Behaviour and success

[ProxyAmenRa]

I found this interesting article on zerohedge regarding how to be successful:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-09-22/jack-ma-if-youre-poor-35-you-deserve-it

Here are two excerpts:

Jack Ma: People lose out in life because of these 4 reasons:

1. Being myopic to opportunity
2. Looking down on opportunities
3. Lacking understanding
4. Failing to act quickly enough

You are poor, because you have no ambition.
Ambition is living a life of great ideals; a magnificent goal in life that must be realised.
In this world, there are things that are deemed unfathomable, but there is nothing in this world that cannot be done. The depth of one’s ambition determines the potential of one’ future.

Lessons...

• You are poor because you do not have the desire to become successful.
• You are poor because you lack foresight.
• You are poor because you cannot overcome your cowardice.
• You are poor because you lack the courage and determination.

• With ambition you can overcome all inferiority and maximise your potential!
• With ambition you can persevere, continuously learn new things and strive for perfection.
• With ambition you can defy all odds, and create miracles when others daren’t.

No matter how poor your family is, do not doubt your own abilities and lose sight of your ambition.

• When your family deems you worthless, no one will pity you.
• When your parents do not have money to pay the medical bills, no one will pity you.
• When you are beaten by your competitors, no one will pity you.
• When your loved ones abandon you, no one will pity you.
• When you have not accomplished anything by the time you are 35, no one will pity you.

The generally theme is that if you sit on your ass and choose not decide on goals and work for them, you will accomplish nothing. This is absolutely true. I have never seen or heard of a self-pitying asshole accomplishing anything in life. Those I have met who have escaped poverty, war, destitution and perverse told me that they have done so by making the conscious choice. One of my friends walked half of the African continent to escape. He managed to learn English on his own and complete and engineering degree with first class honours. Now he is studying a masters degree.

 

[OrLevitate]

What are your goals? I'd like to be inspired.

 

[StevenM]

I have a ton of ambition.

It's just that most of it is directed into stuff that's getting me nowhere.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I didn't read the full article but I have some thoughts on this. In a general sense, the drive of ambition and making a choice have to be present for success but frankly this isn't new. It's been addressed by most inspirational speakers from way back including Oprah. And everyone brings out the person they knew who had nothing and how they made it. I can do the same...my immigrant parents would be an example but I can also find real people in my life who have failed. Did they not have ambition, drive and make a choice to succeed? This is a complicated issue that isn't just determined by the internal motivation of an individual and bang, you have success. There are many factors at play. Psychology of the individual, society/culture they are in, life experiences, support/mentorship systems, health...

The person you mentioned from Africa. Did he not have drive, ambition and choose to succeed in Africa? Why didn't he succeed there? Fairly sure we all know why. My immigrant parents came to America in their 30s. Dad worked 2 jobs (sometimes 3), saved, sacrificed and were able to make a nice living but they didn't move up in positions. Dad was a janitor and mom a housekeeper/cleaner for wealthy families. They didn't have much of a life and didn't enjoy the life they had as much as take pleasure in their children's future success. One of the reasons why my family did well was because my fathers job was union and wages and pension was decent. I doubt you'll find a janitor job like that anymore which would have put pressure for him to either work more (3 jobs?) or pay money to learn a trade or degree which could have helped but maybe not.

A friend of mine worked a job while going to school. She was a single mom raising her kids and trying to succeed. Yes, she held a job and her family did ok but she's barely making it financially. You can call that success (and I do) but not the ideals she had for herself. She lost her job and you could see the hope drain away.

I don't want to discount what the article points out. It IS important to have those qualities. Every successful person has/had ambition, ideals, drive, choice. Necessary but not sufficient.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Success is not guaranteed but simply doing nothing will not make you successful.

 

[Pyropyro]

I remembered reading in Cracked about driven people. The article says that you should pursue your goals as if there's a loaded gun pointed at your head. Said gun might be part 'grit' and part 'ambition'.

 

[Red myst]

Knowing when to quit is also important to success. Understanding yourself is I think the most important thing. Playing to your strengths, protecting your shortcomings, knowing when it's time to change direction are also very important.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

The other problem I have with these types of articles or inspirational speakers is it sets up an expectation on the listener and if they don't succeed, they feel even worse, dejected and lose hope because they should have succeeded and are left off worse than when they started.

If I have to live life as if there is a loaded gun pointed at me, shoot me now.

