What is the square root of a $million dollars? Maybe I am that.
Because I prefer imaging science fiction to imaging a religion.
You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.
Speaking of religions, you could steal an RPG game and rebrand it as your own.
If you're trying to make a dig at Paizo, I don't appreciate it. Beyond that, I seriously doubt anyone has gotten rich off the RPG business. (And there's no need to add the word game after RPG, just as there's no need to add the word number after PIN.)Because I prefer imaging science fiction to imaging a religion.
You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.Speaking of religions, you could steal an RPG game and rebrand it as your own.
I was actually thinking of Hasbro's purchase of WotC and the release of <voldemort>.
But you are right, this shoe fits on paizo too. Thanks for pointing this out, I would not have realized it. I guess there really is Ying + Yang in the universe.And, I for one, am glad you are not a millionaire.
Here is one.
You are still poor? What the hell are you doing wrong?
How much longer until you are a millionaire?
Money cannot buy happiness.
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Why am I not a millionaire?
Well that's easy...
No matter what economic model you believe in or find yourself entrenched in...
- Being smart doesnt make you rich
- Working hard doesnt make you rich
- Being smart AND working hard doesnt make you rich
What makes you rich is by making more money than you spend and repeating that process as much as possible for as long as possible.
And I appear to be pretty bad at making more than I spend.
The economist philosopher of any variety would conclude then that:
I'm not a millionaire because I don't *want* to be.
It is necessary to precisely define "millionaire". Most "millionaires" don't have a million dollars in their checking or savings account, they have their million dollars tied up in their home, valuable goods and investments.
Contrary to many comments on this thread, most millionaires in the USA were not "born to the right parents". Most are small business owners or professionals who work in careers that make high incomes (lawyers, finance, doctors, etc.)
I have not recently calculated my net worth, but I'm getting pretty close to that line. And I was born dirt poor.
Reading this thread is an exercise in reviewing self-justification and class envy. It's downright educational.
FWIW, I would be well over that line by now if I had not chosen to have kids and my wife decided to pursue her own career instead of staying at home to care for a special needs child.
But them's the breaks. I'm still on the path.
I prefer Robert Kiyosaki's measure of wealth, which is measured by how long you can go on vacation without doing anything related to work and still pay your bills.
Being a millionaire doesn't mean you can go very long without working.
Therefore, being a millionaire isnt the goal, instead try to make the following equation true,
Length of time with no work and still have all bills paid = infinity.
I prefer Robert Kiyosaki's measure of wealth, which is measured by how long you can go on vacation without doing anything related to work and still pay your bills.
Being a millionaire doesn't mean you can go very long without working.
Therefore, being a millionaire isnt the goal, instead try to make the following equation true,
Length of time with no work and still have all bills paid = infinity.
In that case, I shall redefine work as "Gainful employment which I do not enjoy" and vastly improve my relative wealth in mere seconds! Under that definition, I haven't done a full day's work in years.
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Re: "Money can't buy happiness":
Loretta Lynn: "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."
Milo Bloom: "Money can't buy love, but it improves your bargaining position."
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Man, I can't believe I let people out-class-envy me. Must try harder...
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List the reasons why you think you are not a millionare?
.
sounds like someone is Phishing.
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Did you see the picture of the entire 0-9 middle school soccer team
receiving trophies. They are being rewarded for being the losers.
Imagine that happening repeatedly (like training an animal), and then putting
these humans into a competitive economic environment. The result may be
a person incapable of understanding why they aren't gaining money for
doing nothing, like they did in school.
.
i still think she's Phishing (or could be a he....) the only people that want to know how much money you have are those that want to take it:)
i still think she's Phishing (or could be a he....) the only people that want to know how much money you have are those that want to take it:)
You Win The Prize !!!
Please fill out the following information form, so it can be delivered to you:
(type all personal banking info here.)
.
If only competition wasn't the only way.
Humans are the product of competition. What other ways did you have in
mind; maybe we can start a revolution?.
Parents were public school teachers.
:)
What other ways did you have in
mind; maybe we can start a revolution?
Vive le Galt!
In that case, I shall redefine work as "Gainful employment which I do not enjoy" and vastly improve my relative wealth in mere seconds! Under that definition, I haven't done a full day's work in years.I prefer Robert Kiyosaki's measure of wealth, which is measured by how long you can go on vacation without doing anything related to work and still pay your bills.
Being a millionaire doesn't mean you can go very long without working.
Therefore, being a millionaire isnt the goal, instead try to make the following equation true,
Length of time with no work and still have all bills paid = infinity.
Congradulations! Your boss wouldnt happen to be hiring, would s/he?
If only competition wasn't the only way.Humans are the product of competition. What other ways did you have in
mind; maybe we can start a revolution?.
As social creatures, it is a balance between cooperation and competition. The real question that determines the general quality of life is how the competition is undertaken. Different systems produce different ways of competeing and different amounts of cooperation. A good system wont eliminate either but will channel both into productive forms without generateing discontent.
