Why arent you someone famous or Rich?

You can BE rich and happy, or you can be poor and happy. Or miserable and either.

Yes, true. But I am especially glad you mentioned the first state of "Being", because it's often overlooked and very seldom talked about (to appease the malcontent "masses", I imagine...).

Frankly, I've had it with people who keep talking that "money can't buy happiness".

Gee, what CAN "buy" happiness?
(Because I haven't seen very many non-rich "happy" people.)

Nothing.

What money CAN and does do, is buy freedom, the second most valuable commodity in the world; and it buys time,THE most precious commodity in this world.

And that, my friends, is enough for anyone - and PLENTY for a person with a talent for happiness - to BE happy.

On the other hand, "talent" for happiness, no matter how great, goes to waste - very tragic waste - if a person cannot buy food and pay their bills. (And I mean literally. I am not talking about Europe or USA "poor" - although there is some genuine poverty even there.)

I have seen very wealthy people who seemed and sounded and acted quite happy.
But I haven't seen very many happy homeless people.
The ones that I did see beaming and laughing weren't "happy" - they were drunk.
Inebriated, so they could forget who they were NOT.

Nor do I believe in "lessons"... but that's a different story altogether.
Some other time. ; )









[edit on 28-1-2008 by Vanitas]

Being famous/rich is merely a matter perspective. What seem white to you might be black to me! I know so many rich people that have no money, but full of life and I know many that have lot of money but are genuinely unhappy.

Been and seen both sides of the fence on the issue of being homeless, putting reasons aside, it may be true to say, if u wish to be a success, then its advisable to make ur mistakes early on, rather than later, thats a fair think to consider, however when ur games on the up again, then whats amazing is that u do see experience and feel things differently, i remember one time, well thats another story, but even i have noticed how more protective of money you become when you accumulate more, however when u dont have it, you dream of spending it, well from my experience, BUT most of all, being a success is one thing as is happiness, in the true sense, lest not forgetting that most of the time the glass is either half full or half empty, either way, life is for living enjoying, learning and all the other good things, enjoy while you can, great thread..

Originally posted by Vanitas

Which is actually bad news - at least for me it is...
Because now, when I am at a point which I never knew existed - the reverse of luck, if you will (no, it's not "bad" luck, it's much worse than that) - the thought of my previous happiness and luck is too heartbreaking to bear.

Vanitas, if you could I would love to have you explain that to me a little. The not "bad" luck but worse than bad luck part. Is there anyway that you could outline either the circumstances or something not exactly the same but a similar scenario? I understand that if you were too specific it may give away too much personal info, and I am not fishing for your identity. I just want to understand the dynamic you describe. It sounds very interesting to me, and my guess would be it is an aspect I have not experienced or considered and I am a bit addicted to seeing as large a picture as my poor little mind will allow. I would be most grateful.


And BTW, I agree that the gratitude you describe is an important element in attracting and having wealth of whatever sort. Material or otherwise.
I have however seen many people who are "poor" in material possesions that are free, have the luxury of time, and are happy. Obviously I dont know your circumstances, but my guess would be that if you are well off, you may run into more than your fair share of less well off people telling you their sad stories in hopes of getting a hand up. The media also tends to show more of the negatives associated with poverty. I grew up in a very small poor town, where most people were barely making ends meet, and there were quite a few very happy families and individuals. As well as a very many incredibly unhappy people as you point out. Happiness has a lot to do with expectations, rather than specific outcomes. When someones expectations are not met, they become dissatisfied. If one rather than expecting a specific outcome, makes the most of what actually IS occuring in the moment, that individual tends to be happy despite their circumstances.

If you think about it, gratefulness IS making the most of ones current circumstances, so you already practice that concept, and there is more to be grateful for than money.

BTW, Neitzsche calls that concept you desribe of attributing wealth and power and freedom with negatives or "immorality" "Slave morality." You might like "On the Geneology of Morality" if you enjoy philosophy and would like to hear a very well reasoned argument along those lines.

Lastly "lessons" is a clumsy word choice on my part. It implies some negativity I do not intend, "opportunities for the expansion of awareness" is perhaps a better choice, though still not ideal.








