How many of you have 'made it'?

[meRn]

"Hippy social terms"..did you get that off your local right wing radio station? Sagewig raises a good point that there is no corellation between having lots of money and being happy. While you are right about the conventional definition of wealth, lets not turn this into a dictionary argument.




Huh were you trying to be sarcastic or funny here?

It is hypocritical that you ask him to put links and statistics yet you include none in your post.



"kumbaya philosophy" There you go again with the made up phrases.

Stop putting people down for having a different take. Be open to other people's opinions.

He's just expressing his opinions, I've read all your posts, your new here/new account, why the attitude? You have been talking down negatively towards people in your short time here.

[si@ld]

As it has been said many times over, money does not equal happiness! I do *allright*. I have friends that earn far too much cash, they have no idea what to do with it. But none of them are happy. I have another mate who makes just enough to live day to day, he really struggles tbh... but he is the happiest out of all of us!

Si

[1Nt3N37 B4113R]

He's just expressing his opinions, I've read all your posts, your new here/new account, why the attitude? You have been talking down negatively towards people in your short time here.

I found Aspen's post to be arrogant. Sagewig is entitled to his view on wealth regardless if it is correct or not.

Also, if you don't like my posts you can leave the forum. No one is making you read them.

[AndyH]

Charity is a great way to get out of a tax bracket

Please explain.

[chrisranjana]

A wise man once said

"Those who don't have money are poor, but those who have nothing but money are still poorer"

Well it depends on each individual whether he/she has made it or not. If you have lived/living your life satisfactorily and if you are respected among your peers I would say you are almost there.

Financially there is no end for the definition of success. A company which makes a million dollar revenue this year will aim for 2 million next year and so on and so forth.

[aspen]

(We'll assume Chris' wife didn't marry him for his cash :P )

She didn't heh... she met me when I was poor and thought was I a bum. I still rub it in every once in awhile.

But, you summed up how I feel well, but that is not what I'm trying to get across.

The point I've been trying to make, repeatedly, is that you cannot generalize everyone based on a 4 word saying. Whether or not the pursuit of money makes you happy, or unhappy, is going to depend on your own specific circumstances, your own specific personality, and exactly what you sacrifice along the way for the money. Also, even if you sacrifice everything, some people are still happy that way. See that "Pursuit of Happyness" movie this weekend, I believe that guy sacrificed darn near everything for a better job and a better life and I don't think the guy the movie is based on regrets it.

So the people coming down on the original poster about his pursuit of money really are doing nothing but trying to bully their own personal circumstance on someone else. They need to realize that what fits their life does not fit every life and they cannot generalize and say that he will be unhappy, or happy, if he does this or that.

[aspen]

I found Aspen's post to be arrogant. Sagewig is entitled to his view on wealth regardless if it is correct or not.

Also, if you don't like my posts you can leave the forum. No one is making you read them.

No, I came down on Sagewing not for expressing his (or is it her? Honestly I don't know, thought it was her) opinion, but for saying we're wrong for thinking differently. I did not say that he was wrong, I said he was wrong for saying we were wrong. I said he, and most of the other posters, were simplifying a complex issue.

My source for the definition of wealth is not a right wing radio station, it is Merriam Webster (m-w.com) and dictionary.com. Is there a vast right wing conspiracy to control the dictionaries?

I have absolutely no problems with someone who wants to live a spartan lifestyle and dedicate their life to social causes. However I have problem with being told I use a word incorrectly by someone who is actually using it incorrectly. I also have a problem with people generalizing everyone who pursues money into a category of being unhappy and on antidepressants. Finally I have a problem with people who repeatedly talk of proof and evidence without actually offering any.

(by the way, in an earlier post in this thread I linked to 3 separate university studies that discuss this very issue, all of which more or less conclude that either money does make people more happy, or money doesn't have any correlation, none concluded that money makes people unhappy. So don't accuse me of not posting evidence)

Of course, you can point to lottery winners, but when you consider that the demographic that is most likely to play the lottery is also the demographic that is least capable of handling sudden increases in wealth, that is hardly meaningful. I saw a news report over the summer that had a survey that showed among lower income people the majority thought the most likely way to become wealthy was by winning the lottery, among higher income people it was investing and working hard.

