It’s common for people to switch from one strong belief to the opposite, and to proselytize each belief as the only true possibility.
I used to be a bit of a hippy. I’ve lived in a Buddhist monastery where anti-materialism was a given, and the monks had taken vows of poverty. I’ve long thought that status was a gerbil cage, complete with wheel. I thought that the reason to have money was so that a person could have free time.Now I work 16 hours a day, every day. No lunch breaks – the laptop is beside me as I wolf down my food. Videos are mostly educational. If I go out it’s to the gym. Even this blog post is a strategy to power.
The mentor of my twenties told me that when people came closer his mid-forties age, they started to think about having kids, even if they never wanted them before. He told me that older gentlemen naturally switch their focus towards gathering power. “It becomes all about the power”.
As a young guy who only wanted to meditate and fuck, it was inconceivable to me that I could ever become stereotypical.
Power and wealth coincidentally become much more important to the older mans sexual strategy. And many guys switch from a sowing oats full time strategy to tree farming. Maybe with a little oat scattering on the side. It’s as if our sexual strategies were evolved, and different strategies become more relevant as predictably as biological clockwork.
If you want to get rich, you have to choose that item from the menu, to the exclusion of other items. It takes focus. The more wealth you want, the more focus you need to give.
Necessity is the mother of mental stamina.
I’ve fired one staff member, and another I was about to fire quit. My personal assistant wanted to do a good job, she just happened to be incompetent and unable to focus. There are strong labour laws in Indonesia, and I have to give the girl about 4 months salary in recognition of her two years work here. It’s worth the expense to upgrade.
I’ve hired four smart, talented and well educated people for the marketing team. One of those is a video producer. I could use a hundred more on the marketing team, just for the current businesses. Hired a very skilled 3d artist, and will train him in 3d animation. Hired 3 skilled fabricators. I’m still interviewing for more engineers, and more for the marketing team. I’m putting out a new ad for more web admins and designers. I’m working to build a team of western educated copywriters.
But I can’t afford them. Not really. I’m running business expansion on sales profit, with no investors and no line of credit. There is no cushion, other than my untouchable savings. There is nothing left over at the end of the month.
That is how I manage to have the mental stamina and focus to work 16 hours per day, every day. I’ve put my self into sink or swim situations for decades, and now I’m way out in the ocean, with the direction to land only visible through old time maritime navigation. Stars, the sun, and the waves. I’m not afraid, I’m motivated. I know how to swim, so I’m swimming. It’s not a mistake that I’m out here in deep water. It’s exactly where I need to be.
I can’t afford to increase my marketing staff. But I can’t increase my sales without them. I can’t afford to hire new engineers. But I can’t develop new products and diversify my dangerously narrow income stream without them.
I could have easily chosen the Rich Dad/Poor Dad philosophy of limiting expenses in order to save for a future. Instead of investing heavily in potential businesses, I’d have a retirement egg.
I’ve been having recurring dreams of losing everything. My old jewellery vendor boards are empty, my inventory all gone, my sales gigs dried up, my transportation confiscated. It’s not entirely comfortable being so far from land, even if I do know how to swim.
And yet I know that this is the only path to greatness. This level of risk, this level of focus, and this level of work is the only menu choice for me, at this stage in my life. My work is not a burden, it is my driven passion. I don’t want to do anything else. I don’t wish for any time off, and turn down all invitations to do anything other than work.
In ages past there were leaders of small tribes, leaders of regions, lords, and kings. People got their power through politics, the sword, and trade. Often all three. Slavery has been common to the social set-up for all of recorded history, and wealth has always moved up the classes. Labour and their fruits aggregated from the lowest classes of slaves owned by slaves up to slave holders, to chieftains, to regional lords, to kings.
The old hierarchies are just as active today as they have been for all of known history. I have my own group of slaves and tribe members, and am a sort of small tribal chieftain. As a chieftain I can see higher ambitions. I am literally conquering new territories, in real estate acquisitions. I am expanding my labour and trade bases.
I’ve spend time at a Rainbow Gathering, where hippies lived in the woods off of donations. The ethos was that materialism was a trap, and the wise forest hippies had happily escaped it. There was much love in the air, and it was emotionally healthy.
That’s one menu choice.
