6 ms·

I find that rich people, like the millionaires and billionaires, are driven people and driven not necessarily only by money. Extreme financial success is but a

I find that rich people, like the millionaires and billionaires, are driven people and driven not necessarily only by money. Extreme financial success is but a side effect of whatever is driving them whether it be building a huge company or a revolutionizing and industry. And if getting rich is not the end game whether entirely or partially then the work is never done. They are still on a mission and there are more challenges and more worlds to conquer.

lbriner 5y ago
We had a talk once from a man who had sold his company at around 23 years old for several million, a lot to a young man. He said he thought he would live the dream, travel the world, go and do whatever he wanted, waking up at 10am every day and having a cooked breakfast! Then he realised how boring and lonely it was. His friends were all at work while he was "free" and most people don't want to sit by themself at a bar in Tahiti, even if you can afford the drinks! He quickly went back to working/advising companies and found it much more engaging.
- brendoelfrendo 5y ago
  Sounds to me like he left a lot of options on the table. There's a lot more out there than working in corporate or sitting alone at a bar in Tahiti. I'd love to be able to get creative and indulge hobbies as full-time work; it'd be nice to brew beer, or write a book, or take up woodworking, without having to worry about financing or making a profit from any of those activities.
  - jinushaun 5y ago
    Lots of down votes, but I totally agree. I have more hobbies than time. I would not be one of those people bored during retirement.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
      Right? There's so many things I enjoy and would really like to spend more time doing and getting good at. As it is I am constantly having to force myself to abandon some in favor of others. My job just takes about 50hrs of every single week from me and fills it with meaningless drudgery to make someone else money.
    - scruple 5y ago
      I am the same way. I would very quickly fill my time if I stopped working today. I'd have more time to dedicate to strength and conditioning, being in the nearby mountains, expanding my garden, finishing my woodworking projects, getting back into beer brewing, cooking for fun vs. necessity, canning and preserving food, etc. Simple hobbies that are all very deep and rewarding.
  - Amasuriel 5y ago
    I agree with this 100%. I really like gardening and find it very fulfilling, and it can consume a lot of time. I have zero interested however in trying to run a commercially viable vegetable farm. I personally would definitely not work in my field if I made 10+million, but I would have no shortage of things I wanted to do with my time.
- moate 5y ago
  Giong to make some bold guesses here: This is a single man without children. The idea of a single guy in his mid-20s being unable to find meaning in his life seems pretty normal. I'm not saying getting married or having kids mean you're winning at life or are the only ways to have meaning, but as a married person in his 30s, I'll gladly take a few million and retirement to go on adventures with my wife for the rest of my life when I'm not just enjoying my hobbies or visiting loved ones. TL;dr- Different strokes. I would have gleefully retired at 18 given the chance.
  - laurent92 5y ago
    If you feel depressed and lazy, pick someone else’s load and carry it…
    - moate 5y ago
      Not trying to come at you here, but is the implication of this statement I only think I want millions of dollars and no responsibility to a job/"the grass is always greener"?
      - laurent92 5y ago
        No, it was just a quite innocent paraphrasing of a sentence that Jordan Peterson tells to young men in their twenties who struggle to find meaning. “Pick someone’s load.” Take on responsibilities. Which you’ve done. With a family. Thanks for your service, sir.
- genericone 5y ago
  Getting shit done with the team feels great, agreed. I guess our hunter-gatherer group mentality is holding us back from simply enjoying fruits of labor.
- racl101 5y ago
  I know this statement is controversial but honestly: for some people, work gives life meaning. Whether for a salary, or stock or for free. But it should be revised to meaningful work. Not schlepping a mop at 7-11 to eke out next month's rent. Heck, I don't have that level of success, am very middle class in fact, but even I think it's so boring to just sit in a beach sipping drinks for the rest of my life. It means more to me when it's a nice well earned break from the work but for that to be the rest of my life .... I couldn't. I'd always find something else to work on as long as I was able bodied and of sound mind.
  - toss1 5y ago
    Yup, sitting on a beach is lovely for a few hours. Then pretty soon I seek something more interesting. And, even if I had FUll retirement funding, my mind would soon turn to what else can I build — what's interesting and helps the world?
soneil 5y ago
Many years ago, I knew / worked for one of the co-founders of Waste Management. He retired (at retirement age), moved to our neck of the woods, and bought & expanded several working properties (farm, hotel, golf course, etc). His wife was an absolute gem, so I asked her one day - why is he still working at his age. He's surely got enough to retire on. She explained that they moved there to retire, but he was "like a caged lion" and just couldn't stop. So he took up several ventures almost as hobbies. My job was his hobby. tl;dr; I agree. I strongly suspect that for this type, getting rich is a side-effect, not an end goal. It's unimaginable for me - with that money I'd be on a 50ft sailboat doing endless laps of the planet with no real goal or ambition. It's just who they are.
- laurent92 5y ago
  Not too different from my grandfather: As a farmer, he gave everything to his first son and retired at 70. And worked well into his 80ies… Clearly it wasn’t for money. I would say our sense of purpose was built into us for years. His wife built the stone stairs leading to the main door, 3 months before dying. Brave people from ancient times.
throwdecro 5y ago
Having billions of dollars and continuing to work doesn't necessarily mean that you're not driven by money. It can mean that the drive for more money is insatiable. But I agree other factors are involved; if there are rivals left to be crushed, or any capacity for increased public attention remaining, many rich people will keep grinding.
bluetomcat 5y ago
There's different kinds of "rich". Rich, as in, a busy lawyer with lots of customers on his shoulders, who also tries to maintain a respectable social status by having the right house, connections and the right car. For him, stopping work means cutting their income stream and social connections and still having to support this expensive lifestyle. There's also rich with passive income from investments and they really have the option for a leisurely escape.
entropicgravity 5y ago
Work is fine when you either don't have a boss or can quit any time you like.