[edit on 28-1-2008 by Illusionsaregrander]

[edit on 28-1-2008 by Illusionsaregrander]

It is OK. I am Rich and Famous in training. RAFIT

I am not sure what you are asking with your question. Perhaps it is because some people do not travel around or want to go to a large city where there may be more opportunity. Perhaps it is that not everyone is accepted at Stanford, Princeton, Havard, or other top universities. Perhaps it is because most people are not 'rich' (and I guess that is in money terms) and 'famous' since there are other people in the world.

I have heard some people claim and complain that it was a company that stole his/her idea because they worked at the company at the time. I have heard other people state that it was in a sense stolen from them by someone else.

In my case, it was all the negativity out of some people who went on a bandwagon just to be that way. I am sorry they did not ask me first which is usually the case as some other people have explained up above. You know some of those people, they make it to the News for a brief period and sometimes end up dead or are forgotten about in a few years.

Famous rock bands from years ago fit this gender of explanation.

I am neither, but then there is the philosophy also inherent in the way that it works. If you mean famous nowadays, does that mean the people who could not afford to buy his/her home here lately and foreclosure set in, or the banks that offered up the deal along with the real estate agents in the field, all trying to live according to an American Dream?

I think that was discussed earlier and even recently as the American Dream is dead. In many ways, it all has been brought up, but as for me, I just did not demand more in my life.

And that would perhaps become a war then.

Depends on how you define 'famous' and the rich part may be that others tend to place his/her faith in some human instead of God, perhaps.

Perhaps the definitions were askewed in the first place, I do not know, and lately perhaps I really don't see myself as holding some high esteem placevalue according to some rules inherent it seems nowadays. That may seem to be an excuse for me, but then........................What would I do with being 'famous' and how much 'rich' is 'rich' which is not my name?

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander



I shall - I promise.
Just not right now, because it's almost midnight here.




[edit on 28-1-2008 by Vanitas]

reply to post by kiliker30


Having money - or (especially!) NOT having it - is much more than a "detail" in anyone's life. It's a defining state.

Why do you think it's said "it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven"?"

Not because of MONEY itself (although it's often interpreted like that) - it's because of the assumed fixation on money.

But people who lack money can - for obvious reasons - become equally or even more fixated on money or material things.
No "kingdom of Heaven" for them, either.

There was a very interesting and well-known French psychoanalyst/philosopher, Francoise Dolto, who explains this very well in one of her books about the Gospels.

reply to post by Vanitas

the reverse of luck, if you will (no, it's not "bad" luck, it's much worse than that)

Vanitas,
I obviously have no idea what you're going through, but I can offer this. All good things and all bad things come to an end. I have lived through some very good times and very bad times as well. During the bad times, it can be very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you may find that the limits of what you can tolerate get stretched beyond what you would ever want. That old cliche about things that don't kill you has proven generally true for me.

I wish for you that you learn whatever life is teaching and that your luck changes for the better, and soon.

But seriously ...

It's my understanding after reading a couple books by Michael Newton (see link below) that one chooses their basic life circumstances before birth.

book link

reply to post by centurion1211


OOOOps...wrong thread!!!

Off i go!!!

Anyway, what i said!!



[edit on 28-1-2008 by dgtempe]

Originally posted by dgtempe
reply to post by centurion1211

 

OOOOps...wrong thread!!!

Off i go!!!

Anyway, what i said!!

[edit on 28-1-2008 by dgtempe]

:

So, if you look like your avatar, are in fact rich and famous, have a full green line plus half of a blue line by your points, why are you in PANIC mode? You must have it made ...

rich people also send their kids to school, and almost all of the time the kids graduate with a degree from a rich school

they get a break at their parents richs friends work and that's that

do you think rich people have kids so they can die poor?

it's not about blood lines even, it's just your money relative to everyone else and who you know what what kind of help you can give someone if they help you out

if you just won the lottery say 50 million after taxes you have, you aren't # to a billionaire, but he isn't # to bill gates, so it's all relative and it's who you know

and if you are being interviewed by a guy who went to princeton and you went there and you tell him that he knows you are probably going to be up to his standards

to pay the insurance on a 10 ferraris all year round when you don't drive them regularly(just when you feel like it) is another thing compared to just owning them and they sit in a garage

but what is rich? a 5 million dollar boat? or a 250 million dollar boat with a helicopter lol

fame is just being recognized and that's media attention, that's why they say any press is good press, because any time someone sees your face and your name on tv you become more famous

