Why I would quit my job if I won the Big One

[Poolgod32]

Nice post Irie

One of the things I have learned as I have grown older (just a year or so behind Irie) is that money doesnt buy you things. It buys you time.
I have spent so much of my life getting ready for work, putting clothes on, taking a shower, eating breakfast, driving to work, at work, driving home from work, unwinding from work. To say that anyone works only 40 hours is a joke these days. For most people, all the "extras" add 10-20 hours a week more.
Money buys you time. We spend so much time in the pursuit of money that we have little left over at the end of the day to do the things we want to do. Rich people, really rich people, have so much time on their hands. They often get bored if they arent actively working on something. I believe thats why so many of them have lives just as messed up as the rest of us. With all that time on their hands, they have nothing to do but sit around and think about how meaningless their lives are. The houses, the cars, the boats, the vacations just wont make you happy. You have to find some bigger purpose. Many of them never find it and they are miserable.
I know a guy here in town who is a partner for a major accounting firm. Hes fairly young, mid 30s, with a wife and two kids. He lives in a $400,000 home in a nice section of town. His wife stays home with the kids. They drive nice cars, take great vacations, etc. On the surface, they appear to have it all.
She is miserable, She never sees him . She is raising the kids mostly by herself. She has no job, no career, no hobbies, nothing. He is miserable when hes not at work. He works minimum 70 hours a week and is worried when hes not at work that he should be at work. Their situation is so typical of people with money.
As Irie mentioned, time is the most precious gift we have. You dont know how much you have left. It could end tomorrow, next week or 30 years from now but it will end. Noone ever dies wishing they had spent more time at work or had made more money. You long for spending time doing the things you love with the people you love. If you can do that, then you have lived a better life than 95% of the population.

[microbet]

I can't help but lock on one thing in your post since I'm interested in buying a house in California.

I guess your friend doesn't live here, because below is a $400,000 house (listed $399,000). 720 square feet of luxury built in 1940 straight out of Compton.

[citanul]

as a brief note:

i would quit my job if i won the main event, and my job is poker player.

i might even get a paid hobby.

citanul

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
Coming to terms with one's own morality and compassion comes though interacting with the largest possible cross-section of humanity

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The personal growth and such comes from doing things like flying halfway across the country to stay in a hotel room with some 45-year-old dude you met on the internet, not thinking for a second that it's about gay sex, and then spending a week throwing around money, going to strip clubs, drinking, and playing high-stakes poker. It comes from IM conversations with other thinking players about what all the moron unthinking players are thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

Morality and compassion indeed.

[Poolgod32]

micro,
Here 400,000 gets you about 3500 sq feet brick, hardwoods, etc in a nice section for the most part. The houses here are anywhere from 70,000 to $8 mil . Nice pic though

[pergesu]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Coming to terms with one's own morality and compassion comes though interacting with the largest possible cross-section of humanity

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
The personal growth and such comes from doing things like flying halfway across the country to stay in a hotel room with some 45-year-old dude you met on the internet, not thinking for a second that it's about gay sex, and then spending a week throwing around money, going to strip clubs, drinking, and playing high-stakes poker. It comes from IM conversations with other thinking players about what all the moron unthinking players are thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

Morality and compassion indeed.

[/ QUOTE ]
Am I less holy cause I choose to puff a blunt and drink a beer with my homies?

[Slim Pickens]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Coming to terms with one's own morality and compassion comes though interacting with the largest possible cross-section of humanity

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
The personal growth and such comes from doing things like flying halfway across the country to stay in a hotel room with some 45-year-old dude you met on the internet, not thinking for a second that it's about gay sex, and then spending a week throwing around money, going to strip clubs, drinking, and playing high-stakes poker. It comes from IM conversations with other thinking players about what all the moron unthinking players are thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

Morality and compassion indeed.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had to come to terms with the fact that I'm not a moral or compassionate person in the strictest sense. Maybe I'm not moral or compassionate in any sense. Not everyone's going to like me or be happy with the way I live my life.

[HesseJam]

************************************
Time
(Mason, Waters, Wright, Gilmour) 7:06

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.
*************************

I bought "The Dark Side of the Moon" when I was 14 years old. I loved the sound of the song but as the typical non-native English spoken listener never cared about its lyrics.

I am now 42 and a couple of weeks ago listened to the lyrics the first time. Freaked me out!

[HesseJam]

Yesterday, I won a 27 player FPP-tourney on Stars to give my depleted roll another shot of $215. I was happy for 50 seconds. I would have been desolated if I had come in only 2nd again.

Saturday, I spent the day at the ballpark and my 8 year old son won the double header with his team. I'll be happy the whole week. I would have been just as happy if they had lost both games.

[DonT77]

Awesome post Craig (and nice reply by AMT too).


A few comments-

In order to experience true happiness, one must be at peace with their mortality.
I know this is true for me, but I'm not sure if this applies to everyone or maybe it applies to everyone and some people just don't realize it.

their eyes engage your soul when they speak.
Well put, and I agree that we should all try to live more like this.

the key to happiness lies in surrounding yourself with other compassionate beings.
IMO, happiness is a state of mind - and often times it is a decision. I think a person can will themselves to be happy. Happiness is not a destination or a goal, but an overall state of being. Forgiveness is the greatest gift we have to give. As corny as all this sounds, if you can get yourself to believe this - you will no longer have issues with tilt or the depression that comes with running bad.

It's because I feel like I understand a little bit about how to find true happiness and I know that the requisite knowledge will not be displayed on a 2001FP over streaming video.
Happiness is many things to many people, and I'm sure there was a day when drinking, chicks, and a 2001FP would have been 'happiness' in my mind (and they still sound pretty good!). There are phases that we go through in life. As a teenager or person in their early 20's, most people aren't concerned about their legacy or their life's contribution. Over time, or as we get closer to our deaths, people become more concerned about how they will be remembered or could they have done more for others.


Would I quit my job?

I too have a great job. I make more money than I ever imagined I would and I don't have to work very hard anymore (but most of this came from getting those papers called 'degrees' and 'certifications' that 'prove' I'm as smart as I tell prospective employers/clients that I am). I also receive appreciation for the job I do, and it gives me a positive self-image. All that said, I would also quit my job in a heartbeat if ever given enough money to do so; to do the things I want to do - when I want to do them. There is no greater freedom in life. But for those who multi-table for hours on end, drink, and seek chicks as their life's ambition - life it up and enjoy your great freedom, avoid regrets where you can, and know that as you get older your priorities are likely to change.

For those considering quitting school - my advice is to finish college, it'll give you more 'freedom' when you get older (and while I don't relate 'freedom' to 'happiness', I do think that 'freedom' is essential to 'enjoyment' - which I guess is the distinction I'm trying to make here - that 'happiness' and 'enjoyment' are 2 different things).