ycchan

Student, studying electrical engineering....

I intend to continue into Master or maybe PhD

Stem

All in all.... You will not find many dumb guys that are wealthy!!!

Pamilih

Except of course Forrest Gump. My hero!

fais2000

hmm interesting topic, even if it should be in the off topic .

i dont have myself tested, i find no urge to know if i am smart dumb or in the middle. I find education just an indicator of how well you take tests. I dont care on how I rank among others, i had enough of that in high school, and i always ranked well above avg. in standardized exams, but i found it something i did not enjoy or feel compleled to suceed in. I dont find myself to be a sharp or smart person, but others tell me different, and i dont care about either perception. I have a BS in comp eng., which i graduated with a below avg. gpa due to my not very eager interest in the majority of classes and more interest in the honeys .
I attest my wealth to a couple of reasons. In order of precedence to me:

1. very hard work
2.being fortunate enough to have the opportunity. In other words i see people who's parents may have passed at an early age, or being less fortunate and having to leave their aspirations behind due to misfortunes.
3. insight
4. luck: being in the right place at the right time.
5. desire
6. a good team of people around me both in my business and at home


fas

Jim Dolan

You must be intelligent

__________________
Jim

2006 Silver Gray Metallic over Black
The "Wolf in Sheeps Clothing" is back in the USA again

1971 2002 Colorado(Light Orange)
1976 2002 Inka(Red orange, a classic)
1982 528e Blue metallic
1984 533i Burgandy
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1988 535is Salmon silver
1993 525iT Calypso red
1999 528iT Titanium silver
2000 M5 Titanium silver
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orangemarlin

Before I get on to how I think anyone can get wealthy, let me state that I believe there are only three ways to get stinking rich (other than some illegal scam). First, genetics. You inherit it from family wealth. That's relatively rare. Second, dumb luck. Lotto winners fit here.

But the best way to get wealthy is hard work. It levels the playing field, so you don't need to rely on the circumstances of your birth or dumb luck. (Well, some luck is needed, but you usually make your own luck.)

So, here's my personal list on what I did to get where I can afford nice cars, nice houses, and generally a great life.

1. The support of family. It could be your parents. Your brother. Your spouse. Or your significant other. You're going to be working hard, this isn't easy. So you need people who love you for what you are doing, and whom you can love back, so that you have a shoulder to cry on, some to borrow money when you need it, or someone who can kick you in the fanny when you need it.

2. Risk taking. Look, you can work for GM for 35 years. It's not going to make you rich. And guess what? If you take risks, you are going to fail. Dozens of times maybe.

3. Get an education. The playing field is level, so you'll need a college education (generally) to get a start in most fields. I have a BS in Biology and an MS in biochemistry. And I did not end up working in a biotech startup. I started with a huge pharmaceutical firm as a sales rep. Twenty years later, my net worth is large enough where I can seriously consider retiring by the age of 45.

4. Learn to trust and be trustworthy. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Don't steal. Surround yourself with people who have the same ethics and values.

5. Learn to relax. Going to a hockey game is probably not going to delay your wealth.

6. Work harder than everyone else. Get to know the winners in your organization. Maybe some executive who knows you well is heading off to start a new company or take over a startup. Maybe he'll drag you along.

7. Always look for equity in a new job. Equity matters. Salary doesn't. Well, get enough salary so you don't starve.

8. Learn to leverage yourself. I like it when I have just a little bit too much debt. I work harder to make sure that I can move above it. Buy a house. Invest on margin. Learn to take risks (see above).

9. Start your own company. Take your ideas to the public. There are billions of people on this planet. You don't need all of them to buy your idea, just some of them.

10. Market yourself. Smile. Dress well. Listen. Learn about the world around you. I have an international marketing background, and I have always been successful there. The reason: I try not to be a typical American. I know where the Netherlands are. I know the capital of Norway. I can tell you where Napoleon fought his last battle. I know the reasons behind the War of the Roses. I know that Catalonians in Barcelona speak a different language than the Castilians in Madrid. My point is, spend the effort to make yourself different than the crowd around you.

11. Learn to play golf. I hate the sport, but the wealthy and successful all like it.

12. Be brave.

13. Be impatient. Those who wait may wait forever. Those who chase, may actually catch what they want.

14. 9-5 are for losers.

I did all these things, including sucking at golf. It's hard work (getting rich AND golf). Don't listen to those idiots on late night TV...you can't get rich the easy way. There's only the hard way.

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And I barely have time for my toys

Jim Dolan

I hated to go to school. then I got a BS in Business Administration and became a CPA(which stands for Couldn't Pass Again)
Now I go to school every year if not quarterly to keep my license. I still hate school.

Like Bare I was a highschool drop out. I got my highschool education in the Air Force. At twenty four with two kids I worked my way through four years of college and worked full time for all but six months of that. No one gave me a nickel. You might say I'm self made and that's true.

All it takes is desire and a lot of work. If you inherited your wealth, give it away and start from scratch, in the end you will be happier.

__________________
Jim

2006 Silver Gray Metallic over Black
The "Wolf in Sheeps Clothing" is back in the USA again

1971 2002 Colorado(Light Orange)
1976 2002 Inka(Red orange, a classic)
1982 528e Blue metallic
1984 533i Burgandy
1987 325i Alpine white
1988 535is Salmon silver
1993 525iT Calypso red
1999 528iT Titanium silver
2000 M5 Titanium silver
2006 M5 Silvergray

chunpng

I know I posted on this thread once already, but reading Orangemarlin's post prompted me to write again.