Wealth and power is another.
Real wealth is attainable, for those with talent and drive. The drive required is so extreme that it can look like a disease. The focus required is intense. Every fifteen minutes counts.
I’m managing something like 15 staff now, and this is just the beginning. That’s a very small company. I will need 50 soon. Some people have hundreds. Thousands. Tens of thousands.
Once I’ve consolidated my current positions, people will look to me with envy, and say “Wow, you’re so lucky. I wish I could live like that”. They will say “I want to be in his position once I get to his age”.
But very few people want to go through the process.
The process isn’t actually that bad. Over time you get used to it, and learn to take real pleasure from work. Work is challenging and fun.
Pingback: The 4 hour work week vs the 16 hour work day – Manosphere.com
what do you do? what’s your work, your line of business?
As an anonymity freak who is cautious with trade secrets, I keep my cards close to my chest. So I don’t like to talk about the details.
“I’m just curious” doesn’t really count as a reason for asking anyway.
Most entrepreneurs who are not selling motivation are the same. Few entrepreneurs discuss how they make their money. Why would they?
uh i dunno – credibility maybe. I’ve brokered telecomm gear nationally and internationally for over a decade – I didn’t give away any trade secrets to you by saying that… Nor clientele or suppliers or license, corporate, contact info, logistical details, inventory details, warehouse locations… just a vague idea of how one might make money on the internet as your article details. Brokering network hardware is what I’m familiar with which is why I read your article…
If you have nothing to lose by mentioning your business, that’s great. Not all entrepreneurs feel that way. I certainly have nothing to gain from talking about the details of my business.
I don’t understand your comment about credibility. What could that possibly mean?
Why would anyone doubt my post, and what possible value would I gain from catering to anyone who would doubt? These posts are free. If they are not appreciated then readers are more than welcome to exit out of the fuck off door.
I don’t doubt that the words in the post are true, but readers always want as much context as they can get.
Yup. But readers are not entitled to it.
I know some blog writers who have become very sensitive to readers expectations. Sensitive in that they get quite pissed off when readers expect something for nothing. Steve Jabba often mentions such frustration. The Wallstreetplayboys.com not only have a no questions allowed commenting policy, but they perma-ban commenters for asking questions.
What, exactly, do you plan to give to me for fulfilling your desire for context?
Or is thinking in terms of reciprocation not your habit?
This is not some PUA blog where I give away some content in order to garner sales for ebooks.
I’m not selling or advertising anything here. By design. The last thing I’d want is a few extra grand per month from blogging. My business interests are not about a few thousand dollars. I could not be paid to monetize the blog. Anything I give away at all is a gift. And you want more than that?
He can’t tell you because he talks about his very non-PC sex and religious life in the same context. That is why. Maybe some other random blog identity that are never linked he could talk about his business. But white guy going hardcore with a product development business in Indonesia is actually pretty easy to connect! It’s too unique.
Many of the things you describe are the reason why freelance work is booming. Why pay a great worker a full time great salary for one job that takes them a couple of hours, or keep on a poor worker on a poor salary to slave fifteen hours over the same job? Why not just pay the great worker twice the going rate for the two hours and then cut ties and let them hustle elsewhere until you need them again?
Here’s hoping the market keeps expanding and breaking down into smaller units, cause that’s one of the most beneficial structures for most digital workers and employers.
Yes, I still use freelancers also. It only makes sense not to if there is full time work for a good qualified specialist.
But as my company grows, I do try to attract the full time specialists and keep them busy.
The videographer I hired will act basically as contractor; he will hire temp workers for video projects. He’s done that before, and his work seemed ok. He’ll work together in a team with my new full time 3d graphic artist, plus script writers.
Eventually I’d like in house cameramen and all the rest.
Ah, but you’re only working that much out now that you’re standing there saying “If only so and so worked full time, he’d get this sorted in a jiffy.” I think using freelancers helps skip that stage of hiring and firing over and over. Possibly hence why so many determined young people are succeeding with small ventures, or at least not going bankrupt under their failure. They save expense and time by not hiring their best friend in a full time part time job. It’s still a tough market, but knowing how to use every digital resource to your advantage is the new essential.
