Just heard a dad tell his son to go the slow lane to get a Lamborghini

[Vigilante]

Son: "That's okay, money doesn't buy happiness anyway."
Dad: "That's right son!"

:

This to me was the saddest part of the whole discussion. Indoctrination 95% complete.

 

[Maxjohan]

"Money doesn't buy happiness." is an irrelevant comparison, similar to "Playing baseball doesn't help your cooking skills.". Money is money. Happiness is happiness. They're independent. If you want money, go for the money. If you want happiness focus on being happy. If you want both, then go for both.

Well, if you are poor, then I'm sure that money can do a lot for your happiness. Don't you agree? And what about the kids in Africa that never had toys to play with, and barley got food on the table. Do money buy happiness for them? To me, money and happiness doesn't need to be independent from each other.

 

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[Kak]

The only thing worse than that money doesn't buy happiness quote is that it is the root of all evil. Whatever.

 

[Kak]

So the more money you have = the happier you are? Or is there a 'price' to happiness that once you hit that mark, you've bought happiness?

I don't understand your thinking here.

Generally speaking more money would make most people happier. There is a point where it no longer matters, but it is different for everyone.

 

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[socaldude]

My philosophy is that money should first and foremost be used to alleviate pain(a shit job, debt, basic needs etc) THEN it can be used for pleasure(lambos, vacations etc). The problem these days is that the majority(sidewalkers) use money for pleasure FIRST instead of pain first . So then they find themselves in more pain(debt).

Money does buy happiness because it can alleviate pain. It can make you free. It opens the pearly gates to more pleasure. All things equal of course.

Money is the only thing that matters in life to quote Kevin O'LEary.

We all have our own DIFFERENT pains and pleasures. We should find them. Money can help us do that.

 

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[The-J]

Thaz me hehehe

I wouldn't say you're an a**hole, just very heavily opinionated with a tendency to attempt to viciously shake down anyone who doesn't agree with you.

 

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[Vigilante]

If money does not make people happier, than the absence of money by definition cannot make people less happy.

If A=B, then B=A. It's all or nothing. You can't just make up arbitrary limits. Either money influences happiness, or it doesn't.

So... if that is the position you adopt, you might as well quit striving for success, and just be happy.

I say that is complete, 100% bullshit.

 

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[Vigilante]

The fact is, working hard, going to college and getting a high-paying job is a very viable path to making a decent amount of money (well into the 7-figures), if that's your goal. If someone with above-average intelligence was willing to dedicate 10-15 years of their life starting after high-school, I could easily teach them how to generate several million dollars in the "slowlane" with about 75% success rate. Yes, there are "slowlane" techniques for making lots of money and I have friends that have used these techniques to make a LOT of money several times over...and all they do is work a J-O-B.

With all of the chest beating aside, you should write a book on this. If you can encapsulate this into a cohesive coaching strategy, you have the potential of changing the lives of tens of thousands of people.

I for one would read it if for no other reason than to recommend it to others as a means of obtaining fleets of Lamborghinis. Hell... it might make me go back to school and get a job. Would you expand with at least a glimpse into the techniques? There are literally hundreds of people (as you know) that follow these posts that may benefit.

You have my attention. I am interested.

 

[Vigilante]

Naaaaa Oz.... he will make it. If you hang around here a while, you will see why. Learn from him.

 

[Vigilante]

Does this count?

Dial In Your Happiness | Wired Science | Wired.com

Dial In Your Happiness
...
Self-help books may say happiness comes from within, but let’s get real. Contentment also hinges on external factors like money, how many friends you have, and whether you have kids. More isn’t necessarily merrier. So how do you find the sweet spots? Science, of course.
...

Salary per year
$75,000
Money can buy happiness—to a point, says Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton’s analysis of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Meeting basic needs feels good; racing to get rich does not.

The problem with any article I have seen on this topic is they survey a cross section of people. The ONLY way this survey could be accurate would be if you survey ONLY high net worth people.

