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I am rich and have no idea what to do

vinay.sh

731–740 of 1001 posts

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#731

having a lot of money is crazy because there is literally nothing to do. there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. if you sit around all day then people who work at local restaurants will start to know you and people here and there will start to recognize you from wandering around between your haunts every day. its such a weird feeling when you realize that the world isnt as big as you thought it was. before…

Society doesn't put money into some people's hands so that they use it to buy big shiny boats. Society trusts some people with money because they use it well. I also think that not using it is OK because it's a virtual thing anyway, so focusing on other aspects of life - like running a farm for example - is an option.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#732
post #595
post #237

Probably not gonna get upvoted but I’m pretty surprised none of the the top comments mentions volunteering or philanthropy. I believe people who get lucky should land a hand in making the world a better place. We are facing huge crises (climate change to name one) and as a wealthy individual you have both the time to spend helping to fix that and the fortune to donate. Being a smart wealthy individual just makes ever…

Right. There's no rule that if you get a hold of $XX million that you need to keep it. I'd argue, in fact, that there's a pretty good case you're obligated to give most of it away; you can keep single-digit millions and have total financial security for all practical purposes while sacrificing only a few luxuries that, as the author of this essay appears to have noticed, won't actually give your life meaning. Meanwhi…

Thank you for giving away your wealth to help other people. Let's normalize this practice.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#733
post #306

Regarding the part of breaking up with girlfriend shortly after a winning startup exit, I'm reminded of a friend. (Different situation, but something to think about.) She saw her bf through the difficult process of a developing a creative work, and eventually he completed it, won a prestigious reward... and he broke up with her. He got invited to the White House because of the award, and I think missing out on that r…

When a relationship fails you can be certain about one thing: something wasn't working. Many bad relationships continue, but no good relationships end. There are many factors that can make a relationship bad that people will not talk about, like sex. You just have to give people the benefit of the doubt really.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#734
The author is a self-proclaimed "big fan of capitalism". Turns out capitalism doesn't provide a meaning in life. The author should put down the physics books and pick up some books on Stoicism instead. Learn what a good life really is. There are so many problems that people have that they need help with and of course you won't see any of that while studying physics in the jungle.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#737
I would recommend for him to visit a poor country and see how the people live and survive. He will find (I am assuming) find purpose. Maybe he will make his life mission to build and install water wells, or sponsor underprivileged kids education or something along those lines.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#738
post #106

I don't think you have to have Fuck You Money to get to this point. Most people eventually become disillusioned with work enough that they reevaluate what matters to them. Getting a very profitable exit is just one way to trigger that experience. In my experience, a lot of people who get into this state start self-sabotaging hard as a way of rejecting what feels, ironically, like losing control. Sudden freedom can fe…

As someone who has not been successful in life but who is relatively intelligent do you have any recommendations as to how I can get my life on track? I am asking because you said you like developing people. My persistent experience in life for almost 20 years post college has been nobody wants to develop me. I am not in tech but I am generally interested in the area if it can lead me to greater independence and more…

>Sometimes I like the work but more often than not I find that good problem solving ability is not valued and the pay is dismal vs. what people earn in tech.

I'm not sure the high wages in tech are going to last, universities having been minting new CS graduates like there is no tomorrow. Alongside that demand appears to be flagging. I'm sure you remember enough from your BA to know what the result of that is.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#739

I can't imagine a world where I wouldn't know what to do. There is diarrhea on my building, trash in the street, people needing medical help in the alley, and potholes in the street. Just walk out your front door and start doing things. My recent triumph was getting a building owner on my street to finally repair the hole in front of their building. Imagine what I could do with a backhoe. Start small, think big. Help…

I always think if I won the lottery, I'd love to just make my local town awesome. Fund the schools, pay for parks, buy empty retail units and make them community spaces for artists. That sort of thing.

Re: I am rich and have no idea what to do

#740
post #543

Been there, done that. General comments: - Most people who make a lot of money all at once blow it within seven years. Check out what happens to lottery winners, jocks, and rappers. As a rule of thumb, you can safely spend 4% of your net worth per year. Pay yourself some fixed amount each quarter. - You don't have to get into complex investments. Half in some bond funds, half in some diversified stock funds will work…

One did a lot of reasonable little stuff but never did anything with much impact again This always stymies me. If I were to make it big, I’d want to go on to do other very useful things. But so commonly that doesn’t happen. Is it because they lost the fire? Because they were really lucky exactly once? Or perhaps their talents were suited only to that one thing?

Personally I get immense enjoyment out of not doing anything useful, especially not on a big scale. So if I were to accidentally "make it big", I'd most likely not do it again and keep enjoying the small inconsequential things.
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