This past week gamers have called out Elon for most likely outsourcing the playing of a video game that he bragged he was top 20 in the world at. On live streams it's apparent he doesn't have the game knowledge/habits of a top player, and regardless, the time investment to be top 20 would be something like 12 hours per day.
Made me think of this post. Why would someone lie to impress others, unless they are deeply insecure? Maybe what all these guys share is a hole that can never be filled.
Derek Sivers is worth looking up. He lives on Enough from the money he got from selling CD Baby & the rest is in Trust & used to promote Education or something like that
Nice article Chris. I've long hoped you might interview an American guy I've followed for a while now called Robin Greenfield - maybe you are already aware of him. He's about to complete a walk from Canada to LA and upon arriving in LA will give up all of his possessions. An interesting contrast to a Zuckerbot to say the least.
I find this conversation intriguing. I know someone who is worth 100 billion ( no exaggerating, 100 BILLION) Its fascinating because you would have no idea if you were to walk up to them on the street or even walk into thier home. The top 1% mean nothing to me, here is why. I do not know this wealthy person well enough to ask probing questions about being that wealthy. But I have my assumptions.... I am reminded of the movie "Brewster's millions" where Richard Pryor's character has to spend a million dollars in a month in order to recieve 10 million. For my acquaintance to spend a noticeable amount of thier net worth would be "exhausting work" so are they really only worth what they can spend? The rest of it is just hoarding money and essentially worthless. So for rest of us peasants the cash doesn't really exist. If a tribe has 50 pearls and the "wealthiest" member has 40 of them stashed away in a cave does the tribe actually have 50 pearls or just 10? Wouldn't it be a futile waste of energy fretting over 40 inaccessible pearls? Seems like adding them to the pool would just reduce thier value anyway. I believe as it relates to the article, people of means realize eventually that wealth does not equate to purpose and meaning. History does not remember who the wealthiest man in the world was in 1965 but they remember who Martin Luther King was. Uber wealthy people mean nothing to me they ultimately have no more power to impact the world than anyone else. Dr. King, George W. Bush, Charles Manson, Elvis Presley, Ghandi, Steve Jobs, Adolf Hitler, Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, they had some things in common but wealth wasn't one of them. Fuck you money does not protect you from that nobody who flies a 747 into your office building, the young man with a gun and a grudge against the health insurance industry, or the transgender daughter who hates your existence.
An added layer, this also reminds me of Chris's story about his first few days in India where he lost all his money and an interaction I had in a class during my undergrad. During his trip to India when the hotel attendant found his money her returned it even though it was more money than he could imagine. It might have well been a billion dollars. But when Chris offered to repay him the innkeeper said no that would be offensive, instead we will have a celebration of his integrity. In other words... integrity carries more wealth than $15,000 American dollars.
During a class my professor did an entire lecture on the futility of population growth and resource consumption of this planet. He illustrated that as wealth increases, birthrates decrease. Unfortunately, if we were to increase the wealth of impoverished areas to our level we would outstrip the planets resources. After the lecture he opened it up for discussion, I raised my hand and said, "Why do we not just redefine wealth?"
I think financial capital is not wealth, it's just financial hoarding. Wealth is something entirely different.
I do not want to have a billion dollars anymore than I want 500 Beanie Babies. Which is why I have never played the lottery, climbed the corporate ladder, or invested my money, it just simply doesn't interest me.
I had a sales job in Austin years ago at a company that had a fairly well-to-do clientele. My initial assumption was that they were smarter than most people because they had more money than most, but it didn’t take long to see through that illusion. They weren’t necessarily rich because they were intelligent (although some of them were, of course)—they were just better at playing the game of capitalism. A great athlete isn’t smarter just because he can play football. He’s just good at that particular game. Until we stop valuing these type of people such as celebrities, politicians, and lords of commerce, this scenario won’t change much. To be honest, I wish I’d played the game a little better, but that’s another story.
I love reflecting on this topic. This really became clear to me a few years ago when I was watching a documentary called Sydney Luxe Listings on Amazon Prime. They follow around some of the 'top real estate agents' in Sydney's most affluent suburbs- a reality TV show- you know- houses worth many millions of dollars.
