your doing ;).

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#60

Post by DougBTX »

paulbaumgart wrote: post #15

I'm not convinced there's a significant difference between the first and third categories. Both are means to gaining status- the difference is just in the audience (the people they're trying to impress) and in the sophistication of how the status is expressed.

Sophistication is significant.
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