Drock, as many, many successful people have said over the years, luck sure seems to be a thing that is strongly related to preparation intersecting with opportunity.
I say again, this thread is an absolute treasure trove of self-justification and class envy.
It's really not that hard to become successful. In some ways you almost have to work NOT to be.
Reaching the arbitrary milestone of "millionaire" might be beyond many people's level of success, but you don't have to be a millionaire to live a life comfortable enough not to be envious of the success of others.
1) born to a middle class family
2) haven't won the lottery
3) married for love and not money
4) drowning in student loan debt
5) don't know how to program
All this for me as well, minus the student loan debt.
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Far too much of my life with a miniatures gaming hobby. That's probably why :)
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Drock, as many, many successful people have said over the years, luck sure seems to be a thing that is strongly related to preparation intersecting with opportunity.
I say again, this thread is an absolute treasure trove of self-justification and class envy.
It's really not that hard to become successful. In some ways you almost have to work NOT to be.
The data do not support your position.
Don't get me wrong—choices do matter. But not as much, it turns out, as much as where you start. From the article: "Parental wealth has an influence above and beyond the three factors that sociologists and economists have traditionally considered in research on social mobility—parental education, income and occupation."
You have been successful in spite of humble beginnings. Great. So have I. Yet many others who worked just as hard, if not harder, than either of us haven't done as well. Frankly, the implication that people who are less successful than you are lazier, dumber, or less capable is insulting. Is FUGM really the message you want to send?
You have been successful in spite of humble beginnings. Great. So have I. Yet many others who worked just as hard, if not harder, than either of us haven't done as well. Frankly, the implication that people who are less successful than you are lazier, dumber, or less capable is insulting. Is FUGM really the message you want to send?
Is "I'm not responsible for my lot in life" really the message they want to live by bugley?
The part of my post you deleted was the part where I more or less described "successful" as having success enough to not be envious of other people's success.
There are some people who deal with actual physical, mental or emotional limitations that are incredibly difficult to overcome. For those people I can accept the "bad luck" argument.
Nobody denies that rich parents are a big help in being successful in life. My point is that for an able-bodied, reasonably intelligent, emotionally stable person, it's not that hard to be successful. And the best way to attain success for people who can't rely on rich parents, actually is hard work and perseverance.
If that bothers people, then so be it. I really don't care.
Is "I'm not responsible for my lot in life" really the message they want to live by bugley?
Nope. It isn't one extreme or the other. And that's why I said choices matter.
But saying things like "it's really not that hard to become successful. In some ways you almost have to work NOT to be" is condescending to those who have worked hard, but -- for whatever reason -- haven't been as successful as you have.
My point is that for an able-bodied, reasonably intelligent, emotionally stable person, it's not that hard to be successful. And the best way to attain success for people who can't rely on rich parents, actually is hard work and perseverance.
Great, that is a good point. It's also a far cry from "it's really not that hard to become successful. In some ways you almost have to work NOT to be." That's just condescending to those who have worked hard, but -- for whatever reason -- haven't been as successful as you have.
There will never be a perfect meritocracy -- a fact for which many people who think they want one should probably be very thankful -- so maybe we shouldn't assume that everyone in a bad situation put themselves there?
But hell, it isn't like anything I say is going to make a difference. You don't care what anyone else thinks, remember?
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I'm pretty successful. Hold a job, pay my bills (well, some of them), haven't been to jail, am high all the time.
Lowered expectations: the key to a happy life!
Is "I'm not responsible for my lot in life" really the message they want to live by bugley?Nope. It isn't one extreme or the other. And that's why I said choices matter.
But saying things like "it's really not that hard to become successful. In some ways you almost have to work NOT to be" is condescending to those who have worked hard, but -- for whatever reason -- haven't been as successful as you have.
My comment is not comparing ME to them, it's comparing the huge number of people I have met and interacted with over my entire life.
I know a lot of "successful" people. I know very few whose success was the result of being born rich. I do know a few who attained their success in that manner. But the scores of real people I've met and interacted with in my life have had fairly standard middle class backgrounds and because I come from a dirt poor background myself, I know more successful people who were born that way than I know people who were born rich. In the vast, vast majority of cases of the people I have known and interacted with, their success was very much the result of hard work, lots of study and the willingness to accept short term pain in the pursuit of long term gain.
That's just the way it has been.
I also firmly believe that one's attitude and beliefs has a lot to do with choices people make, and I know plenty of non-successful people who started in the same place as the successful people I know, and in the vast majority of those cases, they are where they are today because of choices they made. I have a number of close relatives who chose poorly and who now routinely blame their lack of success on "bad luck." It is my opinion that this is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There is no doubt that there is some luck, good and bad, involved in everyone's life. What I challenge is the notion that luck is generally the deciding factor. That has not been the conclusion I have personally reached in my own life-long observation and analysis of this issue. What I have noticed that that it is almost unfailingly true that successful people tend to credit hard work and perseverance while unsuccessful people tend to blame bad luck.
