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Thread: What I don't get...

  1. #21
    thats because you get just as much $$ by jumping from one freelance job to another. In the coporate world, people have to resort to other methods for the same rewards.

  2. #22
    What's up, doc? Animeniax's Avatar
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    For me its about stability. I've never wanted to be my own boss because I lack the motivation and I don't want all the responsibility. I've known people who worked for temp agencies and moved from job to job every couple of weeks or months, but that was never for me because there's no stability. When the IT job bubble burst in the early 2000s, the temp jobs dried up and these guys were out of work for months at a time. I plodded along in my company, getting yearly merit bonuses, transfers, and promotions.

    I don't like corporate politics, but it's the same anywhere in life: scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. But I still just do my job and hope someone notices the effort, which they have. I was with that company for 7 years before leaving and I plan to go back to them after I get a degree.

    I wish we could go back to the times when companies took care of employees so employees took care of the company. Now its all foreign investment and cutting jobs and getting rid of pensions and lazy employees who don't care about their company's (and therefore their own) success.


    “For God will not permit that we shall know what is to come... those who by some sorcery or by some dream might come to pierce the veil that lies so darkly over all that is before them may serve by just that vision to cause that God should wrench the world from its heading and set it upon another course altogether and then where stands the sorcerer? Where the dreamer and his dream?”

  3. #23
    What I don't get is fashion trends. How do fashion trends start and catch on? Somebody out there has to take the initiative and dress like a douche, and surprisingly, others follow suit. Eventually, millions of people start dressing that way. Then all of a sudden, someone takes the initiative and dresses differently. Rinse and repeat.

    This cycle never ceases to amaze me.

    It's like the term "pwn." ONE person out there accidentally wrote "pwn" and a couple other people happened to see it. Before you know it, millions of people in the world are now using this term like it's a real word and has been for decades.

  4. #24
    Magazines, super models, and affordabillity.
    "Leaving hell is not the same as entering it." - Tierce Japhrimel

  5. #25
    @BoC I choose to just believe what they said in Devil Wears Prada. It starts with someone with the power of mass media behind them choosing something they like and showcasing it. A random fashion editor/group of fashion editors looks at all the newest works of the major designers and based on what they like decide what gets to be popularized in their magazines and thus be 'fashionable'. From the gold standard magazines 'fashion' trickles down into everything else as the non-big names attempt to adapt what they sell to whatever has been deemed 'fashionable'.
    Last edited by Yukimura; Fri, 07-18-2008 at 03:39 PM.

  6. #26
    ANBU Captain lelouch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Animeniax
    I've never wanted to be my own boss because I lack the motivation and I don't want all the responsibility. I've known people who worked for temp agencies and moved from job to job every couple of weeks or months, but that was never for me because there's no stability. When the IT job bubble burst in the early 2000s, the temp jobs dried up and these guys were out of work for months at a time. I plodded along in my company, getting yearly merit bonuses, transfers, and promotions.
    I am the complete opposite. I would much rather be my own boss, and I am! I run my own website development business (unfortunately only on the side for now, hopefully later on I will be making enough out of it through update fees and large waves of clients through past referrals). I've made several thousand so far in very little time, and hopefully the trend will continue (if anyone here needs a website, just let me know! I'll give a special gotwoot discount )

    The reason I like being my own boss is that I don't like the feeling of working under someone. I like the feeling of being completely in control. It just bothers me to know that at any moment my boss can come up to me and tell me to clean the coffee spill on his desk (I know I'm exaggerating lol, but you get my point). As the head of my web design business, I can take breaks when I want for however long I want (as long as I make sure to have the client's project done on time), and have the pleasure of feeling powerful when I tell other people what to do (of course in a nice and polite way). I don't mean to sound snobbish, as I definitely do NOT like to boss people around. I am just saying I like the feeling of being in charge. Is that wrong?

