How to get rich without getting lucky • Hacker News Board

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#491

Post by tomhoward » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 4:35 AM UTC

Mononokay wrote: post #220

tomhoward wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once heard PG say something like "It's crazy, but the YC startups that succeeded are the ones who followed our advice. The ones who failed, didn't". He's never claimed there's anything particularly brilliant about his advice. Indeed he's joked that his presence in office hours sessions could be replaced by a 3-line shell script. "Make something people want", "talk to your users", "spend less money than you make"...…

At the same time, PG doesn't have this whole "I am righteous and the most intelligent guy around," sort of thing Naval has the impression he is.

People have accused PG of that.

I don't see it in Naval.

He's neither excessively/falsely modest, nor an egomaniac blowhard like plenty of others in that sphere.

He just shares the concepts he thinks have been beneficial to himself and others in achieving success.

His success speaks for itself, so it can't be dismissed as shallow.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#492

Post by meko » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 4:37 AM UTC

0xfeba wrote: post #390

graedus wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Going out to party can also be fun but this becomes the difference in spending $20 at home vs $200 in one night. Agreed, but try not to be the person who refuses to ever go out because you're too focused on being frugal. A few times here and there won't really hurt you in the long run (and having fun with friends is important and worth the money), but making it a habit every night will. Just avoid the latter. > Fru…

> Americans in particular tend to buy way more car than they need, and the difference in price is on an order of magnitude that really does matter in the long run for many of us Not only that, they trade it in (sometimes with negative equity) every ~5 years. I buy old, used Lexus'. Pretty much all modern features, quiet, and a fraction of the new price. Change the oil, and the timing belt if applicable, it will last…

Idk I'm driving the same bell-free, whistle-less, sedan since 2006. @160kmi. But then again I'm not a bay area high-income developer.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#493

Post by dwaltrip » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 5:28 AM UTC

samsolomon wrote: post #284

dwaltrip wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To combat that I started a publication interviewing designers and entrepreneurs just to stay plugged into the community. > So much good has come from a couple years and dozens of interviews. I met a co-founder, was paid to host a similar podcast and have made a ton of friends around the world. Not to mention, I might not be working as a designer had I never started doing interviews. This is a really cool idea that…

Appreciate the interest! The idea came from a combination of a few different factors. I was bored. There were only a handful of designers and no tech people in Mobile. I was (and still am) a big fan of Andrew Warner and Mixergy. I was listening to a show and had this epiphany—what's stopping me from doing something similar? Nothing. Sure I couldn't go out and interview Bill Gates. But I had friends that were working…

Thanks for the response! I like the mindset. Your alternative is a worthwhile suggestion, I will keep that in mind.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#494

Post by RandomCSGeek » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 6:46 AM UTC

I think a better strategy than trying to be rich is,

1. First decide what is the median lifestyle that you want to live. Then decide how much it costs.

2. Next decide what are the tasks which make you most satisfied. Consider doing those tasks that would earn you at least what is required as per above criteria. As a rule of thumb, the most satisfying tasks(ex: world tour with your spouse) will earn the least.

3. Invest, so that you could switch to doing more satisfying tasks, as your threshold of money to be earned via job will go on decreasing.

There's no point in working hard, doing a job you don't like, to earn millions/billions, when you won't be spending most of it. After all, you might get hit by a car today, and you'll never know how those millions of yours got spent by your kids.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#495

Post by laythea » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 10:49 AM UTC

Joeri wrote: post #391

20years wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a good counterpoint and something my Dad points out often. He was very frugal, worked long hours and saved as much as he could so him and my mom could have a good retirement. She passed away at 42, so that never happened. He has so many regrets and wishes he invested more of his money & time in experiences with her while she was alive. I think there needs to be a balance. The trend of working crazy hours to s…

The trend of working crazy hours to save as much as you can, living overly frugal, etc. will not always lead to happiness or fulfillment. This speaks to a common fallacy: the notion that happiness is a permanent achievement. Many people believe that you work hard so eventually you can achieve a position where you live "happily ever after". That's however not how the brain works. Happiness is a reward mechanism for ef…

This is so true. A silly example. If you give a child a big bag of sweets all in one go he/she will be very happy for a little bit. But he cannot "consume" that happiness all in one go. The child's happiness level is saturated. So if you spread out the giving of sweets, the kid gets a constant trickle of smaller happy moments. Overall after all the sweets have gone, the kid who got given the sweets one by one, would extract more overall happiness from that bag than the one who had it all in one go.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#496

Post by morgancmartin » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 1:56 PM UTC

frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #202

morgancmartin wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't you agree that the harder someone works, the greater their chance of becoming rich? You seem to argue that the OP has absolutely no claim to the wealth that he has worked for and his preferable situation is due entirely to luck. This is of course preposterous and easily disproved, so I'm curious to know what your answer to this question is. Assuming your answer is, "no, not entirely" then my follow up questi…

>Wouldn't you agree that the harder someone works, the greater their chance of becoming rich? No. >You seem to argue that the OP has absolutely no claim to the wealth that he has worked for and his preferable situation is due entirely to luck. Well let's start from the base. Do you think someone has a claim to wealth that they earned entirely due to luck? >This is of course preposterous and easily disproved, so I'm c…

Well now I'm curious about what your views on free will are.