Asking someone with limited funds if money makes them happier would be akin to asking someone from a remote, uncivilized jungle if they prefer Coca Cola or Pepsi.

The $75K number (when you lose half of it to taxes) was probably reached by surveying people with a median income of $50k. To them, the $75k number ("just a bit more than I have" said the average survey respondent) is probably the optimal number. Of course, until they reach that number.

I guarantee a group of millionaires did not set the $75k threshhold.

You can't ask a happily married woman about the stings of divorce. You can't ask an Atheist for insights on the characteristics of God. You can't ask a 4th grader for insights on mechanical engineering. And you can't ask someone with a low net worth, who has spent a lifetime at a low net worth, who has spent a lifetime with an indoctrination from a worldview that tells them that money doesn't buy happiness... if money buys happiness or not.

 

[MMatt]

I also don't really care to party my a$$ off with a bunch of people that only like to get hammered, watch football and play grab a$$. I used to run with those people, I honestly relate very little to them. I don't have cable, not because I can't afford it, because I don't give a shit about it. I watch the Texans after golf every week in the lounge at the country club, it is the only thing I watch on TV.



I would MUCH rather be enjoying a night out with the girlfriend, chilling on a Caribbean island, or on a golf course talking business with a select few people that I enjoy the company of. I do not think the dead end job, party and sex lifestyle applies to me whatsoever. In fact it sounds like hell.

So I'm not insane after all.

 

[Vigilante]

Ah, you wanted something "interesting"...silly me, I had assumed you wanted something informative...

Next time I'll throw in some ninjas and car chases...

Btw, just a heads-up -- the process of generating wealth isn't always interesting...in fact, sometimes it's downright boring and tedious. At some point you'll want to decide which is more important to you, as that decision may determine how much success (or lack thereof) you ultimately have.

Thanks again for the lesson on wealth generation.

I think if one can stand to read through the agitational position you take on nearly everything you write on this forum as you seek sparing partners, there may be nuggets of wisdom someone might be able to gain from you.

However, it's unlikely anyone puts up with your ego long enough to extrapolate anything of interest.

So... next time you post something and I don't respond, just assume it's because I'm not interested. That way you can avoid getting your feelings hurt.

 

[Vigilante]

op:

I absolutely do fear becoming someone that speaks for the sole purpose of hearing and admiring his own voice. I don't ever want to be that person.

Thanks for the reminder.

 

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[The-J]

You know you and I are like black and white. I'm not slower, I'm just ten steps ahead of you. By the time you leave corporate America, I'll have already sold a business to it. I love making the whole world blind.

If a person isn't for fastlane entrepreneur concepts, then I don't get why they would want to post on a forum who's purpose is just that?

JScott's at least 40 steps ahead of you, bro, lol.

Not everyone is down to run businesses. Some people have tried it and hated it. That's okay. They leverage other Fastlane techniques, like buying real estate, passive income investments, the stock market, forex, etc etc. There's more than one way to be on the Fastlane.

 

[Mike39]

oh ya, 7 figures at 40 years old sucks balls LOL It's still better than most can ever achieve.

I can vouch for the fact that a million doesn't do jack sh!t, no Ferrari parked out front, no crazy vacations to the four corners of the world, no private jets. A million in 1960 would be 9.5 million today, the term millionaire should be changed to ten-millionaire to carry any significance.

A million won't change your life, but a million used to make 10 million might

 

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[dknise]

That is my slowlane story. I'm sorry if you think it's lame, but that strategy worked for me, my wife and many of our friends. I guess we're all just slowlane suckers...

Personally... it sounds like you worked for a guy that was fastlane, but I (personally) would not consider that to be fastlane.

I get the impression that you think much higher of the employees at that company than the guy who took the risk and started it all. Obviously I have more respect for the contrary.

 

[Charlesp]

Smh, thats just the way most of the world is taught ( go to school, get a good education, get a good job).

 

[SBS.95]

"Money doesn't buy happiness"

so being broke does??

Exactly! That's what I was trying to get across.

