Change your expectations, change your luck, change your life.

J.R. Hudson said:
But that is not the norm.
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Well, it's the norm where I come from. I haven't met anybody "born of privilege" who was of the caliber of individual that I'm talking about. But those who've been put through the fire, and come out on top -- they're gold.

I've known many successful folks, self-made millionaires etc. Nobody gave them a thing. Nobody gave them a college education. In fact, I can't think of a single one of 'em who even bothered to finish college. They found out what they wanted to do, and then went after it voraciously, and made it happen for themselves. On the other hand, I know lots of folks who went to college, and many of them whose college education was paid for by their parents. And now they have jobs, working for someone else.

I don't think that "privilege" stuff does people many favors. People who spend their lives "giving stuff to their kids so they'll have everything I never did" -- end up with kids like Paris Hilton. Birds have the right idea -- when the time's right, they pick you up and throw you out on your patootie. Whether you plummet to the ground to get eaten by a fox, or flap your wings to soar, well, that's up to you. The parents did their part - they gave you wings, and they expect you to use 'em. Sittin' around in a gilded golden nest won't do a thing to improve that situation.
 
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I never meant to imply that your parents social and economic status was a death sentence, only that statistically, it's the single biggest predictor of where someone will end up. When privileged kids squander their potential, they usually don't end up worse off than their parents, and even if they do they still do okay financially. When poor kids squander their potential, they end up poor, or dead.
 
And the point of the article is -- it's your attitude that determines whether that will happen to you. It's something that's within your control, and something you can change.
 
All I can say is, do the best you can. That's all you can do. The rest is whatever it is.
 
Barry_Green said:
And the point of the article is -- it's your attitude that determines whether that will happen to you. It's something that's within your control, and something you can change.
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Generally speaking I totally agree with this. Being born of privilege, in and of itself doesn't account for much in my books. In fact it sometimes yields an over coddled, "millennial" attitude consisting of high expectations and low/no work ethic.

That said, I would add that all things being equal - ie. take a smart, motivated individual who is poor and take another smart, motivated individual with the means (usually $$) - I'd put my money on the smart, motivated individual with the cash.



: )


dmc
 
Understood where you're coming from. But I'd say that the samrt, motivated individual without the means can easily meet a nice individual with dough, and through that connection, arrive at the same place.
 
Barry_Green said:
If anyone out there thinks that they just have bad luck, or they're constantly a victim, or any of that stuff... take a look at this article. It's flat-out fascinating. I've always believed that life turns out just about how you'd expect it to, and if you want more -- you should expect more. This article puts it to a scientific test, and the results are pretty darn interesting.
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I've been reading about & practicing the law of attraction etc for years now, there is no such thing as chance nor luck. Everything you see, do, or that happens to you, is your creation. Thoughts create EVERYTHING. I'm not saying I'm anywhere close to where I want to be but mastering this stuff takes years and if you can stay focused it all falls into place, it's up to you to connect the dots.

This is a science and if you don't believe it read "THE ANSWER" by John Assaraf & Murray Smith and then I'd like to hear you argue against everything Barry just said.
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dmc said:
That said, I would add that all things being equal - ie. take a smart, motivated individual who is poor and take another smart, motivated individual with the means (usually $$) - I'd put my money on the smart, motivated individual with the cash.



: )


dmc
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My point exactly.
 
And I still say that such thinking misses the whole point of the original article.

If someone is smart, talented and motivated: if they don't have money, that will be rectified very shortly. (Assuming, of course, that said individual cares about money and is seeking it.)
 
Paunch said:
I've been reading about & practicing the law of attraction etc for years now, there is no such thing as chance nor luck. Everything you see, do, or that happens to you, is your creation. Thoughts create EVERYTHING. I'm not saying I'm anywhere close to where I want to be but mastering this stuff takes years and if you can stay focused it all falls into place, it's up to you to connect the dots.

This is a science and if you don't believe it read "THE ANSWER" by John Assaraf & Murray Smith and then I'd like to hear you argue against everything Barry just said.
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I'm always dubious when someone says something is EVERYTHING. No one thing is everything. It's not all chance, and it's not all you. Everything is a little bit of everything. One of my favorite lines from The Sopranos is when Johnny Sack said "Why do kids get leukemia?...All their negative thinking?"...I believe in the power of positive thinking but only to a point. Positive people take positive action and attract likeminded positive people to achieve their goals. But I don't believe it creates some mystical energy field that causes good things to happen.
 
Barry_Green said:
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Seneca

What I found was most fascinating in the study was the bit about the newspaper. Lucky people just saw what was there, and took advantage of it. Unlucky people could only see what they were looking for. Reminds me of THIS.
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I AGREE
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Wow. It's 4.20am, I got the number right AND spotted the gorilla on the first try.

I knew all that Gears of War I've been playing lately would pay off!
 
Barry_Green said:
Understood where you're coming from. But I'd say that the samrt, motivated individual without the means can easily meet a nice individual with dough, and through that connection, arrive at the same place.
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Yup, I totally agree Barry. I couldn't agree more. I think that most smart motivated individuals seek out those that can best benefit their cause - and not necessarily in an overtly selfish way.

But in all fairness, in your example you've changed the second instance of SMART to NICE. If in any way NICE denotes some degree of naivety/gullibility then it's not really a fair fight. Smart always wins.


: )


dmc
 
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Barry_Green said:
And I still say that such thinking misses the whole point of the original article.

If someone is smart, talented and motivated: if they don't have money, that will be rectified very shortly. (Assuming, of course, that said individual cares about money and is seeking it.)
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I would also totally agree with this - high intellect combined with rare talent and a strong desire to achieve (whatever the goal), really is a recipe for success, personal or financial.




: )


dmc
 
Paunch said:
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I've been reading about & practicing the law of attraction etc for years now, there is no such thing as chance nor luck. Everything you see, do, or that happens to you, is your creation. Thoughts create EVERYTHING. I'm not saying I'm anywhere close to where I want to be but mastering this stuff takes years and if you can stay focused it all falls into place, it's up to you to connect the dots.

This is a science and if you don't believe it read "THE ANSWER" by John Assaraf & Murray Smith and then I'd like to hear you argue against everything Barry just said.
Click to expand...



Good vibes and a positive outlook attract other people with good vibes and a positive outlook - I agree, I try to live my life in such a positive way. But it also attracts others. I've seen many examples of good vibes/positive outlook people being taken horrible advantage of without them even being aware of it.

A science, really? Honestly, any self help volume claiming (in its title) that is contains "THE ANSWER", has me quickly tying my shoes.




: )


dmc
 
Ha!

Something about seeing Chris Walken in that pose and reading "Super stoked" at the same time made me laugh... out loud.


: )

dmc
 
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