3 ms·
Envy All the Way Up
- chollida1 14y agoThis is very true for all sorts of careers. I remember thinking I was pretty successful when I got my first 6 figure bonus until I realized that my peers had been getting these kinds of bonuses for the past 8 years and the bonus was small potatoes compared to seeing your portfolio growing by 35 percent each year. More success means more successful peers.
- nahname 14y agohttps://twitter.com/Humblebrag https://twitter.com/Humblebrag
- chollida1 14y ago> https://twitter.com/Humblebrag https://twitter.com/Humblebrag Yes, almost by definition, that is part of the lesson of the article. It's almost impossible to say, yes I agree and here is my anecdote without doing so:)
- yegg 14y agoI think this exchange is part of the reason no one talks about this stuff, which is unfortunate.
- arjunnarayan 14y agoYes, and it's why this fantastic post (http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2012/02/the-evolution-of-my-perception-of-money.html http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/blog/2012/02/the-evolution-of...) has never had traction on HN (as far as I know).
- pja 14y agoNB. Your domain appears to have expired Chris.
- paulsutter 14y agoGreat post. Media coverage in silicon valley is slanted towards great financial success. It can aggravate the envy in any of us. The most successful people I know are remarkably disinterested in money as a motivator, and mostly view it as a tool. In most cases, a tool to give control over the work they do more than anything else. Statistics are a useful reminder of the actual incidence of super high incomes in the country. Reading about silicon valley it's easy to think that loads of people are making $100M left and right. But actually it's closer to one in a million: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Census_income_discrepancies.png http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Census_income_discrep...
- michaelochurch 14y agoThe problem is that: (1) Yes, idiots are getting rich. But most idiots are still poor, just like most smart people are poor. No human society has managed to create a lasting positive correlation between merit and success, because we, as people, are too fucking stupid and prone to complacency for that to be stable. (2) People everywhere exaggerate their success and connections to important people. In finance, you encounter this around bonus time because the bonus is a performance review, so everyone claims to have received the top bonus available to their year.
- graeme 14y agoI really like the 'level of fearlessness' analogy. That's my main reason for wanting more money. My actual material needs are pretty low, and my material 'wants' aren't much higher.
- louischatriot 14y agoTotally agree. The simple question "do I really fear doing that" is very useful too. I quit my management consulting job to start a company when I asked myself this and answered "anyway I'll always be able to live comfortably so why not"
- ChuckMcM 14y agoMoney is an attractive nuisance :-) Its too easy to use it as a proxy for 'score'. Kind of silly hearing folks smirk "he's only worth about 50 million." Its a problem I wouldn't mind having but wouldn't sacrifice my family for.
- davros 14y agoEnvy is toxic. There's nothing wrong with ambition or aiming to make lots of money, but when these are driven by envy you maximise angst on missing a goal and you will always have someone to still envy no matter how successful (unless you're literally one in a billion successful).