You can draw your own conclusions about what is really going on. As can we all.
There is no doubt that there is some luck, good and bad, involved in everyone's life. What I challenge is the notion that luck is generally the deciding factor. That has not been the conclusion I have personally reached in my own life-long observation and analysis of this issue. What I have noticed that that it is almost unfailingly true that successful people tend to credit hard work and perseverance while unsuccessful people tend to blame bad luck.
You can draw your own conclusions about what is really going on. As can we all.
People tend to take credit for success but try to avoid blame for failure? The hell you say. Would I be where I am without working hard? Of course not. Are there other people who work harder than I do that are less successful? Yes, there are.
The data says that being born wealthy is hugely important. More important than what we as a society have typically credited as success factors. The data. I think I'll draw my conclusions based on that.
There is no doubt that there is some luck, good and bad, involved in everyone's life. What I challenge is the notion that luck is generally the deciding factor. That has not been the conclusion I have personally reached in my own life-long observation and analysis of this issue. What I have noticed that that it is almost unfailingly true that successful people tend to credit hard work and perseverance while unsuccessful people tend to blame bad luck.
You can draw your own conclusions about what is really going on. As can we all.
People tend to take credit for success but try to avoid blame for failure? The hell you say.
The data says that being born wealthy is hugely important. More important than what we as a society have typically credited as success factors. The data. I think I'll draw my conclusions based on that.
I have not debated that being born rich helps one to be successful. In fact I have acknowledged it. But there is a reason those are called the "one percent." The great majority of successful people I personally know, and I know a lot, were born middle class or even poor, not rich.
If it makes people feel better to think that Joe down the street with the big house and fancy car just lucked into it, that's all well and good. Thinking that way isn't going to get them a bigger house or fancier car.
As for me, I intend to continue what I've always done, which is to work my ass off, keep studying new things and learning new skills, ask my employers for more work and more difficult challenges and keep saving as much of what I make as I can. I find myself to be lot "luckier" that way. YMMV
I have not debated that being born rich helps one to be successful. In fact I have acknowledged it. But there is a reason those are called the "one percent." The great majority of successful people I personally know, and I know a lot, were born middle class or even poor, not rich.
If it makes people feel better to think that Joe down the street with the big house and fancy car just lucked into it, that's all well and good. Thinking that way isn't going to get them a bigger house or fancier car.
As for me, I intend to continue what I've always done, which is to work my ass off, keep studying new things and learning new skills, ask my employers for more work and more difficult challenges and keep saving as much of what I make as I can. I find myself to be lot "luckier" that way. YMMV
Great. As will I. But personally, I think I'll also pass on pontificating about how those less successful than myself are envious f~##-ups. YMMV.
]Great. As will I. But personally, I think I'll also pass on pontificating about how those less successful than myself are envious f@%~-ups. YMMV.
I am confident that you and I both know that the reality is that some people are not successful because of "bad luck" or circumstances, and other people are not successful because they made bad choices that they don't want to face up to.
Perhaps you and I have a different perspective about the relative percentages of each of those in the population of unsuccessful people. Perhaps not. Perhaps you and I are debating from different perspectives not because we disagree about those relative percentages, but because you want to appear to be "nice" and that's not nearly as important to me.
The bottom line is that I know for a fact that telling people "yeah, life sucks and you were unlucky" is far less successful at getting people off their butts and improving their lives than "Hey, really you've got a shot at success yourself, and here's how I did it."
Which of those approaches is truly the more helpful? I think that's probably where we really disagree.
I am confident that you and I both know that the reality is that some people are not successful because of "bad luck" or circumstances, and other people are not successful because they made bad choices that they don't want to face up to.
Perhaps you and I have a different perspective about the relative percentages of each of those in the population of unsuccessful people. Perhaps not. Perhaps you and I are debating from different perspectives not because we disagree about those relative percentages, but because you want to appear to be "nice" and that's not nearly as important to me.
The bottom line is that I know for a fact that telling people "yeah, life sucks and you were unlucky" is far less successful at getting people off their butts and improving their lives than "Hey, really you've got a shot at success yourself, and here's how I did it."
Which of those approaches is truly the more helpful? I think that's probably where we really disagree.
Not at all. I completely agree that society should encourage good choices. It's accusations of envy and self-justification that I have a problem with. They come across as self-righteous, and they insult those that don't deserve them while failing to motivate those that do.
That just doesn't seem like a promising way to encourage people.
Not at all. I completely agree that society should encourage good choices. It's accusations of envy and self-justification that I have a problem with. They come across as self-righteous, and they insult those that don't deserve them while failing to motivate those that do.
That just doesn't seem like a promising way to encourage people.
It isn't "accusations of envy and self-justification" when people literally POST envy and self-justification Bugley.
But I'm done here.