  7. #27
    What's up, doc? Animeniax's Avatar
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    Nothing wrong with that, since you seem to love what you do. Like a musician or an artist, you want control over your product, including time-lines and final output. If I cared more about the field I am in, I'd want more control and to be the boss, but that's not the case for me. In the service industry, you're beholden to your client, and management often has to give in to their requests, so really everyone answers to someone, including you with your clients.

    It's often said that small business owners work more hours than salary guys, but I guess you get to enjoy more of the success if it comes to fruition.


    “For God will not permit that we shall know what is to come... those who by some sorcery or by some dream might come to pierce the veil that lies so darkly over all that is before them may serve by just that vision to cause that God should wrench the world from its heading and set it upon another course altogether and then where stands the sorcerer? Where the dreamer and his dream?”

  8. #28
    Moderator Emeritus Assertn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lelouch
    I am the complete opposite. I would much rather be my own boss, and I am! I run my own website development business (unfortunately only on the side for now, hopefully later on I will be making enough out of it through update fees and large waves of clients through past referrals). I've made several thousand so far in very little time, and hopefully the trend will continue (if anyone here needs a website, just let me know! I'll give a special gotwoot discount )

    The reason I like being my own boss is that I don't like the feeling of working under someone. I like the feeling of being completely in control. It just bothers me to know that at any moment my boss can come up to me and tell me to clean the coffee spill on his desk (I know I'm exaggerating lol, but you get my point). As the head of my web design business, I can take breaks when I want for however long I want (as long as I make sure to have the client's project done on time), and have the pleasure of feeling powerful when I tell other people what to do (of course in a nice and polite way). I don't mean to sound snobbish, as I definitely do NOT like to boss people around. I am just saying I like the feeling of being in charge. Is that wrong?
    That's one reason I became a freelance flash developer.
    The other is that I like change too much, and I can't see any better way to access change than to have complete freedom of choice. Also, I hate the idea of other people profiting from my hard work.
    10/4/04 - 8/20/07

  9. #29
    Awesome user with default custom title Uchiha Barles's Avatar
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    Heh, you seem to be one of the few that either avoided indoctrination into believing that employee mentality is the cat's meow, or you broke out of it having gained knowledge that somehow remains obscure to most people. Either way, good for you.

    But yeah, this mentality is worked it's way into us from the time we're young: "Go to school, get good grades. Go to a good high school, get good grades. Go to a good college, get good grades. Then, get a great paying job. Be Ambitious!" Our parents help out with that, so do our teachers, and even our peers. It's kind of hard not to fall into that.

  10. #30
    Family Friendly Mascot Buffalobiian's Avatar
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    And there's nothing really wrong with it either. Sure, it's only one of the many outlooks/mentality you can have about life, but it's probably the boring one, and one that's taught to you rather than learnt yourself. But for people like me who have yet to find their direction in life, following that general trend keeps you from stagnating into nothingness.

    If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~

  11. #31
    It wasn't much Archangel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Idealistic
    He made a new mario game.

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=833xoDxyb6A
    Lol i had that game for megadrive, it was fun actually ( the original without the mario stuff )

  12. #32
    What's up, doc? Animeniax's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Uchiha Barles
    Heh, you seem to be one of the few that either avoided indoctrination into believing that employee mentality is the cat's meow, or you broke out of it having gained knowledge that somehow remains obscure to most people. Either way, good for you.

    But yeah, this mentality is worked it's way into us from the time we're young: "Go to school, get good grades. Go to a good high school, get good grades. Go to a good college, get good grades. Then, get a great paying job. Be Ambitious!" Our parents help out with that, so do our teachers, and even our peers. It's kind of hard not to fall into that.
    I think it's ridiculous to suggest that working the 8 to 5 for a company makes us sheep or robots. Work pays the bills for me, but I have other pursuits outside of work. It's nice that you love what you do enough to spend that much time doing it, but I'm only willing to give the 40-50 hours a week for my job, and I spend the rest of my life doing other things which I enjoy, though I can't get paid to do them.

