Shit life syndrome.

[Danger Dave]

you got 1 life. Use it.

 

[Congo66]

Go to a geriatric ward in a hospital.
Dying younger seems appealing to me when compared to ending up in a place like that. It's the same with care homes.
If I can't take care of myself, I don't want to last a bit longer with someone washing, dressing and feeding me like I'm a baby.

 

[HHJ]

you got 1 life. Use it.

 

[SugarKrok]

Ok...but why are taking antidepressants grouped into escapist outlets like doing illegal drugs or alcohol?

 

[Oeshon]

Even at poverty level the American standard of living is 36 times better than the global average. It sounds like a bunch of spoiled fucks complaining about people that have it better than them.

Yep. I have fulltime staff in the Philippines that make $400 bucks a month. They love that shit too as they can work from home and don't need to commute 2 hours each way in Manilla.

You have to be a complete deadshit to be on minimum wage in a western country. If you just show up to work, work hard, and are trustworthy, most people will find promotions. I had a friend working minimum wage at McDonalds in Austalia. He worked his way up through the company and is now an area manager making 6 figures. He didn't even finish high school.

Also most people take life for granted. Too obsessed with brands and social media and how the 1% live. It is self-inflicted depression and I don't feel bad for these idiots at all.

 

[Cpt Migraine]

Yep. I have fulltime staff in the Philippines that make $400 bucks a month. They love that shit too as they can work from home and don't need to commute 2 hours each way in Manilla.

You have to be a complete deadshit to be on minimum wage in a western country. If you just show up to work, work hard, and are trustworthy, most people will find promotions. I had a friend working minimum wage at McDonalds in Austalia. He worked his way up through the company and is now an area manager making 6 figures. He didn't even finish high school.

Also most people take life for granted. Too obsessed with brands and social media and how the 1% live. It is self-inflicted depression and I don't feel bad for these idiots at all.

While you're kind of right..

What ts is talking about is perception..

Only 20 percent of the population can be the top 20%.. just like only 1% can be the top 1%..

What that means in standard etc isn't important as you won't have what that whatever % you're aiming for have..

What life contains isn't as important what others have.. you won't be pulling ass in your brand new bmw if everyone else drives ferraris.. which ironically would make the guy in the bmw poor..

 

[Cpt Migraine]

Even at poverty level the American standard of living is 36 times better than the global average. It sounds like a bunch of spoiled fucks complaining about people that have it better than them.

Yeah.. and the glue sniffing ukranian street kids are a bunch of spoiled assholes compared to the dying african kids surrounded by vultures..

The ukrainian kids should pick themselves up by the bootstraps.. they have every opportunity..

 

[Oeshon]

If we are satisfied then there is no pressure for growth, if we are never satisfied there is never any rest!

That is actually a deep topic that I struggle with.

I found myself getting a bit too complacent a few years ago. Back when I started making real money and was able to free up all of my time, I thought 'yes I've made it bro!'. Ended up drinking and partying too much and getting a bit aimless. I came to the realization that you need to constantly have some challenge and goals in life, but you also need to be able to find comfort and rewards for yourself.

Now I set goals (both business-related and personal goals) and push myself to work to achieve them. I also cut back on hedonistic stuff a bit so that when I do partake, I enjoy it a lot more. Too much hedonism is a bad thing and i can see why rich celebs end up losing the plot. Likewise, you dont want to just work and stress all day and never take time to enjoy life.

I'm still fighting back and forth on the balance of this but the last few years have been better than ever.

I could go on and on about this subject. it breaks off into things like time management, flow state, min/max lifestyle, goal setting, etc

One thing I'll say is poor people with bad life balance look at the businessman eating expensive lunches and think "fuck that guy". What I've learned is that guy is min/maxing his life to the fullest to take advantage of both hedonistic pleasures but also pursuing growth. It isn't that he is just a gluttonist bastard, he might be making a very conscious life decision that you haven't occurred to think about.

 

[Oeshon]

While you're kind of right..

What ts is talking about is perception..

Only 20 percent of the population can be the top 20%.. just like only 1% can be the top 1%..

What that means in standard etc isn't important as you won't have what that whatever % you're aiming for have..

What life contains isn't as important what others have.. you won't be pulling ass in your brand new bmw if everyone else drives ferraris.. which ironically would make the guy in the bmw poor..

I get that and I don't have any sympathy for those people. they need to turn the tv off and get off social media, and stop worrying about how everyone else is living.

most of those people have bad lifestyle habits that have put them where they are in life.

I was happy when I was poor and I'm happy when I was rich. I didn't get to where I am by being depressed about other people doing better than I am.

