PLAYER57832 wrote:Nobunaga wrote:... Anybody in the United States who is not in prison, or in some other way physically or mentally prevented, has the ability to work hard (both physically and mentally) to accumulate a bit of capital to take a risk.
Some captitol, but not enough to make real money unless you are very, very lucky. NOTE, I did NOT say "skill", I said pure luck. And pretending otherwise means you are living in a dream world, not reality..
... I'm not talking about "real money" if you mean millions. I'm talking tens of thousands, padding the retirement accounts and fixing up the house I actually live in with nice counter tops and the like.
PLAYER57832 wrote:Nobunaga wrote:...
... Flipping a house is a risk that can pay off in a big way, if you go into it having studied past examples of success and failure, to cite one example (I made just over 11K on my first flip).
cute, but actually you prove MY point, not yours. To make "flipping" work, you have to live in an "up and coming" area, PLUS have knowledge of home repairs that you can do yourself. That requires skill, not just knowledge. A LOT Of people think its easy.. and wind up losing their shirts...
... They lose their shirts due to... (omg, here comes that "work" word again...) a lack of knowledge and hard work (aquisition of knowledge is work).
PLAYER57832 wrote:Nobunaga wrote:...
... Failure is always a possibility, which is why the rewards are deserved.
..
I see, so according to you what matters is risk, not effort, not knowledge, not hard work... all that matters is that you were lucky.
Yep, that sounds about right.
... and that is why so many poor people "invest" in the lottery instead of putting out effort to actually work. Because they KNOW that that system does not reward work, not really.
... It amazes me that you attribute success to luck to such a great extent. You've said this before and I find it fascinating that anybody can believe this. How incredibly depressing.
... Certainly nothing is 100%. But when you flip a house (to stick to the example I originally presented), you work your arse off (that's effort, not luck) fixing up the dump you bought. You read continuously on subjects such as plumbing, electrical work, local property taxes, area flood plains, lead paint (found in too many older homes) and how to deal with it, insurance comparisons... etc..etc.. This is also hard work (notice I said work, not luck).
... So you go into it, having busted your arse, and your brain, now having maybe 75% to 80% shot at making some money. It's not 100%. But the only reason it's anything more than 15% is because you worked your arse off. (there's that damned word again, "work"). Get it?
... If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it.
..
... So now I've a question for you, Player. Let's take two random kids with the same general mental abilities and put them both through college (same college).
... Kid A decides to major in material science and metallurgy. He parties a lot, hangs out with friends all the time, rarely studies and so does poorly on his tests... ends up on academic probation... then eventually drops out.
... Kid B also majors material science and metallurgy. This kid would like to go to the big parties but
sacrifices that fun due to the intense
work requirements of his studies. Kid B has some friends, but he leaves his social life mostly to weekends. He studies like a madman,
working his arse off, and graduates in 4 years, with honors.
... Kid A winds up working in his uncle's company, selling seed and chemicals to farmers. His earnings are sub-par (let's say, $35,000).
... Kid B, after he gets his masters, passes on the doctorate and goes straight to work for an international company building industrial drills to drill for oil and gas. His earnings are great (let's say, $175,000).
... You honestly attribute this disparity to luck?
...
When's the last time you heard about any klan activity? They are mostly silent, if existent. Jackson, on the other hand, won't shut up. I'm not saying he's worse, but he's the one who brings the topic up still.
