4 ms·
"earned" is a more complicated concept than you make it out to be. did you "earn" the particular set of aptitudes and interests that made you a "high earner" a
by exit 16y ago
"earned" is a more complicated concept than you make it out to be.
did you "earn" the particular set of aptitudes and interests that made you a "high earner" at this juncture in history? i'm pretty sure you were just lucky in that respect.
you mention "or my family before me" - it takes quite a particular set of beliefs to say that you are entitled to what your ancestors earned.
what if you inherit tremendous wealth from ancestors who "earned" it through tremendous injustice (slavery, exploiting addiction, etc.)? even if you go on to leverage that wealth legitimately, how do you compare your earnings against those of someone who started out differently.
- CapitalistCartr 16y agoI didn't inherit any money. As for my aptitudes and interests, they didn't make me a 'high earner'; they didn't make me a dime. My work to apply them did. I see a lot of that attitude, that because I was born smart is why I have the job I do now. I wasn't born smart. That information didn't start out in my brain. I spent a lot of Saturdays as a kid at the library, reading non-fiction. I spend a lot of time now, reading non-fiction. In other words, I study. I have a career coach, that helps me make plans to accomplish my goals. A lot of work went into this 'born success'. I think it's only perceived that way because others don't want to see that they can do it, too.
- exit 16y agono, i'm not claiming you didn't put effort into exercising those aptitudes. that goes without saying. you were still profoundly lucky in having those aptitudes, in recognizing them, in having the opportunity to exercise effort, and so on.