In one scene the buyer's agent Simon takes a call from a British lady who's a client of his. I just remember the way she spoke to him and ordered him around. She was angry, patronising, gross. "You need to ABC, and DEF". Did he have no self-respect? Why would he let someone, anyone speak to him that way? He seemed to have absolutely no cognitive dissonance, one moment he's flying around Sydney in a fancy car, he's rich, one of the best buyer's agents in the country, the boss of everything, telling all his staff what to do, making multimillion dollar deals for houses, and the next moment he's just a slave like the rest of us, only a slave who has no time left for self-reflection or mental health because he works ridiculous hours.
It was a deeply clarifying moment for me.
"Fuck you" money is actually just enough to pay your fundamental bills and get by, it turns out. "Fuck you" money is enough to opt out of having to be a millionaire.
As always well put Chris. I do agree with your point that people who claim to have FUM end up with less freedom to spend their time how they wish than most people with far less money. However, I'd like to peel back the layers and go a little deeper.
How I understand it, the underlying assumption of FUM is that once you get there you can walk away and do whatever you want with your time since you no longer need to trade your time for money, or at least that is how it is portrayed. What happens next? How does one spend all of their newfound time? Margarita's on a tropical island sounds ideal but would tire eventually as we seek do be part of something - a purpose. I imagined I would spend my post-FUM time doing something meaningful, contributing in a way that aligned with my deeper values.
I challenge this central assumption of FUM. I used to dream of FUM when I spent all of my time doing something I didn't particularly enjoy (or even found soul-crushing). However, the times in my life when I have spent more of my time doing something that aligns with my deeper purpose and value, the fantasy of FUM seemed to disappear since I was already trading my time for money doing what I would otherwise be doing for free once I reached the FUM milestone theoretically.
Therefore I recommend skip the FUM fantasy altogether and do something that aligns with your core values and purpose at the time (since these can change over time so always good to reflect regularly). A note of warning from my own personal experience is to set boundaries based on the ideal lifestyle you would like to live. I know I can become so caught up in my work that I can lose track of spending time with family, friends and my hobbies so I find it important to check in with myself and set those boundaries (for instance, no work on weekends) in order to live that balanced life aligned with my purpose and values.
This is a good way to go. But one thing to consider, for some people the thing that they really want to do, will not make much money. Or sometimes, it's something one could make some money at but it would change how they have to do the thing, sometimes in ways that are an acceptable compromise, and sometimes not.
The biggest leverage might be the ability to decide that less is enough. Or similar, to reduce spending and decide to be content without certain things. Then we have more options for what to do since we don't need to make quite as much.
This has been the key to my freedom over the last seven years where I've earned very little money, but have done the things I really wanted to do.
Chris, you hit the nail on the head with this article. The problem with these guys is the more you have the more you have to lose. Once you get your neck caught in that snare the more you fight for power and “ legacy” the tighter that noose gets
I spent a good part of my career working with CEOs of large companies. For the most part, none of them were any smarter than other smart people I know. What made them different was their competitiveness. They were driven to win and in most of the world the scorecard is money. It's not the money that matters to them, it's how they stand relative to their competition. The problem is unless you are #1 there's always someone ahead of you. It's a cursed life. I wouldn't have traded places with any of them.
I agree with this except in the case of Musk. He was behaving incredibly strange, erratic and completely inappropriately for a CEO well before his Trump endorsement. He was a perfect example of someone not following the rules of society because he has fuck you money. I see his endorsement of Trump to be an extension of that. It’s different for more people like Bezos, Zuck, and Cook.
Hi Chris, I'm a long time reader of your words as well as listener of the pod. I just joined the paid party recently -- thanks for all your contributions to the world! I have greatly benefitted from them.
Perhaps you've heard of 'wetiko' through your interest in and research about indigenous cultures? It explains their (our?) insatiable appetites for more, more, more at the expense of all else. A cannibalistic mind-virus: https://www.innertraditions.com/blog/wetiko-in-a-nutshell
This past week gamers have called out Elon for most likely outsourcing the playing of a video game that he bragged he was top 20 in the world at. On live streams it's apparent he doesn't have the game knowledge/habits of a top player, and regardless, the time investment to be top 20 would be something like 12 hours per day.
Made me think of this post. Why would someone lie to impress others, unless they are deeply insecure? Maybe what all these guys share is a hole that can never be filled.
Joe Heller
True story, Word of Honor:
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter Island.