Slowlane logic makes it seem like buying/driving a Maserati doesn't give you happiness... but that Chrysler Town & Country exemplifies the epitome of living life to the most desired point?

 

[The-J]

Assholes come in all shapes and sizes. There are plenty of Fastlaners who are also assholes.

But that's neither here nor there...

 

[Kak]

Ok, so on that kind of salary for that long he could be worth 4mil+ IF he knows what he's doing with money.
If that's the case, he's a successful slowlaner.


He's also a jerk

Success means different things to different people. I do not consider any slowlaners financially successful. Also 4 million is not even close to the freedom I am talking about.

 

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[danoodle]

I think there is a miscommunication here and that we all are actually on the same page. It is a two part thing, the first being "money buys happiness". I would say everyone on here agrees it does to a point. The second distinction is very important as well being, "you can be happy without being filthy rich". These are two separate issues and both sides are arguing their case, but they can both be right.

Vigilante said, would anyone deny 100k right now, and the answer is of course not. The additional money opens up more opportunities and we all would take that without question, it would bring us all more happiness. So in this case, money does "buy" us more happiness.

The second part is, if we did not have that 100k, would we be sad/miserable (assuming we have our basic needs met)? The answer is no and also correct in that we don't NEED the money to be happy.

Money does buy happiness. But happiness is not dependent on money. I hope this clears some things up...

 

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[Vigilante]

I met a guy that was the first employee that Jeff Bezos ever hired to work in the makeshift warehouse from which they started Amazon. He's now got fleets of Lamborghinis. His first job was to be the book packer. So yes... it is possible.

 

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[Vigilante]

Steve Ballmer: #19 on Forbes list. Slowlane

Ballmer was initially offered a salary of $50,000 as well as a percentage of ownership of the company in 1980.

So... all you need to do is find the next Microsoft, and be their 30th employee. Easy peasy.

 

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[Vigilante]

Well I guess it is all the perspective you have.

I live within 100 yards of my grandchildren all of whom think I am the coolest person in the world, except their Dad and Mom.

I have a VERY close relationship with my daughter-in-law and son and wife.

I don't owe a single penny on anything and have my electric, water etc paid up for just under 1 year on my 5 houses which are only for my use, not rentals.

I don't have to work another day in my life, I actually look better than my avatar pic, I can still out lift and outrun guys half my age.

Sooooooooooooooo yea you get what I am saying lol

And those things don't make you happy? You should be one of the happiest men on the planet!

Live
In
The
NOW

 

[PatrickP]

And those things don't make you happy? You should be one of the happiest men on the planet!

Live
In
The
NOW

Never said they don't make me happy.

I think maybe you misread my post.

Funny you say live in the NOW. My wife just bought me a book living in the NOW

It is like if you have had Kobe Beef prepared by a master chef in Japan, a day after it was butchered. It is simply AMAZING!

You will eat other beef the rest of your life but there is still that one day that you had the best of the best.

YES I am happy happy happy BUT . . .

That is why I say I try not to think about it but sure it sneaks back in. You HAVE to have that one gf that did things no other gf did. No she was not marriage material but WOW the things she did.

So you move on you get married BUT every once in a while you think back on those days fondly

 

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[dknise]

Lottt of people seeming to be comfortable with a 9 to 5 in the slowlane... hence the question... why are you here?

 

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[OzGrinder]

Naaaaa Oz.... he will make it. If you hang around here a while, you will see why. Learn from him.

Fair call. Obviously I'm here to learn and improve, so I will definitely give him the benefit of the doubt, and hope that I can learn from him.

 

[The-J]

Some people on this forum, a MILLIONAIRE FORUM mind you, act as if they are morally superior by arguing that money doesn't buy happiness even though they internally long to be millionaires and spend time on a millionaire forum trying to learn how to do it.

If you're unhappy as an entrepreneur making $1000 a month, you're not going to be happy as an entrepreneur making $100,000 a month.

You guys assume that everyone is going to use their money on investments, whether in passive incoem on in their own business. You guys assume that everyone knows the inherent power of money and how to exploit it. You guys see a $1 million check as an opportunity to make more money, whereas most people (the so-called 99%) see it as money to throw away. For them, the happiness is fleeting.