I also have a lot of poor friends or people I meet that are living incredible lives and they are really happy. if you are a slave to social media and derive your social value by comparing yourself to everyone else, you are always going to have a bad time.

 

[Cpt Migraine]

I get that and I don't have any sympathy for those people. they need to turn the tv off and get off social media, and stop worrying about how everyone else is living.

most of those people have bad lifestyle habits that have put them where they are in life.

I was happy when I was poor and I'm happy when I was rich. I didn't get to where I am by being depressed about other people doing better than I am.

I also have a lot of poor friends or people I meet that are living incredible lives and they are really happy. if you are a slave to social media and derive your social value by comparing yourself to everyone else, you are always going to have a bad time.

True that..

But you do realize we are basically naked monkies.. asking a majority to realize and act on that is a lot..

Probably enough to put you out of business without knowing what you do.. someones fortune always depend on others percieving the value of your service/product as more than it costs you to produce it/staff it..

Basically.. without suckers we're all eating roots..

 

[Milgrim]

You can be happy with nothing and you can be miserable with everything. Make your choice and get on with it.

 

[Deleted member 499399]

I think there are 3 perspectives to look at this from.
1 Society. As a society we should recognize the wealth gap and poverty that people live in. We should make changes to allow people the opportunity to advance themselves and put in safety nets to prevent the worst forms of poverty. IMO education and family planning are the greatest things we can do to eliminate poverty.
2 culturally. Stop idolizing the wealthy. MTV cribs baller lifestyle is just not reality. I know very little about Kobe but the only good thing I’ve heard anyone say about him was that he made a lot of money without going to college (my apologies if he was a great guy I’ve never heard anything about that) and that he was a gifted athlete. That’s just not the lives of most people. Even being poor in the states would be an envious position to someone in a third world country. Check your American privilege and turn off the tv.
3 individually. As an individual you have to accept responsibility for your own life. Play out the cards you were dealt to the best of your ability. Work hard and educate yourself. The poorest man in the world needs to obtain very little to move up to the 2nd poorest man. Set goals and keep moving forward. And if you can’t do it for yourself at least try to push forward to set the example for your children.

 

[Oeshon]

True that..

But you do realize we are basically naked monkies.. asking a majority to realize and act on that is a lot..

Probably enough to put you out of business without knowing what you do.. someones fortune always depend on others percieving the value of your service/product as more than it costs you to produce it/staff it..

Basically.. without suckers we're all eating roots..

That's true, but most won't ever change. It is nice to reach some people though.

 

[Lovelyboy]

The cure is to turn back time. Modernity was a mistake.

 

[TheOldMan]

Fascinating thread and article and several really good posts.
I'll be thinking this one over for a while.

I'm torn in a sense.....on one hand I've always believed in having fun and making the most of my time because life is so short as it is. Not trying is worse than failing and all of that.
On the other I don't really blame people for wanting to check out early from this wicked world.

Go to a geriatric ward in a hospital.
Dying younger seems appealing to me when compared to ending up in a place like that. It's the same with care homes.
If I can't take care of myself, I don't want to last a bit longer with someone washing, dressing and feeding me like I'm a baby.

I've felt this way since I was very young and it's really led to my generally live it up type of mentality. I agree completely man, fuck not being independent and needing someone to wipe your ass.

So many angles and variables to this.
Balance, opportunity, perception, priorities, luck, regret, love.

I'm rarely at a loss for words, but this one I need to think through some.
Thanks for sharing that article TS, good stuff.

 

[Mike]

Hmm. A topic I've talked about at length on here. And recently too. You were in that thread I believe @Phlog

As usual people tend to take really polarized black and white views on this topic, but it's complex. YES, there are tons of opportunities here. Even when living in horrific poverty there are ways to escape.

No shit sherlock.

This is so obvious and people hammer on like this basic statement is somehow helpful or meaningful. It isn't about if opportunities exist or not. It's about if enough opportunity exists for the average person who has limited resources to escape poverty. Is that a likely outcome. And the answer is no.

 

[Mike]

I've noticed the most judgemental people on this topic saying what poor people should and shouldn't do, didn't grow up poor. Never had to be desperate or hungry or crazy. facing the possibility of losing your entire life because there's no way you can get $250 by Monday.

If you want to pop out kids and refuse to work like a useless asshole, the government will feed and house you. In such excess you can flip some of it for drug money.

If you want to work but don't have the skills or education to find a good job, you are probably fucked. You won't qualify for free food, medical, or education if you work a full time job. Even though we now live in a nation where tens of millions of jobs are either minimum wage or a dollar two above.