I said, “Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel ‘Catch-22’
has earned in its entire history?”
And Joe said, “I’ve got something he can never have.”
And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?”
And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
Not bad! Rest in peace!”
— Kurt Vonnegut
The New Yorker, May 16th, 2005
Derek Sivers is worth looking up. He lives on Enough from the money he got from selling CD Baby & the rest is in Trust & used to promote Education or something like that
Nice article Chris. I've long hoped you might interview an American guy I've followed for a while now called Robin Greenfield - maybe you are already aware of him. He's about to complete a walk from Canada to LA and upon arriving in LA will give up all of his possessions. An interesting contrast to a Zuckerbot to say the least.
I find this conversation intriguing. I know someone who is worth 100 billion ( no exaggerating, 100 BILLION) Its fascinating because you would have no idea if you were to walk up to them on the street or even walk into thier home. The top 1% mean nothing to me, here is why. I do not know this wealthy person well enough to ask probing questions about being that wealthy. But I have my assumptions.... I am reminded of the movie "Brewster's millions" where Richard Pryor's character has to spend a million dollars in a month in order to recieve 10 million. For my acquaintance to spend a noticeable amount of thier net worth would be "exhausting work" so are they really only worth what they can spend? The rest of it is just hoarding money and essentially worthless. So for rest of us peasants the cash doesn't really exist. If a tribe has 50 pearls and the "wealthiest" member has 40 of them stashed away in a cave does the tribe actually have 50 pearls or just 10? Wouldn't it be a futile waste of energy fretting over 40 inaccessible pearls? Seems like adding them to the pool would just reduce thier value anyway. I believe as it relates to the article, people of means realize eventually that wealth does not equate to purpose and meaning. History does not remember who the wealthiest man in the world was in 1965 but they remember who Martin Luther King was. Uber wealthy people mean nothing to me they ultimately have no more power to impact the world than anyone else. Dr. King, George W. Bush, Charles Manson, Elvis Presley, Ghandi, Steve Jobs, Adolf Hitler, Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, they had some things in common but wealth wasn't one of them. Fuck you money does not protect you from that nobody who flies a 747 into your office building, the young man with a gun and a grudge against the health insurance industry, or the transgender daughter who hates your existence.
We're all just humans in the end!
An added layer, this also reminds me of Chris's story about his first few days in India where he lost all his money and an interaction I had in a class during my undergrad. During his trip to India when the hotel attendant found his money her returned it even though it was more money than he could imagine. It might have well been a billion dollars. But when Chris offered to repay him the innkeeper said no that would be offensive, instead we will have a celebration of his integrity. In other words... integrity carries more wealth than $15,000 American dollars.
During a class my professor did an entire lecture on the futility of population growth and resource consumption of this planet. He illustrated that as wealth increases, birthrates decrease. Unfortunately, if we were to increase the wealth of impoverished areas to our level we would outstrip the planets resources. After the lecture he opened it up for discussion, I raised my hand and said, "Why do we not just redefine wealth?"
I think financial capital is not wealth, it's just financial hoarding. Wealth is something entirely different.
I do not want to have a billion dollars anymore than I want 500 Beanie Babies. Which is why I have never played the lottery, climbed the corporate ladder, or invested my money, it just simply doesn't interest me.
I had a sales job in Austin years ago at a company that had a fairly well-to-do clientele. My initial assumption was that they were smarter than most people because they had more money than most, but it didn’t take long to see through that illusion. They weren’t necessarily rich because they were intelligent (although some of them were, of course)—they were just better at playing the game of capitalism. A great athlete isn’t smarter just because he can play football. He’s just good at that particular game. Until we stop valuing these type of people such as celebrities, politicians, and lords of commerce, this scenario won’t change much. To be honest, I wish I’d played the game a little better, but that’s another story.
In other words: There’s no such thing as “fuck you money”, but there is such a thing as “fuck you, money”
I love reflecting on this topic. This really became clear to me a few years ago when I was watching a documentary called Sydney Luxe Listings on Amazon Prime. They follow around some of the 'top real estate agents' in Sydney's most affluent suburbs- a reality TV show- you know- houses worth many millions of dollars.
