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Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

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Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#21

Post by ptmcc »

tluyben2 wrote: post #20
ptmcc wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony being many people get to that position by being workaholics that can’t stop. I could conceivably retire if I moved to a low cost area, but I enjoy my lifestyle so will keep at it a bit longer.

I guess key here is ‘can retire’. Personally I like working and cannot see myself retiring, ever, but I could’ve for quite a while already. I just have 100 ideas a day I want to build and have had that for well over 30 years now; why would I stop? Not to mention that almost everyone who I know who retired (rich or not) is bored and depressed...

Retirement doesn't have to mean sitting around doing nothing. It's the freedom of not needing the steady income of employment, and the freedom to do whatever you want.

Like work on those 100 ideas a day.

Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#22

Post by tluyben2 »

billconan wrote: post #10

what I learned is that successful people know how to leverage resources to achieve their goals. smart people focus only on polishing their own skills, but that doesn't scale.

Yep, it is what I still have to fight against; ‘this is going too slow, let me do it!’. If you cannot do it yourself, you won’t even attempt, which seems much more relaxed in many ways.

Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#23

Post by tluyben2 »

ptmcc wrote: post #21
tluyben2 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess key here is ‘can retire’. Personally I like working and cannot see myself retiring, ever, but I could’ve for quite a while already. I just have 100 ideas a day I want to build and have had that for well over 30 years now; why would I stop? Not to mention that almost everyone who I know who retired (rich or not) is bored and depressed...

Retirement doesn't have to mean sitting around doing nothing. It's the freedom of not needing the steady income of employment, and the freedom to do whatever you want. Like work on those 100 ideas a day.

Exactly; strangely enough that is not quite how many people treat it. Well at least many I see.

Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#24

Post by meiraleal »

I started too poor to be too rich, but from a very poor family and no support and background I currently belong to the 5% people making more money in my country, so although I'm not rich as private jet rich, I bootstrapped myself from poverty to a high quality standard of life.

Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#25

Post by ptmcc »

mfalcon wrote: post #17
federicosan wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, rich is someone who does not need to work. Someone who can retire at any given moment.

When I was in my twenties, I used to think about getting enough money in order to retire young. Then I realized that I actually enjoy working and I don't see myself sitting on my ass doing nothing. What I want is enough money to say no to work I don't really like, enough money for allowing me to choose what to do with more liberty.

Why do so many people view "retirement" as sitting on your ass doing nothing? It is a weird cultural stereotype, perhaps perpetuated to glorify work culture.

This is probably why the term "financial independence" was coined, to break away from this misconception.

Retirement/financial independence is not needing the paycheck anymore. It's owning all of your time to use how you want.

There are plenty of "retired" people that don't sit around on their ass all day. They've retired from the full time rat race but are very much active, doing what they want to do. It might even still sometimes look like "work", but it is on their terms.

Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#27

Post by kleer001 »

Intelligence isn't the limiting factor to economic success. One can be smart and lazy.

Conscientiousness is the limiting factor to economic success.

One doesn't need to be very smart, just lucky enough to get the opportunities, smart enough to recognize them, and hard enough working to follow through.

Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#29

Post by mfalcon »

ptmcc wrote: post #25
mfalcon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in my twenties, I used to think about getting enough money in order to retire young. Then I realized that I actually enjoy working and I don't see myself sitting on my ass doing nothing. What I want is enough money to say no to work I don't really like, enough money for allowing me to choose what to do with more liberty.

Why do so many people view "retirement" as sitting on your ass doing nothing? It is a weird cultural stereotype, perhaps perpetuated to glorify work culture. This is probably why the term "financial independence" was coined, to break away from this misconception. Retirement/financial independence is not needing the paycheck anymore. It's owning all of your time to use how you want. There are plenty of "retired" peopl…

Yes, "sitting on your ass" was not the best way to describe what I wanted to say. I don't want to use all my time to do only what I want, I also want to make something valuable for other people.

Re: Ask HN: If you're so smart how come you're not rich?

#30

Post by [deleted] »

ptmcc wrote: post #25
mfalcon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in my twenties, I used to think about getting enough money in order to retire young. Then I realized that I actually enjoy working and I don't see myself sitting on my ass doing nothing. What I want is enough money to say no to work I don't really like, enough money for allowing me to choose what to do with more liberty.

Why do so many people view "retirement" as sitting on your ass doing nothing? It is a weird cultural stereotype, perhaps perpetuated to glorify work culture. This is probably why the term "financial independence" was coined, to break away from this misconception. Retirement/financial independence is not needing the paycheck anymore. It's owning all of your time to use how you want. There are plenty of "retired" peopl…

[deleted]
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