Jobs that our government subsidizes corporate America to create. Because, ostensibly, they are helping the country by creating these jobs. But nobody can afford to live working at one of these jobs. And people have adopted the talking point that nobody is SUPPOSED to live on these jobs. If you are in that situation you're just a loser that isn't trying.

But these jobs are such a large portion of the unskilled labor market, and there are so many unskilled laborers, by default quite obviously people will end up depending on these jobs.

Even though many of these jobs are part time, they will all want you to have open availability so you can work 20 to 30 hours a week. They will not want to work around a school schedule. If you are living alone, you are going to need 2 of these jobs to survive. It will already be a challenge making two of these shit jobs coordinate schedules so you can show up at both.

You are not going to have time to go to school. Or the money or most likely the energy. Hey let's get roommates so we can work one job and go to school full time. Ok now you roll random Chaos Dice for everything you try to do. Because other crazy poor people have invaded your life.

What's that you say, why crazy? Well Jim, mental illness is rampant and often untreated in the poor. Combo of the stigma against seeking care, lack of access to insurance, and lack of education. No, poor people often can't afford mental or physical health care. Booze and drugs are relatively cheap though.

 

[Mike]

Also whatever plans you set in motion, better hope you never get sick or hurt. Or your idiot roommate gets you evicted or stiffs you on rent or the couple you're roommates with breaks up 6 months into your lease. Because the smallest unexpected financial problem is game over when you live paycheck to paycheck.

I was working on my degree full time when I ended up homeless. Had to drop out and focus on surviving instead. Took 2 years to get back on my feet in an economically depressed area. And another two to get the resources to move to where I am now and get established here.

But if it wasn't for my best friend and his family, I would have died. And frankly, I'm above average on the intelligence and toughness scale compared to others I've met from a similar background. A little bad luck goes a long way when you already have nothing.

 

[Cole train]

I've noticed the most judgemental people on this topic saying what poor people should and shouldn't do, didn't grow up poor. Never had to be desperate or hungry or crazy. facing the possibility of losing your entire life because there's no way you can get $250 by Monday.

If you want to pop out kids and refuse to work like a useless asshole, the government will feed and house you. In such excess you can flip some of it for drug money.

If you want to work but don't have the skills or education to find a good job, you are probably fucked. You won't qualify for free food, medical, or education if you work a full time job. Even though we now live in a nation where tens of millions of jobs are either minimum wage or a dollar two above.

Jobs that our government subsidizes corporate America to create. Because, ostensibly, they are helping the country by creating these jobs. But nobody can afford to live working at one of these jobs. And people have adopted the talking point that nobody is SUPPOSED to live on these jobs. If you are in that situation you're just a loser that isn't trying.

But these jobs are such a large portion of the unskilled labor market, and there are so many unskilled laborers, by default quite obviously people will end up depending on these jobs.

Even though many of these jobs are part time, they will all want you to have open availability so you can work 20 to 30 hours a week. They will not want to work around a school schedule. If you are living alone, you are going to need 2 of these jobs to survive. It will already be a challenge making two of these shit jobs coordinate schedules so you can show up at both.

You are not going to have time to go to school. Or the money or most likely the energy. Hey let's get roommates so we can work one job and go to school full time. Ok now you roll random Chaos Dice for everything you try to do. Because other crazy poor people have invaded your life.

What's that you say, why crazy? Well Jim, mental illness is rampant and often untreated in the poor. Combo of the stigma against seeking care, lack of access to insurance, and lack of education. No, poor people often can't afford mental or physical health care. Booze and drugs are relatively cheap though.

Its all around the world same really

Heres a story

In russia some years back started opening 24/7 electronics stores like you could buy a big ass tv in the middle of the night.

Everyone thought it was stupid until it was noticed that those stores did good.

Reason was because a lot of people were working like 3 jobs and had no time to buy stuff during the day.

 

[Mike]

Its all around the world same really

Heres a story

In russia some years back started opening 24/7 electronics stores like you could buy a big ass tv in the middle of the night.

Everyone thought it was stupid until it was noticed that those stores did good.

Reason was because a lot of people were working like 3 jobs and had no time to buy stuff during the day.

Haha I work graveyard here because it has the highest shift differential. So I'm always at walmart buying shit at 4am




Got to go where the money is. I hate the myth that the poor are poor because we're lazy. I do whatever god awful work I have to do at whatever horrible hour, and I work like an absolute madman. But you can run as fast as you want on a hamster wheel.

You're not going anywhere.