can i sustain my current lifestyle? (workaholic)

ozdg3nr8 · #1 11-11-2007, 08:17 AM

i guess im posting this because i have started struggling a bit mentally getting a bit depressed and wondering if its all worth it.
i work in a family business which takes up around 50 hours a week of my time which is fine, im used to these hours, i have been doing this since i was 18, i am now 24.
For the past 2 years i have played "semi-professional" poker in my spare time (15-20 hours) a week. In this current year to date i have made 90k tax-free (australia) from playing poker alone. It has become a real drag on me to play, i essentially hate playing but i "need" to for personal reason/goals.
I wish to achieve complete financial freedom by age 35 and think i am on track to make this goal a reality if i sustain my current lifestyle which is work, eat, [censored], play poker repeat.
Currently, i have around a 300k in liquid assets (cash, stocks) and am paying off a 2 million dollar mortgage which is joint owned by my brother who works even harder than i do, but he is far older (33).
the mortgage shouldnt be a problem as our family businesses are fairly sucessful.
i guess only i can know if i can sustain this lifestyle, many of my friends say i am insane for doing what i do, i however think that only great things are achieved through very hard work.
i guess my mentality is to achieve the goal at all costs, i have no balance in my life, everything revolves around making money, although i do not live a balla lifestyle i have almost everything i want in terms of toys and such.
i guess im just rambling now, maybe i need a motivational kick to keep me going.

Henry17 · #2 11-11-2007, 08:57 AM

I had a very similar mentality only I picked 25 rather than 35. Assuming you take care of yourself physically you'll be fine until about 32-33. At that point you'll find 70 hours of work + active social life = too much. By then though, if all goes well, you'll be close enough to the target that you can cut back on work some.

sonneti · #3 11-11-2007, 10:44 AM

If you're happy that's great but if you're working your ass off with no time out to enjoy life whats the point in making all that money? I have a semi-rich uncle he worked hard for 20 years and sold off his business for over $2 Million.. he's retired now and he's still the same miserable bastard he always was.

I think life is for living anyone of us could be dead tomorrow.

PLOlover · #4 11-11-2007, 05:49 PM

I don't do it but I've heard of people even some famous people who say they can work 100 hours a week no problem indefinitely as long as they take one day a week and do absolutely nothing at all on that day to recharge.

I forget who the famous person was actually I think he was an atheist but I remember reading about how his day off he actually did totally nothing.

notreallymyname · #5 11-12-2007, 06:34 AM

To state the obvious, that means working 16 hours days for 6 days per week and not being allowed a life on the seventh day either. Fun.

Johnes Benjamin · #6 11-12-2007, 01:57 PM

If I was in your position I wouldn't put a strong emphasis on the number of hours I play in a week. Leave yourself room to take time off when you really want to.
Other than that, keep plugging away

ozdg3nr8 · #7 11-13-2007, 08:58 AM

well i dunno how you got 16 hours a day x 6 days a week, but its more like 10 hours with a couple of 15 hour days 6 days a week and i have one full day a week off where i sleep in from being so tired and then im usually just grinding anyway so its not really a day off.
And i know its not fun, its not meant to be, its damn hard but then i think of all the other people who are in much much worse situations and this pushes me to work harder i guess.
dont get me wrong, i still find the occasional day to hang out with my mates and i do go overseas every year to go snowboarding but i know of noone who works my hours, especially at my age, none of my friends who are in banking even.
just im just curious to see if there are other people with my same line of thoughts about their future

AJackson · #8 11-14-2007, 12:09 AM

nothing wrong with pushing yourself while you're young to set up the rest of your life. just watch yourself to avoid burnout.

Anadrol 50 · #9 11-14-2007, 07:14 PM

As long as you get laid on the regular, you are cool.

PLOlover · #10 11-14-2007, 10:23 PM

[ QUOTE ]
To state the obvious, that means working 16 hours days for 6 days per week and not being allowed a life on the seventh day either. Fun.

[/ QUOTE ]

well it just means working all week except wehn you sleep. I mean think of business exec, goes to lunch, might screw secretary after work in the office, etc. but he's still at work all day.