Originally posted by: Thraxen
So? The point remains the same. He could likely just add a new home, new car, nice HT set-up, etc... to his list. If stuff like that didn't make people happy then there wouldn't be a market for them. Simple as that.
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
I think $200,000 a year would buy me enough happiness. No need to be a millionaire... I love my life, just want to travel more.
Originally posted by: Thraxen
Originally posted by: Vic
Pardon me, but what you're talking about is peanuts pay-the-bills-and-rent kind of money. The OP specifically said "We're talking an absurd amount of money."
So? The point remains the same. He could likely just add a new home, new car, nice HT set-up, etc... to his list. If stuff like that didn't make people happy then there wouldn't be a market for them. Simple as that.
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: K1052
What happens when you run into someone your wealth won't influence? Such people exist.
You're not thinking about it deep enough.
Think right now, of all the people you COULD but didn't meet if you were rich. All the places you could travel to. And the ways you could present yourself. Clothes, haircuts. Money influences everyone. A number may not influence some people. But free time (you could spend with them), maybe dressing nice, or having the time to improve your social skills would ultimately influence them.
Without money, you may not even have met all the people in the world that could make you happy. Or you may not have had enough time for them. If you work 12 hours a day, don't tell me that that wouldn't influence someone (you wouldn't have any time for them).
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos
with money i could
get some health insurance and start getting yearly physicals again
go back to school
get the balljoints fixed in my jeep so I'm not worrying about losing a wheel
get my cats tumors fixed
get dental coverage and start going to the dentist again
get new glasses so i can read without getting headaches
yeah, money would definitely buy me happiness
Pardon me, but what you're talking about is peanuts pay-the-bills-and-rent kind of money. The OP specifically said "We're talking an absurd amount of money."
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: SSSnail
No poll, I want to see HOW money would make each of you happy. Everyone has their ways of thinking, live the dream!
Money buys freedom. Freedom is the ultimate happiness.
Freedom from a job. Freedom to choose from a wider selection of partners. Freedom to pursue your hobbies. Freedom to travel and discover new things/places/people.
Anyone who says money does not buy happiness is doing it because it's cliche and fashionable.
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: K1052
But it is patently false to say that money alone can solve all your problems and get you everything you desire. Some things, people, and ideas are simply above price.
Give me an example, I'll prove you wrong.
Originally posted by: K1052
I'm not sure I've heard anything so shallow in quite a while. Anyone worth having, IMO, would see right through you like the two feet of water in a kiddy pool.
I don't work only for financial gain. The motivations of people are often a lot more complex than you imply.
There are certain things no amount of money could induce me to part with or could buy me.
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: K1052
But it is patently false to say that money alone can solve all your problems and get you everything you desire. Some things, people, and ideas are simply above price.
Give me an example, I'll prove you wrong.
Easy.
1. Find meaningful companionship.
2. Find a purpose in life.
3. Find a meaningful way to occupy your time.
4. Raise a good family.
Money buys freedom, but freedom isn't always happiness. Freedom just presents a whole new set of problems which must be overcome. Some of the happiest people I know work 40 hrs a week, because they love working.
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: K1052
But it is patently false to say that money alone can solve all your problems and get you everything you desire. Some things, people, and ideas are simply above price.
Give me an example, I'll prove you wrong.
Easy.
1. Find meaningful companionship.
2. Find a purpose in life.
3. Find a meaningful way to occupy your time.
4. Raise a good family.
Money buys freedom, but freedom isn't always happiness. Freedom just presents a whole new set of problems which must be overcome. Some of the happiest people I know work 40 hrs a week, because they love working.
Being rich does not mean you can't work. Why does everyone skip over this fact?
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: K1052
I'm not sure I've heard anything so shallow in quite a while. Anyone worth having, IMO, would see right through you like the two feet of water in a kiddy pool.
I don't work only for financial gain. The motivations of people are often a lot more complex than you imply.
There are certain things no amount of money could induce me to part with or could buy me.
Fact: Money influences everyone.
When's the last time you saw a HOMELESS person get married? Money itself may not influence, but the things money can bring does. It influences EVERYONE. Just because a girl only dates guys who aren't on welfare, doesn't make her shallow. Money makes you stand out and gives you a better chance.
And you didn't address my point about all the people who COULD have met, but didn't, because a non-wealthy person would have to spent all day working.
I myself often wonder of all the people I could have known right now if I didn't have to spend all day working on my business. To have all the time in the world to dedicate to anyone I choose.
It's not about numbers and things, it's about EXPERIENCE, FREEDOM, AND PERSONAL TIME. Money buys that, and those things bring happiness. Your whole idealist notion that "the only girl worth having would date you even if you were a homeless bum on the street" is completely BS. And because she wouldn't if you were a bum, that doesn't make her shallow, just means she has common sense to avoid a problematic person with little freetime.
