The poor bastards who landed on Plymouth Rock and tried to establish a commune learned real quick why they should not take measured risks!!!! They nearly all died.
Happiness and sadness arise mutually. Nothing can change this primordial fact of human nature, though YOU, by a deep and complete realization of this, can achieve a detachment. It was stated earlier that the acquisition of money removes some problems and adds others, which is another way of stating the basic duality. I know, you're thinking "I'd rather have these problems than those problems," but keep in mind that problems are problems. An example from my own life... I have a friend who has been rich his entire life, he's nearly 70 now. His day can literally be spoiled, I've seen it happen, by the improper presentation of a bottle of wine by his waitstaff. And I don't just mean he's pissed off right now and in 10 minutes we're happily chatting again. I mean that that was the day's downer for him. And another example. Early this year I began making enough money online that I no longer "had to work for a living", though to be honest I did have to log in for about 10 minutes a day. But that's not working. Anyway, seems great, eh? I was ecstatic. All spring I took trips, or went on long hikes (which I always said I wanted to do if I ever "won the lottery"). Around the third month of this, I was already becoming aware of a huge kind of dissatisfaction creeping stealthily up on me. Couldn't put my finger on it. One day on the trail, it became a bit clearer. Like my rich friend, I had eliminated too much of the "suck factor" (a term I made up for myself) from my life. It occured to me that the old duality was not gone, not one bit, and that new problems were arising. After filling myself up on entertainment and travel, I was wondering "now what?" I needed suck factor. I've been newly considering the problem since, and at this point in the year's fascinating devolpments, I've provisionally come to the conclusion that one thing I DO want is to not have to work an 8 hour day (I'm getting too old for it), and that I DO have to have some work every day that I do NOT want to perform, but must. If I choose the involuntary suck factor, I can can limit the swings of the duality to tolerable levels. Henry Thoreau was getting at much the same when he advocated the elimination of excess luxury from one's life. It's so true.
this person is just a spoiled little asshole - and for sure has been his entire life. i bet he didn't work a single minute in his life and inherited all his wealth. this is exactly what i was referring to in the former post - not knowing how it feels to live without money - and so having absolutely no clue about the real world and real problems. maybe there will soon come a time where this person is going to have serious problems - and i mean SERIOUS - probably so serious that even money won't help. the wrong bottle of wine will no longer be an issue then...
Things that make me happy: Nice Big house Nice Car Cable TV Going out to eat playing golf playing poker Consumer Electronics/gadgets A maid A landscaper Not working ridiculous hours What makes me the happiest though is my fiance. So since money can buy me everything that makes me happy, and I already have my fiance. Yes I think money can buy me happiness. Granted aside from the maid and landscaper I do all the above on a moderate income, but with more money they can all be better.
Money can't buy happiness, but as stated earlier, money does give one options and freedom and that's it. Some people can't handle so much freedom, so they get money, become horrible people and get addictions of all sorts. Others who have discipline, the same discipline that made them sucessful traders, use that money wisely grow it and can be set for life. Now I would like to make between $500-1000 per day day trading. I am not there yet, lol! What would that buy me? Freedom to travel to Europe with my wife when I want, within reason, freedom to chose whether I want to take a 3-4 day weekend sometimes, etc. Will these things make me happy, who knows, I believe they will though.
I've been there and back, and maybe I can pass on some wisdom... I remember like it was yesterday how I felt the first time I made $30K in one day intra day trading....I was out of all positions and the Ferrari was mine...I was living the day trader dream and I was a pretty fun guy to be around. But the next day when I lost $10k, I was a real jerk...figuring I'd just bought this Ferrari and now I'd lost part of it in one day. Dah! We all know the ups and downs of active trading can be tough to deal with. After a while, my wife got tired of it and was planning to leave me because she couldn't take the roller coaster relationship. Luckily, I had a close friend that convinced me to take a break from trading and try to save my home life.....The bad part was that I couldn't see it, but he could. It wasn't easy, but after a bit, I slowly became myself again and released myself from the grip of greed and, thankfully, things worked out. I altered my trading style a bit and learned to take emotions out of it. Lesson learned: Your friends and family are the most cherished thing you have...if you can't take the psycology of trading and notice it's affecting your relationships, change your trading style until you can....You may not make as much money, but money means nothing in comparison. Happy ending: My wife didn't leave, my trading became more enjoyable (I can still make a living) and I still have the Ferrari!