    I've found in this life that too many people want to be superstars when the world needs more cogs for the machine.


    “For God will not permit that we shall know what is to come... those who by some sorcery or by some dream might come to pierce the veil that lies so darkly over all that is before them may serve by just that vision to cause that God should wrench the world from its heading and set it upon another course altogether and then where stands the sorcerer? Where the dreamer and his dream?”

  13. #33
    Awesome user with default custom title Uchiha Barles's Avatar
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    I suppose what was said about stagnating into nothingness was true, and that this indoctrination prevents that. However, this indoctrination also prevents most people from looking outside of that box. Everything a lot of people do is in terms of this indoctrination, and a lot of people are unhappy about it. Consequently you get a lot of unhappy people willing to take the risk to try something outside of that comfort zone that might otherwise make them happy, or at least less miserable. I don't know very many people who have done the 9-5 for over 10 years and continue to enjoy it. Furthermore, I've spoken a few of them (being friends and family and whatnot) about trying to make money from investing in something, you know, making your cash work for you. None of them have the balls to try it. That's not a good thing, and it's a result of having been pushed to do the "sure thing" and the "safe thing" their whole lives.

    I myself would've wanted to be a musician and a martial artist from the time I was young. Might've had a career in either field by now had I started when I was young, because I've found that I have talent for both. But I started both those things rather late in life, and if a career in either is possible, it'll be much harder to achieve, and I'll never be as good as I would've been on account of having not trained since an early age at those things. This, all because my parents were indoctrinated to do the "sure thing" and the "safe thing" and figured it would be good for me as well, thus discouraging those pursuits, and having me focus more on standard traditional school work, as if I couldn't do all of it.

    I don't think this indoctrination by itself is a good thing. Risk taking and dreaming ought to be promoted while raising your children with a firm grounding in reality, and an understanding in what it takes to succeed at anything. "Go to school and get a job and pay off debt, and buy a house and retire" is far from the only reality. It's the sure one, but it's also the average, mundane and unextraordinary one.

    About the world needing cogs for the machine: I don't want that for MY children, and I don't want that for myself. So I won't raise them that way, and I'll work not to be that way. You may be right with that line, but I don't worry about it, because the indoctrination has a rock solid grip on our populace.

  14. #34
    What's up, doc? Animeniax's Avatar
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    If you say "indoctrination" one more time, I'm going to cut your nuts off.

    I believe in taking risks and trying new things, but if you are properly prepared and educated, then they aren't really risks, or at least they are reduced risks so it's for all intents and purposes a "sure thing". Maybe when you have the responsibilities that your parents had then you will understand why they made the choices they did.


    “For God will not permit that we shall know what is to come... those who by some sorcery or by some dream might come to pierce the veil that lies so darkly over all that is before them may serve by just that vision to cause that God should wrench the world from its heading and set it upon another course altogether and then where stands the sorcerer? Where the dreamer and his dream?”

  15. #35
    Moderator Emeritus Assertn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Animeniax
    I've found in this life that too many people want to be superstars when the world needs more cogs for the machine.
    Oh no...a lot of people I talk to are afraid of taking chances and, while I don't sympathize with that sentiment, I am certainly glad these people exist, because the greatest asset of a business owner is his employees.
    10/4/04 - 8/20/07

  16. #36
    Awesome user with default custom title Uchiha Barles's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Animeniax
    If you say "indoctrination" one more time, I'm going to cut your nuts off.

    I believe in taking risks and trying new things, but if you are properly prepared and educated, then they aren't really risks, or at least they are reduced risks so it's for all intents and purposes a "sure thing". Maybe when you have the responsibilities that your parents had then you will understand why they made the choices they did.
    That's exactly the point. All it takes is a little bit of education, a little bit of cojones, and all of a sudden these "risks" become almost non risks. It's one of the biggest inside jokes of all times. And no, there's no chance in hell I'll ever understand limiting my children's options to the social standard when I have all the necessary resources not to.