 

[Pyropyro]

The other problem I have with these types of articles or inspirational speakers is it sets up an expectation on the listener and if they don't succeed, they feel even worse, dejected and lose hope because they should have succeeded and are left off worse than when they started.

If I have to live life as if there is a loaded gun pointed at me, shoot me now.

I think part of the problem is the "instant" mentality in our present generation. People simply expect that success be an easy or quick goal. In reality, success takes time and can only be earned after experiencing a lot of failures.

 

[Analyzer]

"Having no ambition, I have always preferred the success of others to my own, and had more pleasure in it." - Albert Jay Nock

 

[EditorOne]

"I doubt you'll find a janitor job like that anymore which would have put pressure for him to either work more (3 jobs?) or pay money to learn a trade or degree which could have helped but maybe not.

A friend of mine worked a job while going to school. She was a single mom raising her kids and trying to succeed. Yes, she held a job and her family did ok but she's barely making it financially. You can call that success (and I do) but not the ideals she had for herself. She lost her job and you could see the hope drain away.

I don't want to discount what the article points out. It IS important to have those qualities. Every successful person has/had ambition, ideals, drive, choice. Necessary but not sufficient."

It's better to not have your future depend on someone else. That dependency is unavoidable with a job of any type, compared to running your own business. My generation was more or less a crossover from "get a job and work at it for 40 years" to "you will work for at least four different companies in your job career" to "there is no reason to believe financial security exists for anyone earning a wage." If I had it all to do over again, I'd take your father's example: Rather than work as a janitor, I'd start a janitorial services company after one year working for someone else. Minimal startup costs, it's a service in demand, and I could show anyone how it would be cheaper to hire me on a contract basis than pay any employee. A great many expenses anyone has simply by being employed suddenly become tax deductible if they are a business expense; I can expand my own labor force quickly because a lot of people are looking for any kind of work they can get; and right now, I don't have to offer medical insurance to attract workers because it's available much more affordably than ever before (in the U.S.).
I'd only work for someone long enough to learn the craft. Entrepreneurship doesn't have to involve a new product or process, it can produce an income out of entirely prosaic work.
Additionally, I control some of the outcomes: I might face an occasional shit-disturbing customer, but I can fire a bad customer. I can never fire a shit-disturbing boss.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

"I doubt you'll find a janitor job like that anymore which would have put pressure for him to either work more (3 jobs?) or pay money to learn a trade or degree which could have helped but maybe not.

A friend of mine worked a job while going to school. She was a single mom raising her kids and trying to succeed. Yes, she held a job and her family did ok but she's barely making it financially. You can call that success (and I do) but not the ideals she had for herself. She lost her job and you could see the hope drain away.

I don't want to discount what the article points out. It IS important to have those qualities. Every successful person has/had ambition, ideals, drive, choice. Necessary but not sufficient."

It's better to not have your future depend on someone else. That dependency is unavoidable with a job of any type, compared to running your own business. My generation was more or less a crossover from "get a job and work at it for 40 years" to "you will work for at least four different companies in your job career" to "there is no reason to believe financial security exists for anyone earning a wage." If I had it all to do over again, I'd take your father's example: Rather than work as a janitor, I'd start a janitorial services company after one year working for someone else. Minimal startup costs, it's a service in demand, and I could show anyone how it would be cheaper to hire me on a contract basis than pay any employee. A great many expenses anyone has simply by being employed suddenly become tax deductible if they are a business expense; I can expand my own labor force quickly because a lot of people are looking for any kind of work they can get; and right now, I don't have to offer medical insurance to attract workers because it's available much more affordably than ever before (in the U.S.).
I'd only work for someone long enough to learn the craft. Entrepreneurship doesn't have to involve a new product or process, it can produce an income out of entirely prosaic work.
Additionally, I control some of the outcomes: I might face an occasional shit-disturbing customer, but I can fire a bad customer. I can never fire a shit-disturbing boss.

The problem with that example is not everyone has the disposition, talent and head for entrepreneurial start-ups and even if everyone did, there would be only chiefs and no indians. As Red myst pointed out "Understanding yourself is I think the most important thing. Playing to your strengths, protecting your shortcomings, knowing when it's time to change direction are also very important."

 

[Reluctantly]

Knowing when to quit is also important to success. Understanding yourself is I think the most important thing. Playing to your strengths, protecting your shortcomings, knowing when it's time to change direction are also very important.