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
No argument. Still doesn't address my main point though - Freedom != happiness.
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Easy.
1. Find meaningful companionship.
2. Find a purpose in life.
3. Find a meaningful way to occupy your time.
4. Raise a good family.
Originally posted by: DaShen
I agree, but there is definitely a difference between having enough money for freedom and personal time, and having so much money it become a burden.
Originally posted by: Vic
I'm not going to argue this point with high school kids who've never seen the real world, or don't know what having money is like.
In the meantime, I'll take the real life experiences of real people who have been through it. Ask Cobain what money was like. Ask Staley what he thought about having more money than he could spend. Ask countless others of the unhappy rich.
If you're not happy with your life now, how are you going to be happy when all your dreams have come true and you have nothing left to dream for anymore?
How long have those people you just mentioned worked to accumulate their wealth?Originally posted by: glutenberg
On the flip side. Ask Bill Gates if he's happy. Ask Warren Buffet if he's happy. Ask Ted Turner if he's happy. Ask Oprah if she's happy. Ask JK Rowling if she's happy. Ask Steve Jobs if he's happy. Ask Lloyd Blankfein if he's happy. You can't nitpick people, in particular, artists, and claim that they're an example of the rest of the rich people in this world. For every rich artist that has committed suicide or overdosed on drugs, I'm sure you can find many more poor people (who didn't receive publicity and are just another hash on the statistic chart) who have also been miserable from being poor.Originally posted by: Vic
I'm not going to argue this point with high school kids who've never seen the real world, or don't know what having money is like.
In the meantime, I'll take the real life experiences of real people who have been through it. Ask Cobain what money was like. Ask Staley what he thought about having more money than he could spend. Ask countless others of the unhappy rich.
If you're not happy with your life now, how are you going to be happy when all your dreams have come true and you have nothing left to dream for anymore?
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: K1052
But it is patently false to say that money alone can solve all your problems and get you everything you desire. Some things, people, and ideas are simply above price.
Give me an example, I'll prove you wrong.
Easy.
1. Find meaningful companionship.
2. Find a purpose in life.
3. Find a meaningful way to occupy your time.
4. Raise a good family.
Money buys freedom, but freedom isn't always happiness. Freedom just presents a whole new set of problems which must be overcome. Some of the happiest people I know work 40 hrs a week, because they love working.
Being rich does not mean you can't work. Why does everyone skip over this fact?
No argument. Still doesn't address my main point though - Freedom != happiness.
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: BlinderBomber
Easy.
1. Find meaningful companionship.
2. Find a purpose in life.
3. Find a meaningful way to occupy your time.
4. Raise a good family.
Money buys all those things:
1. Good luck on finding one while sitting at a desk all day working. You could be out traveling and meeting new people.
2. Your purpose isn't to be a pencil pusher in a office. Money buys time to learn philosophy (reading and education) and UNDERSTAND "purpose of life." Then when you understand, you will have the freedom to go out and find your purpose, experiment, and search. Work 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, spending the weekends doing household chores, and tell me you've found you're purpose, or even have TIME to find a purpose.
3. WORKing for money isn't a meaningful way to occupy your time. However, hobbies can be and working for fun (which usually doesn't pay well). If you were rich, you could do ANYTHING you wanted for a living, without regard to how much it paid.
4. Good luck on trying to raise a good family when you're never there, because you're too busy working. And when your kid gets accepted to Harvard, you can't afford to pay for it. And you can't afford to give them their first down payment on a house. Or buy them their first car. Or afford a house in a safe neighborhood, or tutors for school, or their own roomy bedroom (some poor kids have to share rooms with siblings).
Money wins, you lose.
Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Originally posted by: K1052
I'm not sure I've heard anything so shallow in quite a while. Anyone worth having, IMO, would see right through you like the two feet of water in a kiddy pool.
I don't work only for financial gain. The motivations of people are often a lot more complex than you imply.
There are certain things no amount of money could induce me to part with or could buy me.
Fact: Money influences everyone.
When's the last time you saw a HOMELESS person get married? Money itself may not influence, but the things money can bring does. It influences EVERYONE. Just because a girl only dates guys who aren't on welfare, doesn't make her shallow. Money makes you stand out and gives you a better chance.
And you didn't address my point about all the people who COULD have met, but didn't, because a non-wealthy person would have to spent all day working.
I myself often wonder of all the people I could have known right now if I didn't have to spend all day working on my business. To have all the time in the world to dedicate to anyone I choose.
It's not about numbers and things, it's about EXPERIENCE, FREEDOM, AND PERSONAL TIME. Money buys that, and those things bring happiness. Your whole idealist notion that "the only girl worth having would date you even if you were a homeless bum on the street" is completely BS. And because she wouldn't if you were a bum, that doesn't make her shallow, just means she has common sense to avoid a problematic person with little freetime.