so, how pretty is your girlfriend?
Well, you gotta admit that some people do get more lucky than you are or they are simply more brilliant than you. Most of the things in this world is out of your control, so luck plays a huge factor. As long as the sample size is big enough, there are always people who get lucky, so why sweat it unless you flunked your stat class? 
XSellSide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wonder if I would have been happier in another > profession that didn’t offer the possibilities for > such huge money. I’m always comparing my > salary/net worth to others in this industry around > my age. Every time I read an article about a > 20-something making 7 figures at some hedge fund > it just gets me fired up (what am I doing wrong > here?!). I don’t know. Maybe life would be simpler > as an architect (or whatever) knowing that unless > I own a firm, there is pretty much a ceiling to > what I can earn. Then, I wouldn’t have such > anxiety about my counterparts making 8973457X what > I’m making. > > Ultimately, I know I’m in the right line of work. > I can’t imagine doing anything else. I just want > to get to that next level yesterday.
Well, you gotta admit that some people do get more lucky than you are or they are simply more brilliant than you. Most of the things in this world is out of your control, so luck plays a huge factor. As long as the sample size is big enough, there are always people who get lucky, so why sweat it unless you flunked your stat class? XSellSide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wonder if I would have been happier in another > profession that didn’t offer the possibilities for > such huge money. I’m always comparing my > salary/net worth to others in this industry around > my age. Every time I read an article about a > 20-something making 7 figures at some hedge fund > it just gets me fired up (what am I doing wrong > here?!). I don’t know. Maybe life would be simpler > as an architect (or whatever) knowing that unless > I own a firm, there is pretty much a ceiling to > what I can earn. Then, I wouldn’t have such > anxiety about my counterparts making 8973457X what > I’m making. > > Ultimately, I know I’m in the right line of work. > I can’t imagine doing anything else. I just want > to get to that next level yesterday.
“Money is not everything but it’s fairly close to oxygen…when you need it, there’s no other substitute.”
Not really, when you really need it, you can rob a bank. Then they will put you into jail and you are all set. showtyme Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > “Money is not everything but it’s fairly close to > oxygen…when you need it, there’s no other > substitute.”
KJH Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would like to throw a curve ball at this topic. > How do many of you view money and happiness? > Being a recent college grad, I have always thought > that more money would equal more happiness for a > variety of reasons (lifestyle choices, > convienience, less financial stress, etc). > > Does more money equal more happiness? > > Please disregard the cliche money can’t buy > happiness when replying. after a certain point money is just about keeping score.
you are either happy or not. money has nothing to do with it. there is no conditionality to happiness. happiness is endogenous and money is exogenous. nonetheless, in whichever state of happiness, I prefer more money to less.
SeanC Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > after a certain point money is just about keeping > score. But at what point do you draw the line? For me, it is $2M, then I will have $100k/yr on risk-free interest. Good enough for me to pursue my other interests.
i dont know about you guys, but vacation/time off is the first thing i look at when applying for a job. salary/bonus is 3rd or 4th sometimes. what is the point of making so much if you cant enjoy it now? i’m not saying go and blow it all, but your only young once, and ya you can retire with money, but arent you going to feel guilty spending it then when you could be passing it on to your kids/grandkids?? Spend it now and enjoy yourself. Thats my opinion. by booking and planning my next vacation, whether its once every quarter. makes my workwee/month that much more enjoyable and less stressful when looking at the big picture. There are many articles on the bonuses of high flying i-bankers and hedge fund managers, but are there articles on divorce rates, substance abuses, heart attacks, etc of these people? I think its all in finding a balance. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money to live comfortably and provide for you and yours, especially like me, someone who had to pay for himself through everything from a young age. you need a balance, you can choose to retire when your 45 after working 20 years like a maniac or retire when your 60 after working comfortably. To each their own i say!!!
If you know what you need the money for, then it’s fine to be motivated by money. It’s when you want money for its own sake that people start to get into trouble.
ymc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > SeanC Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > > > > after a certain point money is just about > keeping > > score. > > But at what point do you draw the line? For me, it > is $2M, then I will have $100k/yr on risk-free > interest. Good enough for me to pursue my other > interests. im naturally an empire builder so if there is a line then its pretty far out there. I think it has more to do with how work commitments intrude on the other aspects of you life.
Ya know, my father made a ton of money in his day, but when he died years ago and I looked at him in the casket, I realized something important: you can’t take even take a penny with you to the grave. If money is a considerable part of your life’s motivation, then I believe you’ve got a serious problem–a lack of an eternal view and/or the lack of context of money.
BTW, I struggle with making money a primary motivation–I too often lack that eternal view and context of money. Honestly, it’s just stuff. And most stuff is useless, worthless garbage. Cars depreciate, couches tear, houses become dated, computers become obsolete, electronics are replaced.
…hookers end up dead in hotel pools…
Good point.
I grew up kinda poor and often envied the lifestyles of those who had money and could afford NEW clothes, whose parents didn’t drive beat up 10+ year old cars, whose parents didn’t fight over the money constantly, who had A/C, who went out to eat, etc. Growing up through that conditioned me to think that money would create a better environment. So fortune is a driving factor for me. That being said, per an earlier post, I have been to some of the rougher spots in Mexico performing volunteer work. Many of these people valued friends, family, and the famous siesta. Life is taken at a much slower pace and most people seem alot happier. Most do not have nice things or alot of things for that matter. I can see that money is not a means to happiness, however it seems to be ajacent to some means to happiness. I do keep my life in balance for the most part. I value family, faith, and volunteering. Lately though I’ve been striving for ambition and working hard towards my own personal success.
the chase is bigger than the catch, so you have to strive for something, but every single day should be the way you want to live your life, if that makes sense to anyone
KJH, just remember that you can’t take even a penny with you to the grave.
Money offers a simple yardstick which one may choose to utilize to value certain facets of life. Money is the most transferable tool and is translatable into so many things that we have come to equate money with just about everything: if happiness to you means giving to others, then the more money you have, the more you can give to others; if happiness to you comes from doing nothing at all, then the more money you have, the longer you can supplement your lifestyle of doing nothing at all (Office Space), etc. As our economy has evolved, the free-market society we live in has dictated that, in general, higher skilled or higher performing workers are compensated at a higher rate. Perhaps a non sequitur; however, as people equate their value to society, the simple yardstick of compensation is often used based on the premise that the more valuable you are, the higher you would be paid. A higher salary, a bigger bonus or a higher net worth (the accumulation of the former two, or one’s parents’ accumulation thereof) then equate to a more satisfying life, as highly compensated people have offered more value add to society, in general. Although I would like to believe that I have higher motives for working in this industry, my main goal is to make a lot of money (by making other people a lot of money). Although I don’t see money as an “end all, be all”, I do plan on accumulating enough of it that I can do whatever I want - spending inordinate amounts of time with my family ranks high on the list, as well as lots of traveling, both of which will require more funding on my part.
Rich Money Manger to Prospective Employee: “Would you retire if you made $100 million?” Prospective Employee: “Yes, that’s so much money I wouldn’t need to work ever again!” Rich Money Manager: “That’s precisely why you’ll never make $100 million. NEXT!” (I forget where I heard/read this story, but it makes sense. Those that would be satisfied with $100m will likely not have the right mindset to get there.)