In one scene the buyer's agent Simon takes a call from a British lady who's a client of his. I just remember the way she spoke to him and ordered him around. She was angry, patronising, gross. "You need to ABC, and DEF". Did he have no self-respect? Why would he let someone, anyone speak to him that way? He seemed to have absolutely no cognitive dissonance, one moment he's flying around Sydney in a fancy car, he's rich, one of the best buyer's agents in the country, the boss of everything, telling all his staff what to do, making multimillion dollar deals for houses, and the next moment he's just a slave like the rest of us, only a slave who has no time left for self-reflection or mental health because he works ridiculous hours.
It was a deeply clarifying moment for me.
"Fuck you" money is actually just enough to pay your fundamental bills and get by, it turns out. "Fuck you" money is enough to opt out of having to be a millionaire.
Dope writing
Chasing the Dragon of Power !
As always well put Chris. I do agree with your point that people who claim to have FUM end up with less freedom to spend their time how they wish than most people with far less money. However, I'd like to peel back the layers and go a little deeper.
How I understand it, the underlying assumption of FUM is that once you get there you can walk away and do whatever you want with your time since you no longer need to trade your time for money, or at least that is how it is portrayed. What happens next? How does one spend all of their newfound time? Margarita's on a tropical island sounds ideal but would tire eventually as we seek do be part of something - a purpose. I imagined I would spend my post-FUM time doing something meaningful, contributing in a way that aligned with my deeper values.
I challenge this central assumption of FUM. I used to dream of FUM when I spent all of my time doing something I didn't particularly enjoy (or even found soul-crushing). However, the times in my life when I have spent more of my time doing something that aligns with my deeper purpose and value, the fantasy of FUM seemed to disappear since I was already trading my time for money doing what I would otherwise be doing for free once I reached the FUM milestone theoretically.
Therefore I recommend skip the FUM fantasy altogether and do something that aligns with your core values and purpose at the time (since these can change over time so always good to reflect regularly). A note of warning from my own personal experience is to set boundaries based on the ideal lifestyle you would like to live. I know I can become so caught up in my work that I can lose track of spending time with family, friends and my hobbies so I find it important to check in with myself and set those boundaries (for instance, no work on weekends) in order to live that balanced life aligned with my purpose and values.
This is a good way to go. But one thing to consider, for some people the thing that they really want to do, will not make much money. Or sometimes, it's something one could make some money at but it would change how they have to do the thing, sometimes in ways that are an acceptable compromise, and sometimes not.
The biggest leverage might be the ability to decide that less is enough. Or similar, to reduce spending and decide to be content without certain things. Then we have more options for what to do since we don't need to make quite as much.
This has been the key to my freedom over the last seven years where I've earned very little money, but have done the things I really wanted to do.
I agree with your analysis 100%
Chris, you hit the nail on the head with this article. The problem with these guys is the more you have the more you have to lose. Once you get your neck caught in that snare the more you fight for power and “ legacy” the tighter that noose gets
I spent a good part of my career working with CEOs of large companies. For the most part, none of them were any smarter than other smart people I know. What made them different was their competitiveness. They were driven to win and in most of the world the scorecard is money. It's not the money that matters to them, it's how they stand relative to their competition. The problem is unless you are #1 there's always someone ahead of you. It's a cursed life. I wouldn't have traded places with any of them.
This explains it. It’s not about money it’s about winning, or about being terrified of losing
I agree with this except in the case of Musk. He was behaving incredibly strange, erratic and completely inappropriately for a CEO well before his Trump endorsement. He was a perfect example of someone not following the rules of society because he has fuck you money. I see his endorsement of Trump to be an extension of that. It’s different for more people like Bezos, Zuck, and Cook.
Hi Chris, I'm a long time reader of your words as well as listener of the pod. I just joined the paid party recently -- thanks for all your contributions to the world! I have greatly benefitted from them.
Perhaps you've heard of 'wetiko' through your interest in and research about indigenous cultures? It explains their (our?) insatiable appetites for more, more, more at the expense of all else. A cannibalistic mind-virus: https://www.innertraditions.com/blog/wetiko-in-a-nutshell
I agree about these various fucktards n-ever tiring of aiming their tongues ever farther up each other’s asses, like fucked-up, filthy ferrets.
I imagine that you might have a more positive take on a personal basis.
Here’s mine
https://bowendwelle.substack.com/p/earning-my-bread