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I come from a very rough rural town in Kansas, I've personally known dozens of people who worked super hard their whole lives and still died in poverty and desp

I come from a very rough rural town in Kansas, I've personally known dozens of people who worked super hard their whole lives and still died in poverty and despair. I'm not sure what the correlation is between hard work and success, but it's much weaker than at least ten other factors.

remmargorp64 7y ago
It's not about working hard. It's about working "smart" and hard. You can work crazy hard to dig a hole in the middle of a field, but unless you are actually trying to accomplish a goal, the effort is wasted and leads nowhere. In much the same way, you can bust your ass working as a cart fetcher at a grocery store, but unless you are intentional about how you are going to use that hard work to leverage yourself into a better position, you are just going to maintain. Hard work should always be balanced by some amount of self education and intention, or else you run the risk of treading water and getting nowhere. The reality is that learning is an uncomfortable process. A lot of people find a comfortable rut and they seem to prefer just staying in it. This is why public education is so important. It forces people to give themselves at least a bare minimum amount of education. Just imagine how dumb and poor everyone would end up if parents weren't legally required to educate their kids.
- thrwaway69 7y ago
  I agree but by the time you realize anything, you are pretty much burnt. Everyone around you pushes you to become like them in poverty. I have experienced it...now I do stupid things because I want peace instead of going against the momentum. I don't have energy to be smart to get belittled and thrown rocks at every time. It sucks!
- stopads 7y ago
  Nobody in Kansas is wasting their time trying to dig a pointless hole to China, they are all pinching every penny and coming up with every hack, innovation, and shortcut they can to get by. The fact that you think people who failed must be stupid or slow learners says a lot about your worldview.
  - remmargorp64 7y ago
    If they are so smart but still barely scraping by, why don't they move somewhere else where there is more opportunity? I mean... it's not rocket science.
    - stopads 7y ago
      Not everyone is a young male with minimal obligations to take care of other humans.
      - remmargorp64 7y ago
        I grew up in a large family, and we moved over 10 times during my childhood. My parents moved our family every time we needed (like when my dad was laid off and couldn't find work). It's a complete cop-out to say that only young men with no obligations can do such a thing. My parents had tons of obligations and responsibilities, and they found a way to move when necessary. People get way too attached to the idea of staying in one place their whole lives. The world is a big place.

remmargorp64 7y ago

It's not about working hard. It's about working "smart" and hard. You can work crazy hard to dig a hole in the middle of a field, but unless you are actually trying to accomplish a goal, the effort is wasted and leads nowhere. In much the same way, you can bust your ass working as a cart fetcher at a grocery store, but unless you are intentional about how you are going to use that hard work to leverage yourself into a better position, you are just going to maintain. Hard work should always be balanced by some amount of self education and intention, or else you run the risk of treading water and getting nowhere. The reality is that learning is an uncomfortable process. A lot of people find a comfortable rut and they seem to prefer just staying in it. This is why public education is so important. It forces people to give themselves at least a bare minimum amount of education. Just imagine how dumb and poor everyone would end up if parents weren't legally required to educate their kids.

thrwaway69 7y ago
I agree but by the time you realize anything, you are pretty much burnt. Everyone around you pushes you to become like them in poverty. I have experienced it...now I do stupid things because I want peace instead of going against the momentum. I don't have energy to be smart to get belittled and thrown rocks at every time. It sucks!
stopads 7y ago
Nobody in Kansas is wasting their time trying to dig a pointless hole to China, they are all pinching every penny and coming up with every hack, innovation, and shortcut they can to get by. The fact that you think people who failed must be stupid or slow learners says a lot about your worldview.
- remmargorp64 7y ago
  If they are so smart but still barely scraping by, why don't they move somewhere else where there is more opportunity? I mean... it's not rocket science.
  - stopads 7y ago
    Not everyone is a young male with minimal obligations to take care of other humans.
    - remmargorp64 7y ago
      I grew up in a large family, and we moved over 10 times during my childhood. My parents moved our family every time we needed (like when my dad was laid off and couldn't find work). It's a complete cop-out to say that only young men with no obligations can do such a thing. My parents had tons of obligations and responsibilities, and they found a way to move when necessary. People get way too attached to the idea of staying in one place their whole lives. The world is a big place.