4 ms·

I mean... good? Isn't this the end goal for the vast majority of us? What's the point of having a bajillion dollars if you can't go do the things you want to d

I mean... good? Isn't this the end goal for the vast majority of us? What's the point of having a bajillion dollars if you can't go do the things you want to do in life? Why are we all spending 80 hours a week grinding away at a startup or busting our asses in the corporate world if not to elevate ourselves beyond the need for money?

bogwog 4y ago
Ego, power, and/or mental illness? Zuckerberg and Musk come to mind.
amelius 4y ago
The journey is more important than the destination. Etc. etc.
personjerry 4y ago
Because real life has feature creep!
hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
I think this was from a movie or something, but it was along the lines of: "The guy then asked the tycoon, whose net worth was 300 million dollars, 'Why do it? Why work so hard to get 300 million dollars? Why not just stop when you get to $30 million or something?' To which the tycoon replied 'And that is why you'll never have 3 million dollars'" Point being, the type of folks who want to work super hard to become uber rich are generally not the type of folks that pine to lie on the beach. This is, of course, a bit of an exaggeration (I mean, Jeff Bezos seems to be "living his best lift" right now), but I think there are some kernels of truth in the type of hyper-driven personality that causes one to become super rich in the first place. If you're just concerned about becoming "moderately wealthy" so you can relax, there are a lot easier ways to do it.
- ryandrake 4y ago
  I don't think I buy that argument at all. There are a lot of hyper-driven people stuck in poverty or drudgery because the dice rolled poorly in the past (or at birth), and there are a lot of not-driven people who just kind of aimlessly slipped into their wealth. Daddy paid for Stanford and then they just kind of rode the pre-laid train tracks to their executive position at a tech company. The more I live, the more I no longer buy the whole "be driven and work hard leads to wealth" fantasy. Yes, when you get up to the level of Bezos, Musk, Gates, and so on, they're both very lucky and very hyper-driven. But when you're talking about the "mere" 10-30 millionaires, I'm not convinced it's much more than good luck and connections. When I think back to the few VPs and SVPs and whatnot I've encountered in my own work life, I don't recall many that seemed to have that driven "Bezos/Musk" personality. They were bored in meetings, golfing, and occasionally sending E-mail announcement to the division. They were not writing code until 10PM and waking up at 5AM to do a code review with the offshore developer team, all while watching their checking account and wondering whether the whole division would be laid off next month.
  - slothtrop 4y ago
    > There are a lot of hyper-driven people stuck in poverty Doubt. Working to provide doesn't automatically make you "hyper-driven".
jokethrowaway 4y ago
Overworkers and overachievers generally can't stop working. That's why they're successful. I'm planning to retire soon and I won't stop working, I'll just stop working for idiots and start working more on my own ideas.

bogwog 4y ago

Ego, power, and/or mental illness? Zuckerberg and Musk come to mind.

amelius 4y ago

The journey is more important than the destination. Etc. etc.

personjerry 4y ago

Because real life has feature creep!

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago

I think this was from a movie or something, but it was along the lines of: "The guy then asked the tycoon, whose net worth was 300 million dollars, 'Why do it? Why work so hard to get 300 million dollars? Why not just stop when you get to $30 million or something?' To which the tycoon replied 'And that is why you'll never have 3 million dollars'" Point being, the type of folks who want to work super hard to become uber rich are generally not the type of folks that pine to lie on the beach. This is, of course, a bit of an exaggeration (I mean, Jeff Bezos seems to be "living his best lift" right now), but I think there are some kernels of truth in the type of hyper-driven personality that causes one to become super rich in the first place. If you're just concerned about becoming "moderately wealthy" so you can relax, there are a lot easier ways to do it.

ryandrake 4y ago
I don't think I buy that argument at all. There are a lot of hyper-driven people stuck in poverty or drudgery because the dice rolled poorly in the past (or at birth), and there are a lot of not-driven people who just kind of aimlessly slipped into their wealth. Daddy paid for Stanford and then they just kind of rode the pre-laid train tracks to their executive position at a tech company. The more I live, the more I no longer buy the whole "be driven and work hard leads to wealth" fantasy. Yes, when you get up to the level of Bezos, Musk, Gates, and so on, they're both very lucky and very hyper-driven. But when you're talking about the "mere" 10-30 millionaires, I'm not convinced it's much more than good luck and connections. When I think back to the few VPs and SVPs and whatnot I've encountered in my own work life, I don't recall many that seemed to have that driven "Bezos/Musk" personality. They were bored in meetings, golfing, and occasionally sending E-mail announcement to the division. They were not writing code until 10PM and waking up at 5AM to do a code review with the offshore developer team, all while watching their checking account and wondering whether the whole division would be laid off next month.
- slothtrop 4y ago
  > There are a lot of hyper-driven people stuck in poverty Doubt. Working to provide doesn't automatically make you "hyper-driven".

jokethrowaway 4y ago

Overworkers and overachievers generally can't stop working. That's why they're successful. I'm planning to retire soon and I won't stop working, I'll just stop working for idiots and start working more on my own ideas.