I’m not quite getting your argument. Are you saying that if an employer has full time work for a specialist or team of specialists, he should not hire people full time, but should instead hire freelancers?
Freelancers do not always give better quality work over full time staff. Freelancers are more difficult to train and maintain. Freelancers are more difficult to manage. Freelancers are more expensive. Freelancers are not always available, because they are busy doing work for other people.
In general, freelancers are useful only if you don’t have full time work for an in house staff member, or if you can’t find qualified staff for your office. Or if you don’t even have an office, I suppose. Or if you are living in a country with expensive labour, and can outsource to countries with where the dollar goes farther.
There are just so many advantages to having in-office full time staff. I have a fingerprint scanner, and know when people are here. Their time and efficiency is managed. There are many tasks where it’s not possible to pay per performance. Pay per hour is required, and in-office staff are the only staff whose hours can be monitored.
And again, training can take months, and even years, for many jobs.
Then there are the personal face to face relationships.
I could go on and on.
You’re a Jewelry Importer/Exporter, aren’t you?
Maybe doing some Ad work on the side?
Based in Lombok, I’d guess, hanging out at ‘4 Brothers’ when in Bali.
M
Ok, sure.
Regarding homeless dude: As the saying goes, owning a yacht is much like standing in a cold shower tearing up ten pound bills.
I think you’re thinking of a boat. With a yacht, you pay someone to tear up the money for you, while you are below deck.
Unless it’s a racing yacht. I suppose the type who like racing yachts have the same masochistic tendencies as other extreme sportsmen. People who climb Mount Everest or go trecking around the poles. Expensive masoschism tends to look like heroism and winning to other people.
The attitude that 10 pound bills “matter”, and would or should bother the rich is an attitude most can’t seem to shake. Yes, big boats can cost tends of thousands and even millions per year just in upkeep. Spending isn’t painful when it’s no significant loss.
I hear the same attitude from some men towards gold diggery women. If a guy can afford extra apartments and never notice any negatives to his personal finances, money is not something to protect.
Money isn’t something to be saved. Money is a tool. It’s not even money if you don’t know how to spend it.
Guys who don’t have any “extra” money don’t want to be put upon for their precious commodities, and want instead to be appreciated for other free qualities.
A girl might open her legs for the money, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be turned into a love slave. The promise of money is just the initial in.
Pimps promise girls the dream, only to have girls giving them money. It’s the same principle. Kind of a bait and switch. They expect to tool a beta, but can just as easily wind up getting tooled.
So ya, being able to attract gold diggers is not so dissimilar to being able to attract based on looks or game. Looks don’t even guarantee great sexual chemistry. Lots of handsome guys never get a girl to fall in love. Being handsome is just an in. Same for lots of guys with game.
Any foot in the door is a foot. Who cares why she fucked you for the first few months. What matters is when you cut her off from anything but a trickle of money, and if the blow jobs and orgasms still come as commonly.
So far they do. It’s just biological; even old men can push the required triggers in young girls.
As long as they can get a dick in the door.
Do you have a power rack in your housing somewhere? It does wonders to your gym/time ratio.
I’m not sure what that is. But the gym is close by.
I also have a body bag on the 5th floor rooftop garden.
You are working 16 hours a day everyday, with employees and you consider yourself lucky or something? You just started a path of misery. You are probably worse off than the normal 8-5 employee. Unless what you do is not permanent and it just the means to a more relaxed life, which I doubt the way you describe it.
There are far far better solutions for a better life. Less time, more money. being mobile and ZERO employees are the keys. When you figure that out then you can be proud of what you do. Now you are just wasting your time, like everyone else.
I’ve lived several different lifestyles. I’ve been semi retired before, more than once. I suppose I act like that often. That’s cool too.
I’m working for a purpose right now. Perhaps you think my purpose could be achieved with less work. It doesn’t seem that way to me.
First of all, it depends on what your purpose(goal or grand personal purpose?) is. If for example you work hard to help some community and your work(apart from having personal income) directly helps the community, then this is another matter.
If your purpose is to simply make money, then I’m afraid you are wasting your time. Because yes, you can get more with 1/3 of the time you spend currently and without employees.
Ok, thanks for the update. I’m wasting my time then. Always nice to meet omniscient people. I hope we can be friends.