This is something that I've been applying to my life over the past 6 or so years and I agree with you. This has been a lot more sensible and useful for me than pretending to be something that I'm not.

 

[Pyropyro]

Knowing when to quit is also important to success. Understanding yourself is I think the most important thing. Playing to your strengths, protecting your shortcomings, knowing when it's time to change direction are also very important.

I agree. One's failures help point you to the right direction if you're willing to listen to them.

 

[Lot]

My biggest issue with these kinds of articles is their view on success. It's almost always being rich. I agree with the principle of actively reaching your goals. If you do nothing there is a very big chance you have what you want, unless you are a consistent nihilist. Then I think doing nothing at all would be success.

I have little to no desire to be rich. Money is fairly low on my list of values. It's only important in so far as acquiring the things I desire that require it.

I find myself sympathizing with Paradoxparadigm7's sentiment.

You are poor, because you have no ambition
Ambition is living a life of great ideals; a magnificent goal in life that must be realised. In this world, there are things that are deemed unfathomable, but there is nothing in this world that cannot be done. The depth of one’s ambition determines the potential of one’ future.

This is stupid. 1)Ambition doesn't equal desire to be rich. 2)People fail. Some people try and fail their entire life. 3)"Nothing that cannot be done." Are you kidding me? This is the kind of logic of an overly idealistic teenager. A severely brain damaged person can't fix their brain themselves. They can attempt to live up to there limited mental potential, but no matter how much they want to fix their brain, they can't.
(side note: The dad from Step Brothers, wanting to be a dinosaur.)

Yes their are people that overcome their disabilities and shitty life situations. That happens. Some people realize their goals aren't actually valuable and have their value system changed. Then new goals take root. New chances to try and accomplish their goals.

Spoiler

On the off chance you are trolling us. Good Game. I bit.

 

[Red myst]

I read this book a few years ago titled "The Personality Code". And couldn't agree with it more. I hate generic motivational speeches and books. Trying harder may or may not get you anywhere depending on a variety of factors. It's about what to work at, where to put the focus. Self understanding leads you to understand the environments that you will best flourish.

Form the front jacket of the book:

Character is destiny

Conventional wisdom says that success is a simple matter of "being who you want to be." This well-intended advice couldn't be further from the truth. By the time we reach adulthood, who we are is already determined by fixed traits that change less than 1% in a lifetime.

Self-Awareness Breeds Success

With the vast majority of what we do and say controlled by personality, self-awareness stands alone as the ubiquitous indicator of success. The secret to building self-awareness lies in deciphering your personality code--the fixed set of traits that explain your choices and behavior.

 

[Analyzer]

I think there is a difference between Success and success, as well as Ambition and ambition besides the capitalization.

 

[paradoxparadigm7]

I read this book a few years ago titled "The Personality Code". And couldn't agree with it more. I hate generic motivational speeches and books. Trying harder may or may not get you anywhere depending on a variety of factors. It's about what to work at, where to put the focus. Self understanding leads you to understand the environments that you will best flourish.

Form the front jacket of the book:

Character is destiny

Conventional wisdom says that success is a simple matter of "being who you want to be." This well-intended advice couldn't be further from the truth. By the time we reach adulthood, who we are is already determined by fixed traits that change less than 1% in a lifetime.

Self-Awareness Breeds Success

With the vast majority of what we do and say controlled by personality, self-awareness stands alone as the ubiquitous indicator of success. The secret to building self-awareness lies in deciphering your personality code--the fixed set of traits that explain your choices and behavior.

Now THAT'S inspiring!

 

[Deleted member 1424]

blah blah blah 'close' blah
This mentality is short sighted and willfully ignorant. Worse, it's infantile.

I don't live for wealth or prestige.
If I did I'd kill myself.

 

[Red myst]

Now THAT'S inspiring!

It was quite inspiring to read something that resonated so well with what I had come to believe was my key to success a long time ago. But it's hard sometimes not to get caught up in that conventional wisdom. Finding yourself trying to live up to someone else's expectations.

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

blah blah blah 'close' blah
This mentality is short sighted and willfully ignorant. Worse, it's infantile.

I don't live for wealth or prestige.
If I did I'd kill myself.

Who purported you should live for wealth or prestige?

 

[OrLevitate]

blah blah blah 'close' blah
This mentality is short sighted and willfully ignorant. Worse, it's infantile.

I don't live for wealth or prestige.
If I did I'd kill myself.

yayaya