it's a lot of hard work and to be honest being a billionaire CEO isn't for everyone, even earning a million dollars a year isn't because some peoples minds don't work well enough in the right ways to hold the jobs to make that kind of money, donald trump is not a normal person, bill gates it certainly not normal, they can't be, they did something very different, the way they see things and do things isn't normal, if it was they wouldn't have so much wealth compared to other people around them

it's not normal to have that kind of money, and it's very hard work, and some people simply aren't smart enough to get there, and it's a mentality also, listen to the new england patriots talk, their whole team, their entire coaching staff, they have 0 self doubt, they also want to dominant and kill other teams

not everyone can handle what it takes to be rich, super rich, wealthy, ultra wealthy


imagine buying out a company then screwing a bunch of people out of jobs, a couple hundred or thousand, some people do that for a living, buy companies and close them down and do all kinds of things, they do not care about any of the people who are left jobless if they do some good business

it's just not for everyone, people can't handle it, even the ones who know what it takes can't handle it

there is no big secret, it's just the way things are, seriously look into the kind of money people can get loans and grants and if you have good credit it should be easy to start a business, whether you make money or not is up to you

and when there is 100 regular people to every 1 bill gates or donald trump starting a company there will be people who just dominant and make too much money

but that's within their power and it's their right

I get bored in rehab???

Centurium, lots of love from DG!!! and a biggg hug!!! I'm squeezing you!

Originally posted by dgtempe
I get bored in rehab???

Centurium, lots of love from DG!!! and a biggg hug!!! I'm squeezing you!

Thanks for letting me know. Thought it was a heart attack symptom for a minute there.

Really, thanks!

And same back to you ...

[edit on 1/28/2008 by centurion1211]

reply to post by Buck Division


Yea but what I think is that us Middle class human beings could just be the slaves making money for the rich. Thats why we work jobs that we hate, or work to many hours with little pay. Where do you think that money that you make the business go? Back to the government and the rich. We are all somebody but maybe someone that we don't want to be against our own will.

Well I am not famous THANK GOD because I did not go into a field where that was possible. Not a singer, actor, or anything media related. I am not poor by any stretch, and was lucky enough to have parents that bought me a home when I got married. My wife and I make close to 300K a year, and we dont have a single credit card. I have played the system and taken advantage of every loophole and legal out I can. I work hard, and enjoy life. I dont sit on my ass and wonder why I am broke. If you put 100 percent into life and work 15 hours a day.....ANYBODY can make it. In short bend the laws, dont break them, work your butt off, dont marry a lazy person, watch your credit score, save as much as you can, and remember you only live once. Make the best life you can for you and your family. Only give to charity if you can get a tax break, that sucks but it is true.

[edit on 28-1-2008 by TXMACHINEGUNDLR]

I'm famous, I'm well known all over the world and people dont like me for it. I'm not rich though. If I could only find some well educated woman to take care of me, I would be happy to contribute.

[edit on 28-1-2008 by Tommy Tam]

If you want the truth, in America, then read The Millionaire Next Door, and its sequel, The millionaire mind.

A couple of things you'll discover:

The following statistics are based on millionaire in terms of net worth in excess of a million dollars. Most celebrities don't qualify, because their debts are close to or in excess of their total worth.

-Doctors and Lawyers are statistically under-represented among US millionaires. Most of them live lavish lifestyles, and don't keep their income.

-less than 25% of US millionaires had a millionaire grandparent. Nearly half of all millionaires are the grandchildren of immigrants to the USA.

-More than half of all US millionaires are first generation-rich. In other words, self starters.

-The three most common occupations for American millionaires were auctioneer, welder, and owner of a janitorial services firm, in that order. The reason is, those people chose an occupation where they took objects of low value, and added value, or produced a service that had low overhead. They also generally do not display their wealth.

-The average millionaire married only once, owns an american-made car averaging 8 YEARS OLD. They don't own a swimming pool, have never paid more than $150 for a wristwatch, and, if they owned a suit, bought it off the rack at JC Penny's.

-only 55% of them had a college degree.

-over half of them say they have no plans to leave large sums of money to their children, insisting that their children earn their own money.

In other words, a "royal bloodline" doesn't mean squat if you want to get rich. Spending less than you earn means everything.

.

All I can tell you is that Tithing really works.
I don't how or why but if you donate 10% of your earnings to others even less fortunate than yourself, you will begin to get rewarded. But the catch is you have to be sincere about your efforts and not do it expecting something in return.

Apart from that, getting rid of the negative victim mentality attitude also helps, don't be an Eyore.