Of course, I will defer to the b-baller of the Internet and his infinite wisdom on this matter (that time I'm being sarcastic).

[Bleys]

Sagewing is indeed a he.

To respond to something Chris said on the first page of this thread:

I am of the opinion that money can, and regularly does, buy happiness. Money is freedom. The act of having money itself doesn't equate to happiness, but wealth gives you immense freedom to do things that do equate to happiness.

I agree with that assessment. Having money won't make you automatically happy, and rich people can certainly be miserable (same way poor people can be happy), but money can help facilitate happiness. It's certainly (obviously?) not the only component to being happy, or a necessary one for many people. But anyone who thinks money doesn't buy happiness, is welcome to send me their money.

[Sagewing]

Amazing how worked-up people get over this kind of stuff!

[fatnewt]

Indeed.

It's also worth saying that money only buys happiness when properly applied. Money can buy you pants, too, but not if you spend it on beer.

[Nick Carlson]

Money can buy you pants, too, but not if you spend it on beer.

A lesson I have yet to learn.

[Hartmann]

I'll try to steer this conversation back in the right direction.

I have not made it to where I want to be, which is able to do what I love, live in a modest house, see the world, and have time to volunteer in an organization such as the Peace Corps.

I do not want my job to consume my family life or time with friends and to be honest, money isn't that big of a deal. Why do I need a ton of cash? So I can spend it on furniture, cars, trinkets, etc. that will just turn to dust when I die?

I'd rather take the money I make, save it, then see this amazing world, and donate my time and cash to a cause that will help people long after I am gone.

[dvharrison]

jonny if we had the answer to making a million with a unique venture, don't you think we'd all be doing it before we gave you the solution? Oh, just me then?

I left school and did office job after office job and got caught up in angry customers, angry managers and downright unfair office politics.

I started web design when I was 25 and still working as a secretary. My theory (like many that I have seen disappear) was that i could do web design during the evening and office work during the day.

But when i got pregnant with my first child, I decide once I'd had her, to bite the bullet and run my web design firm from home.

6 years, one child and a few college course and self-help books later, I am earning as much as I did when I was a secretary for the Multinational firm to hours that suit me.

I would like to say that I've made it, but what is making it? At what point of your life, do you utter the words "I have made it?"

The thing is, I want more so I cannot honestly say that I've made it yet. I've done much much better than I thought I would 6 years ago but I'm always hungry for ambition.

Material-wise, I'm doing OK but fulfillment wise I am well and truly there, seen it, done it, got the t-shirt.

[Bleys]

Off Topic:

Money can buy you pants, too, but not if you spend it on beer.

You are obviously unfamiliar with my patent-pending Heineken trousers.

[Haleden]

I'm at the stage in my career where I should probably be very happy. I am in a fantastic job, earning way, way above average for someone my age (In fact, probably well above average for someone ten years my senior) and living a lifestyle most people in their early twenties would take quite happily. It's wierd though, because three years ago to the day I was a complete mess; unemployed, living off the social, technically homeless and had quite literally not a penny to my name, yet I'm no more satisfied with life now than I was then.

I have this burning desire to do my own thing, to make myself a millionnaire from nothing. It's actually struck me that ambition is in fact a character defect rather than a quality, created by complete dissatisfaction and unhappiness in my current life. But ultimately, I want to be my own man, my own boss. And be immenssely wealthy with it. There are so many people in my life who thought I would fail at anything I tried. I've already proved them wrong, I just want to prove them even more wrong.

I've got what I believe to be a fantastic idea to bring myself this lifestyle I so desire. It's such a big project though, and it's so hard to see past the current day. So hard to keep going.

I need some inspiration. There must be plenty of people on here who have been where I am now. People who had the balls to do something and 'made it'. Made it to the stage in their life where they are completely happy.

I'd love to hear your stories...

Good. Now that you've achieved the financial success you've wanted, stop being a workaholic and make your next goal the focus of your life. You need to change your lifestyle to conquer the next aspect of your life. Heed my words.

[Robert Warren]

Money can buy you pants, too, but not if you spend it on beer.

Just on a side note. If you have enough money, you don't necessarily need pants.

[Datura]

Just on a side note. If you have enough money, you don't necessarily need pants.