> Do you think someone has a claim to wealth that they earned entirely due to luck?

First off, this is a difficult question to answer because it seems yours and my definitions of "luck" are not the same. Or perhaps they are the same but we view the surrounding context and their individual manifestations as dissimilar.

I would say it depends on the situation. For example, If I'm walking through the parking lot and by chance (luck) find a $20 bill on the ground, am I deserving of my new found wealth? On a good day, I might turn it in to the nearest department store and hope it finds its way back to its original owner. If I'm feeling more cynical (or, arguably, realistic) I would just keep it.

Am I deserving of this wealth? I didn't really work for it, so I would argue, "no, not really." But then again I wouldn't really fault myself (or anyone else) for keeping it either.

On the other hand, let us consider two farmers who live near one another. They are twin brothers and received the same upbringing. One of the farmers tends his lands diligently while the other is concerned with other aspects of life and only does the bare minimum to survive. As you might expect, over time the first farmer prospers due to the hard work he has put in to cultivate his lands while the second farmer stagnates because he has prioritized other matters. They both understood the benefits of tending to land diligently from their shared upbringing, but they made different decisions for whatever reason.

Essentially, I'm asking you to consider these two farmers "in a vacuum" such that their wealth is due entirely to their own actions and not to any outside forces. Absolutely nothing left to chance, or "luck." By my definition of the word at least.

So, is your definition of luck different from mine such that you would argue the first farmer's success is still due to luck, or am I missing something else?

And thanks for the conversation, I find your views fascinating even if I don't share them.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#497

Post by morgancmartin » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 2:06 PM UTC

throwaway413 wrote: post #224

morgancmartin wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't you agree that the harder someone works, the greater their chance of becoming rich? You seem to argue that the OP has absolutely no claim to the wealth that he has worked for and his preferable situation is due entirely to luck. This is of course preposterous and easily disproved, so I'm curious to know what your answer to this question is. Assuming your answer is, "no, not entirely" then my follow up questi…

No. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

I wasn't careful enough with my language. Yes, someone can work harder and see diminishing returns anyway. My dad installed carpet for the majority of his adult life. I would characterize that as more difficult work than most, but he never attained very much wealth.

Still, in a (very particular) vacuum, I would argue that statement holds water, even if it doesn't in reality.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#498

Post by morgancmartin » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 2:12 PM UTC

ff317 wrote: post #303

morgancmartin wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't you agree that the harder someone works, the greater their chance of becoming rich? You seem to argue that the OP has absolutely no claim to the wealth that he has worked for and his preferable situation is due entirely to luck. This is of course preposterous and easily disproved, so I'm curious to know what your answer to this question is. Assuming your answer is, "no, not entirely" then my follow up questi…

There's a couple key points that I think help bridge the gap of understanding between these two points of view about Hard Work vs Luck (and I'll completely ignore things like existing advantages of birth/wealth, and coercion, as those points are really separate): 1) Hard Work is enabling factor for "luck", just like being born under the right circumstances is. Hard work does pay off, and thus it's valid to say "hard…

I don't contest any of what you wrote.

I was mostly arguing against the OP's very odd view that someone's position is due entirely to luck and not just partially. You and I seem to agree that it is a proportion, whether or not we agree what that proportion happens to be. But the OP seems to believe that nothing is due to free will and everything is due to luck.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#499

Post by Confusion » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 3:05 PM UTC

graedus wrote: post #349

ryandrake wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm... I’m still sitting here waiting for that “magic” of compounding interest to take effect. So often HN (and r/personalfinance) investment advice reminds me of the ol’ Draw the Rest of the Owl meme[1]. Just “do mutual funds” and you’ll one day be a millionaire because Compounding Interest. Ok well thanks to a few recessions, poor timing of grad school and bouts of unemployment, my retirement is not much more than…

> Ok well thanks to a few recessions I'm interested in this guy's[0][1] approach to take most of the downside risk out of recessions/bear markets/crashes compared to buy-and-hold. Basically, start with a diversified portfolio, and when any of them closes below their monthly 12mo moving average, sell it and buy treasuries. I'm sure there are thousands of more sophisticated models out there, but the nice thing about th…

What matters most is actually selling when your strategy tells you you should. If you ignore your sell signals, you are toast.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#500

Post by 20years » Sat, Jun 02, 2018, 5:04 PM UTC

marketgod wrote: post #455

20years wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a perfect example. I have had the same car for 6 years which I bought used and am hoping to squeeze another 5 out of it. Cars are one of those things I hate spending money on.

Don't forget to calculate the increasing maintenance cost, gas cost, and risk of using an older car.

This is a good point. So far I have had no maintenance other than oil changes/tune-ups. Once things start breaking down to where I have to spend $$ to keep it going, that is when I will buy a newer used car. I also mainly use it for local around town driving. If I go on a long trip, I rent a car.