It's true that wealth translates into freedom in many ways. Freedom to enjoy life, to take great vacations, to have less financial stress etc. etc.. But afterall, it has to be the means to your desired ends. If wealth is my only objective in life, then it's meaningless, as I will only be enslaved to make more and more money.

I must first decide what kind of life I want, and here are my priorities:

Stable family life: a nice house, plenty of time to spend with wife and kids, no need to relocate just for another promotion.
Low stress: no office politics, low stress level at work, don't have to come home and kick the proverbial dog. This is harder said than done and need luck to get the right job, but sure enhances my quality of life.
Enjoyable work: like what I do and I don't have to 'work' another day.
Enough wealth to spend at our whims.

Here's my solutions:
A cushy 9-5 job that pays well enough to cover all the regular expenditures, e.g. mortgage, insurance, etc. I'm an architect for a top home builder. 18 professional staffs in the entire company, $350mm annual closings. I manage my one-man department, no boss, no underlings, little deadline, no politics, zero stress. The best gig I've found so far. Believe me, my previous job was 5+years with Arthur Andersen as a tax manager. This job is the antithesis of AA&Co. A stable job sure reduces financial stress 'big time'.

In my spare time, I do custom architecture for the 'rich' in the Silicon Valley. They don't care how much they spend as long as they have the best/biggest homes. I do my most creative work here, and get to spend their money creating beautiful homes. This is a side business that I love to no end. It earns me 2+ times my regular pay. Pays for all my toys, vacations, retirement plans, and other frivolous spendings. All my clients come to me after seeing my prior work. I don't have marketing materials or a portfolio. The thing about being an architect, I don't face a techno-revolution every 6 months. My body don't wear out, so I don't have to retire at any particular age.

Once in a while, I build homes for myself and family members. Eight total so far. In the Silicon Valley, that creates a ton of equity ($8mm-$10mm).

I think I work pretty hard all in all, but I love my work so much I don't feel it at all. I've lots of friends as EVERYONE wants a nicer home. I'm very very blessed so far, as I think I'm fullfiling my priorities in life.

My point is, look beyond wealth as pure dollars. Define what you really want in life. You can get there besides purely accumulating wealth. Sometimes, the toll of building wealth may be too high a price to pay (say life with AA&Co). There may be other ways and the street-smart people always find the easiest way. And BTW, I don't remeber learning any of these during my 'education' years.

I'll get off my soap box now.

CP

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MikeC

Very interesting. All of it. So here's my little story.

Even before I was studying information theory at the university I started a little company. It was just me, doing what I liked: computer graphics, video editing, software development. That was in 1995 and I was 21. I had done some stuff before, people liked it and asked for more so the company was the next logical step.

After a couple of years I found that I was selling my software internationally, did small productions that were broadcast on TV, that I was doing lots of CG visualizations of projects for the world fair and that I was publisher and chief editor of an international magazine. People said I was working (too) hard but I liked what I was doing. I had fun, even working up to 14 hours a day and seven days a week.

So at the age of 24 I was driving a V12 and was in a dilemma. Graduating wasn't any longer an option, I had no time for that. It was a hard decision but I quit university, without having learned a job, without having graduated. My parents were furious. They did never want me playing around all day with 'this computer thing' (although I never actually played with it). Besides, I got my first computer when I was 16.

Back to the dilemma: My company had to change. By no means I could go on doing all the work alone, it was getting too much. So I had no choice but employ workers. But did I want that? Suddenly I would have been responsible for their lives and families. Suddenly I would have been a manager and would have to do things that I didn't like. What would my life be? I would have been quite rich I think but the fun would have been gone.

So after much thinking I got myself employed as a computer programmer. I had no education but lots of experience and knowledge. That worked out. Now I don't have to go after the money for months, I don't have to deal with 'dumb' customers, I can do what I like and get paid for it regularly. However, my company does still exist, and from time to time, when I am offered a really interesting project, I still do it in my spare time.

About 18 months ago the company that I am now working for convinced me that I really had to work for them . So now I am doing exactly what I always wanted to do.

"What does he want to say", you might ask yourself now. Well, although I worked hard for it, nothing of that what I am now was planned. That gave me some insights that might helpful to some:

Money is not everything! Really wealthy is the one without needs. If you're happy, you don't need money. Money is a substitute for happiness, it does not really cause it. The things you can buy for it will make you content for some time but then you need more. It's like a drug and will end in ruin.
So everyone's goal should be to be happy and content even without money. If you then make lots and lots of it, you are able to thoroughly enjoy it and it will make your life even more perfect. If you don't make money, you don't care. That way you can't lose but only win.

• Do what you think you can do best. You like it and you're good at that!
• Start doing it in your spare time. It will evolve.
• You have to believe in yourself, even if the others tell you that you are an idiot. But be realistic at all cost!
• Don't start to think that you are good or even the best (you may tell you customers, though ). At exactly that moment you will start failing. Always know that you could still be better.
• Fairness is what counts. You are doing all this to be happy, not to be rich in the first place.
• Don't wait for your chances, make them yourself.
• Scroll up a bit and read orangemarlin's posting again.

...Mike

rebel1

I just read a university study in which they found the folowing:

The average grade level completed by the average millionaire:
11th

The average IQ of the average millionaire:
95
If this study is accurate then there is little correlation, yes?

Hmmm.

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