I could probably squander $1 million in three days. I'd be super happy for those three days. But why would I do that?

Truth is, for the majority of people, money just kind of comes and goes as it pleases, like the wind. For them, more money won't get them any closer to freedom or to happiness.

EDIT: I asked my girlfriend, who has never learned a thing about money except from what her parents and I told her (which conflict), how she would spend $1 million. She said she would pay off her school, her sibling's school, her parent's mortgage and use the rest for a down payment on a house. My response: "Honestly, I'd probably just invest it and collect some cashflow off of it. Couldn't bring myself to squander it that quickly"

For those who remember the button thread and my response, I gained some sense. Why blow it on a condo and a car immediately?

 

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[Jake]

You can be perfectly happy in a job and still want something more (or something different)...

For many people, how they generate their income over their lifetime isn't a binary thing -- it's not that they're either an employee forever or an entrepreneur forever. Some people will build a nest-egg with a job, and then give entrepreneurship a try. If it doesn't work the first time, they'll go back to a job, build up some more and try again. Some people will try to do both simultaneously and won't want to quit their job until they are confident they can make it on their own. Some people will spend their youth trying to achieve success as an entrepreneur, and if they can't do it before they start a family, they'll take a job to ensure that their family is provided for. And for others, they'll try entrepreneurship and decide it's not for them. And some people are probably here just out of pure curiosity, despite having no desire to give entrepreneurship a try!

To assume that everyone here is, always was and always will be 100% focused on entrepreneurship doesn't make sense...

Personally, I loved my 9-5 (though it was more like 10-10 for me). I loved the traveling, I loved the hanging out with successful people, I loved the camaraderie, I loved the building cool products, etc. But, then my life changed, and I decided I'd rather focus on family instead of a job. Doesn't mean I didn't love the corporate world...it was just time for something else that allowed more freedom to focus on family. Turns out I love the entrepreneur stuff as well, and it provides me the flexibility to pursue the other stuff I currently want out of life. Things change. So do people.

Great post. I was going to respond to him but noticed we're now on the 5th page of this thread and you pretty much covered it.

I'll just add in my piece.

The end result that most of us here are looking for is wealth and time. The path we will chose to take is the one presented to us with the least amount of resistance and shortest possible time frame to our destination. If you have a decent idea, a decent plan, minimal amount of startup capital and someone comes along and offers you a job for $200k a year; do you take it or do you turn down the opportunity and move forward with your plan? Will the money not buy you more time and money for your business in the future? Does it not give you a head start in life?

I have a job but my path is by no means the traditional slowlane route. I sacrifice time now for more time and options later. I work on projects on the side and one day I hope to be able to focus all of my time on my own business. For now, I am happy to get ahead with my paycheck. My job won't last forever nor do I want it to. I'm here learning and helping whenever I feel I can. I know I will be dependent upon myself soon enough.

Always move forward by whatever means you choose.

 

[TheTruth]

This took quite a while to read through,


lots of exciting stuff in this thread. Very interesting insights everyone.


That being said, this conversation was never going to get resolved not because "money buys happiness is true or note" but because everyone was giving their insight from their model of the world.


If someone is having a conversation with me and they tell me that "money buys happiness" and I start to argue with them, then they will defend their viewpoint like there is no tomorrow.

However, if I chose to accept their model of the world (which is that money buys happiness for them), then I enter a potential win-win scenario... how?

By me accepting their belief's I build up rapport (trust) and give them acceptance without judgement. This establishes great communication and now we are both free to share viewpoints freely.

Due to the openness, I now allow myself to learn from what the other person tells me and they can learn from me. Thus, I gain more knowledge vs. having someone closed off to me and being on alert because of my judgement.

To summarize, if someone tells me "Money buy's me happiness", it is up to me to acknowledge their belief. If they tell me otherwise, I have to respect that as well. This opens up excellent communication and then you are able to learn from each other because you are not on the defensive.