lbriner 5y ago

We had a talk once from a man who had sold his company at around 23 years old for several million, a lot to a young man. He said he thought he would live the dream, travel the world, go and do whatever he wanted, waking up at 10am every day and having a cooked breakfast! Then he realised how boring and lonely it was. His friends were all at work while he was "free" and most people don't want to sit by themself at a bar in Tahiti, even if you can afford the drinks! He quickly went back to working/advising companies and found it much more engaging.

brendoelfrendo 5y ago
Sounds to me like he left a lot of options on the table. There's a lot more out there than working in corporate or sitting alone at a bar in Tahiti. I'd love to be able to get creative and indulge hobbies as full-time work; it'd be nice to brew beer, or write a book, or take up woodworking, without having to worry about financing or making a profit from any of those activities.
- jinushaun 5y ago
  Lots of down votes, but I totally agree. I have more hobbies than time. I would not be one of those people bored during retirement.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    Right? There's so many things I enjoy and would really like to spend more time doing and getting good at. As it is I am constantly having to force myself to abandon some in favor of others. My job just takes about 50hrs of every single week from me and fills it with meaningless drudgery to make someone else money.
  - scruple 5y ago
    I am the same way. I would very quickly fill my time if I stopped working today. I'd have more time to dedicate to strength and conditioning, being in the nearby mountains, expanding my garden, finishing my woodworking projects, getting back into beer brewing, cooking for fun vs. necessity, canning and preserving food, etc. Simple hobbies that are all very deep and rewarding.
- Amasuriel 5y ago
  I agree with this 100%. I really like gardening and find it very fulfilling, and it can consume a lot of time. I have zero interested however in trying to run a commercially viable vegetable farm. I personally would definitely not work in my field if I made 10+million, but I would have no shortage of things I wanted to do with my time.
moate 5y ago
Giong to make some bold guesses here: This is a single man without children. The idea of a single guy in his mid-20s being unable to find meaning in his life seems pretty normal. I'm not saying getting married or having kids mean you're winning at life or are the only ways to have meaning, but as a married person in his 30s, I'll gladly take a few million and retirement to go on adventures with my wife for the rest of my life when I'm not just enjoying my hobbies or visiting loved ones. TL;dr- Different strokes. I would have gleefully retired at 18 given the chance.
- laurent92 5y ago
  If you feel depressed and lazy, pick someone else’s load and carry it…
  - moate 5y ago
    Not trying to come at you here, but is the implication of this statement I only think I want millions of dollars and no responsibility to a job/"the grass is always greener"?
    - laurent92 5y ago
      No, it was just a quite innocent paraphrasing of a sentence that Jordan Peterson tells to young men in their twenties who struggle to find meaning. “Pick someone’s load.” Take on responsibilities. Which you’ve done. With a family. Thanks for your service, sir.
genericone 5y ago
Getting shit done with the team feels great, agreed. I guess our hunter-gatherer group mentality is holding us back from simply enjoying fruits of labor.
racl101 5y ago
I know this statement is controversial but honestly: for some people, work gives life meaning. Whether for a salary, or stock or for free. But it should be revised to meaningful work. Not schlepping a mop at 7-11 to eke out next month's rent. Heck, I don't have that level of success, am very middle class in fact, but even I think it's so boring to just sit in a beach sipping drinks for the rest of my life. It means more to me when it's a nice well earned break from the work but for that to be the rest of my life .... I couldn't. I'd always find something else to work on as long as I was able bodied and of sound mind.
- toss1 5y ago
  Yup, sitting on a beach is lovely for a few hours. Then pretty soon I seek something more interesting. And, even if I had FUll retirement funding, my mind would soon turn to what else can I build — what's interesting and helps the world?

soneil 5y ago

Many years ago, I knew / worked for one of the co-founders of Waste Management. He retired (at retirement age), moved to our neck of the woods, and bought & expanded several working properties (farm, hotel, golf course, etc). His wife was an absolute gem, so I asked her one day - why is he still working at his age. He's surely got enough to retire on. She explained that they moved there to retire, but he was "like a caged lion" and just couldn't stop. So he took up several ventures almost as hobbies. My job was his hobby. tl;dr; I agree. I strongly suspect that for this type, getting rich is a side-effect, not an end goal. It's unimaginable for me - with that money I'd be on a 50ft sailboat doing endless laps of the planet with no real goal or ambition. It's just who they are.

laurent92 5y ago
Not too different from my grandfather: As a farmer, he gave everything to his first son and retired at 70. And worked well into his 80ies… Clearly it wasn’t for money. I would say our sense of purpose was built into us for years. His wife built the stone stairs leading to the main door, 3 months before dying. Brave people from ancient times.

throwdecro 5y ago

Having billions of dollars and continuing to work doesn't necessarily mean that you're not driven by money. It can mean that the drive for more money is insatiable. But I agree other factors are involved; if there are rivals left to be crushed, or any capacity for increased public attention remaining, many rich people will keep grinding.

bluetomcat 5y ago

There's different kinds of "rich". Rich, as in, a busy lawyer with lots of customers on his shoulders, who also tries to maintain a respectable social status by having the right house, connections and the right car. For him, stopping work means cutting their income stream and social connections and still having to support this expensive lifestyle. There's also rich with passive income from investments and they really have the option for a leisurely escape.

entropicgravity 5y ago

Work is fine when you either don't have a boss or can quit any time you like.