That is true, we call the people on our island barefoot rich. All look alike: comfortable.

[alteredskate]

I'm no more satisfied with life now than I was then.

Here is the thing. You have to identify what makes you happy first, before you start pursuing it. Discover what you value. Its different for everyone.

I think wmaster's statement is some of the most solid wisdom in this thread.

Personally, I've been working on figuring that out lately. Reading books like Think & Grow Rich, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective, and Unlimited Power (as well as many others) has given me a lot to think about and absorb. I started out reading them to rid myself of procrastination, moving on from book to book when they "didn't work". I've come to realize lately that all of it is good information and there isn't going to be one final answer. It's a process. I'm starting to look at my life in the same way. I'm not trying to reach a plateau to say "I've made it". I'm always in motion, and if I get to a point where I stop moving up, then I must be going back down again. I want to always be climbing, and to enjoy the journey as I do.

[Sagewing]

That is true, we call the people on our island barefoot rich. All look alike: comfortable.

Yea, we have a lot of barefoot rich on our island, too. Being on that island and running my company over the sattelite dish makes me feel pretty wealthy, but it didn't actually cost that much! You don't have to wear pants, too!

[Datura]

I want to always be climbing, and to enjoy the journey as I do.

Looking back at my life: the moments I was moving forward, the times that were busiest and the periods of intensity always were the most satisfying. I hope that I can go on forever like this, never having to stop at an arbitrary age, never having to stop enjoying the doing. That is fulfilling and satisfying. Having enough money to feel secure helps, but just that pursuit of the greenback was never my goal -- Datura

[Datura]

Yea, we have a lot of barefoot rich on our island, too. Being on that island and running my company over the sattelite dish makes me feel pretty wealthy, but it didn't actually cost that much! You don't have to wear pants, too!

Yes, you need a certain spirit to go off on your own, live where you like, do not care if the money flows today or tomorrow. And guess what: when you have that easy going attitude you will make money because people are comfortable around you, you do not pressure them and customers like that. Most often I have become friends with my customers because of that kind of laid back lifestyle.

It also translates right back into your work. A happy mindset lets you do good work -- Datura

[1Nt3N37 B4113R]

Yes, you need a certain spirit to go off on your own, live where you like, do not care if the money flows today or tomorrow. And guess what: when you have that easy going attitude you will make money because people are comfortable around you, you do not pressure them and customers like that. Most often I have become friends with my customers because of that kind of laid back lifestyle.

Wow that is quite possibly the most nonsensical post I have ever read.

[1Nt3N37 B4113R]

Think & Grow Rich, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective, and Unlimited Power (as well as many others)

Personaly, I prefer Charmin.

[Robert Warren]

Personaly, I prefer Charmin.

Heh. "Unlimited Power". I remember reading that book, getting a real charge out of it, annoying my friends with the wisdom of the Robbins and the alleged power of NLP.

Some days I really do miss 1988. Guns 'n Roses were just peaking as a kickin' band then, you know. Only faded denim's power held back the looming Soviet darkness. Such a great time to be a clueless teenager with no ability to gauge intellectual depth in reading material.

[sword-]

Any of you heard about 'The Law of Attraction'?

Anyways I really enjoy reading the comments in this thread and felt like I should comment. I'm a 23 year old guy. I was in college for a while, got out for a while b/c I was depressed now I am refocusing my energy into working, saving up, and getting back.

My friend and I have said for about a year that 'we need to do something' as in start a business. Luckily I've encountered small business owners and made a few connections here and there...I've learned a lot as well.

I've also read some great books that have given me ideas, inspired me.

-Think and Grow Rich
-How to Win Friends and Influence People
-7 Habits of Highly Effective People
-Rich Dad Poor Dad
-The Richest Man in Babylon
-The Tipping Point

Not to mention other stuff I reguarly indulge in reading.

My goal is to be well off. Money can solve worldly problems and it can be a tool to get things you want, not just material. But I am in no way greedy. I know if I make it on my own, become a free agent then I will be able to live by a schedule I like, do greater good than being confined to a normal 9 to 5 and ultimately be happy because I will have more time to do stuff I like.

There is a difference in being 'rich' and being 'wealthy'.