  17. #37
    What's up, doc? Animeniax's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Uchiha Barles
    That's exactly the point. All it takes is a little bit of education, a little bit of cojones, and all of a sudden these "risks" become almost non risks. It's one of the biggest inside jokes of all times. And no, there's no chance in hell I'll ever understand limiting my children's options to the social standard when I have all the necessary resources not to.
    Because your parents did the right thing in raising you so you have the resources and are prepared to live the life of danger.

    I think what you and Assertn both have is youthful exuberance. You're both at an age where you have limited responsibilities to anyone but yourself, so its easier to take risks or make changes in your life. In the olden days, people became parents sooner so they had to make different choices because they were thinking beyond how it would impact just themselves.


    “For God will not permit that we shall know what is to come... those who by some sorcery or by some dream might come to pierce the veil that lies so darkly over all that is before them may serve by just that vision to cause that God should wrench the world from its heading and set it upon another course altogether and then where stands the sorcerer? Where the dreamer and his dream?”

  18. #38
    Awesome user with default custom title Uchiha Barles's Avatar
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    Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, Sean Combs, Robert Kiyosaki, just to name a few people, had that "youthful exuberance" you're mentioning, all of them now filthy rich, and able to provide a million times over anything their families could ever need, anything their families could possibly want. There are a many, many (though comparatively fewer) others who don't even even come close to their level of success, but leave the vast majority of us in the dust, at least when it comes to financial success. It's not "youthful exuberance" that drives these people. I mean, it might be, but it's not the only thing, it's also a pretty good understanding of how one reaches whatever success they've attained, and also having overcome gotten over the "you'll probably fail" message that they've been hearing all their lives. Raising your kids, you ought not limit their scope. Instead, you should show them what it takes to make something happen, and try to set bench marks with them. They can then decide if they're cut out for what they're trying to do or not. Furthermore, none of this has to come at the expense of preparing to enter the work force. It also has the benifit of getting rid of this silly, silly fear of trying something positive because their neighbors, classmates, teachers and friends aren't.

  19. #39
    What's up, doc? Animeniax's Avatar
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    Nah, all of them got lucky off one or two deals that paid off. If it takes 100 failures before you reach 1 success, how many will have suffered during the time that success occurs? And is financial success all you're concerned about? I think it was P Diddy himself who said "mo money, mo problems."


    “For God will not permit that we shall know what is to come... those who by some sorcery or by some dream might come to pierce the veil that lies so darkly over all that is before them may serve by just that vision to cause that God should wrench the world from its heading and set it upon another course altogether and then where stands the sorcerer? Where the dreamer and his dream?”

  20. #40
    Awesome user with default custom title Uchiha Barles's Avatar
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    As I mentioned before, my dream as a kid was to be a professional musician or martial artist. I didn't need to be a rock star or to choreograph fight scenes along side Donnie yen. So no, money's not the ONLY thing on my mind.

    All of them got lucky? You said yourself, and I'll quote again: "but if you are properly prepared and educated, then they aren't really risks, or at least they are reduced risks so it's for all intents and purposes a 'sure thing'." You make it seem like these people walked into a building, flipped a coin and bought it on the basis of the coin flip, or sneezed on a paper and bought whatever "lucky" stock the booger landed on. No, they had an idea in their heads of what a "good risk" was, most of them from proper education about the risks they chose to take, and found a risk that fit the "good risk model" they had in their heads. So they took it, and it payed off.

    I asked a friend of mine once why he didn't invest his inheritance money into real estate, and said "it's too risky." When I asked him if he knew anything about something called "equity", he said "no". I asked him this after I asked if he knew anything about real estate, to which he replied "yes." So basically, he doesn't know what he means by "too risky". Probably never researched it, and his understanding of "too risky" was probably implanted him by someone or some people who themselves knew nothing of it. Last I checked, he bought a car, has most of the money in a back account, and a small portion invested in an unremarkable mutual fund. That last part may seem like a good idea, but agian, It's basically someone else having control of his cash.

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