I'm sure your right DA. Someone with a nett worth of say £5m, is gonna be jealous of the chap who has £20m, who in turn will be envious of the next man who's worth £50m . Personally I think the worth of a person shows through their actions towards others and can't be measured in monetary terms. Working with dementia sufferers for the last 3 and a bit years has enriched my life more than mere money ever could (although a nice win on't lottery wouldn't go amiss)
Agreed. A good friend of mine is married to someone whose cousin was a premier league footballer (can't say who ). I am led to believe he has earned £100K a week at some (or perhaps a lot!) of his working career. Is he worried where the next penny is coming in? No. Is he happy? No. Why? By all accounts life ain't that great. He can't go many places without being hassled for photos and *****. He can't go for a quiet beer with the boys without his minder. Any business work is done via agents of agents to protect him (otherwise he will get fleeced by them instead of the agents fleecing him) and when you have a lot of money there is not many things that you can't do/left to try and achieve in life so apparently the boredom/drink factor is an easy thing to slip in to.
Satisfaction and peace of mind is important...but not gifted! We have to inculcate it and I think there is no point regretting. I just want to share an incidence. I am a hard earner (but I have appreciation for everything I have) and I know a family that looks absolutely happy, perfection, accomplished and satisfied. Until yesterday, I use to believe that money could be the reason for perfection in life. But to my surprise, I got a news today: the head of that family committed suicide because of depression. I guess 'perfect happiness' is a myth..:/ so please stay happy and let your friends regret..don't let them affect you.
happiness is like a pint of beer, it does't last very long but when it runs out, you can go for another beer, too much too often leads to the path of sadness, nobody is happy 100% of the time, if that happened happiness would not be as good, somedays you're the pigeon and others you're the statue
thank you PB. I think I missed my path in life, I could have been a philofficer if I'd been born a bit cleverer
I like the picture,very good. You are the plumbing philosopher so you have the best of both paths Tom.
Nor me. We all get **** jobs and awkward customers from time to time but on the whole after 40 years I still enjoy it.
Still wish I'd won that £150 million on the lottery last Tuesday. (at least I'd have better tools now)
Where I'm from all you need is ladder control, if you can stand on steps on the top rung, where it says "do not stand or sit" whilst holding an SDS in one hand and the transformer in the other and still look like you know what your doin then your in.
Has anyone thought seriously about what they'd do if they had a really big win on a lottery? OK some would go out and buy a big house, a Porsche or something that they've always wanted, but what about preparation? Would you go for anonymity, in which case how would you hide your wealth? You couldn't suddenly go out and buy the big house because all your mates would say "Has he won the lottery?" or let it be known up front. Either way you'd soon get begging letters, some of your mates would drift away and you'd soon lose the novelty of being able to go out an buy whatever you wanted. Being rich has its advantages but there's also a downside.
Hi Harry, You make a good point; i would say it really depends on the amount. For example, a few hundred thousand could be hidden, but if you won a serious amount on the Euromillions - i guess would be nigh on impossible to hide. Dont mean going public, but your lifestyle would change drastically and it would be obvious to all around you.
Not always the case. Looks can be deceiving. I was once told by a friend at work their was a guy who would wear scruffy clothing, but he was really a millionaire. Many people make to quick a judgement based on the lifestyle of each other, i.e. cars they drive and the jobs they do.
I suppose you're right JG, wealth can be hidden by being scruffy, but what's the point of being rich if you've got to act and live like a poor person? Anyway, it's a problem that most of us won't have to face, the odds against winning large sums are massive. We used to have a lottery syndicate at work, but as the years went by without a significant win and after we added up our subscriptions, we realised that we were wasting money, but some couldn't give up because they couldn't live with the possibility that there'd be a big win the week after they bailed out.
You usually find it's the ones with smart clothes and a 3 year old Merc that don't have a pot to fill, The rich ones with money don't have to try and prove they are doing well. I don't think there is a normal working class person who wouldn't do something different with their life if they could go back in time but, It's never too late to change your career if you feel the need.
another reason I wear scruffy clothes is to not attract the taxmans attentions, here's a true story of me, in 2006 I accompanied my son in a trip over to Canada while he was researching jobs and looking for a house to live in, We were staying in a comfortable hotel and enjoying the stay, while he was going about the things he needed to do I was wondering about about looking round the town, both good and not so good areas, It was winter -5 which they considered mild for the time of year (feb), anyrode I'd took my thickest jacket which was a work jacket, my bob cap my finest jogging pants and trainers, I was about the scruffiest person in Canada and my son was giving me a wide berth, but i was confident walking round the rough areas cos I looked as poor as a church mouse, One day i was mooching about round the 'bronx' part of Halifax novia Scotia and happened apon this little chapel, it had pictures of the Titanic on the entrance and I thought it was a exhibition hall in tribute to the boats and people that went out to the sinking Titanic to save people, so i walked in, I was welcomed in and invited to sit down and they brought me a cup of coffee and asked would i like some hot soup, I declined the soup as I'd had a full breakfast but thanked them for the coffee and thought what nice people these are here in Halifax, I was looking at the pictures hanging around the hall and started to notice other people and realised that i actually wondered into a vagrants hostel, it was a soup kitchen set up for the poor souls to get a hot drink and a warm meal in winter, and the worst thing was, they offered me a bigger coat and it was better than the one i was wearing, boy was i emmbarrassed my son howled laughing when i told him,