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fireworks_god
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Being Concerned With One's Own Success
#5937245 - 08/06/06 02:46 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Making it a priority for oneself to be successful in one's life situation is beneficial for everyone. One can focus on one's own life first and foremost, and concern themselves with applying themself and accomplishing one's goals.
Following one's own path that is centered around one's own growth is to be strived for, in fact. Improve yourself and the world improves as a result. One does not need to forget oneself and only help others. Others will accuse one of being selfish, but there is nothing inherently wrong with being focused on the self.
Do not rely on others for your own success, and do not make it so that others are reliant on you for their success. Life your own life as an example. The world grows as you do. Focus inward, not outward. 
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5937267 - 08/06/06 02:52 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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It makes sense to put on your own oxygen mask first. The vision of nobility and sacrifice associated with "selfless" behavior is appealing, yet we cannot serve others unless we have something to give.
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Fucknuckle
Dog Lover

Registered: 04/24/04
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5937270 - 08/06/06 02:53 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Hey we don't except any Sermons in here 
Attention to people in this thread..I gots FW on ignore so I am not sure if I said the right thing....but based on his many other Sermon threads I think I probley got it right
this should be fun responding to his posts not knowing whta he said becasue it will make no difference anyway what I say to him.he's always right
-------------------- What it is, is what it is my Brother. It is as it is, so suffer thru it.
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Silversoul
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5937277 - 08/06/06 02:54 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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I measure my success by my ability to help others. Naturally, that ability increases in proportion to my ability to help myself.
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Fucknuckle
Dog Lover

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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Veritas]
#5937286 - 08/06/06 02:56 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Veritas said: It makes sense to put on your own oxygen mask first. The vision of nobility and sacrifice associated with "selfless" behavior is appealing, yet we cannot serve others unless we have something to give.
The point I have repeatedly tried to make is this........TO EXCELL in life one must put others first. That does not mean put all what is about you aside and fuck it, that would be stupid. No I agree here 100%..........What I am trying to say is this..When the time comes to put others first and you do not and you keep doing this you will end up NO where.
-------------------- What it is, is what it is my Brother. It is as it is, so suffer thru it.
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fireworks_god
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Silversoul]
#5937297 - 08/06/06 02:58 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Silversoul said: I measure my success by my ability to help others. Naturally, that ability increases in proportion to my ability to help myself.
Exactly. Often times, more success means more responsibility, which implies that one plays a greater role in the lives of others.
Being a success implies that others will become successful as a result.
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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fireworks_god
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5937315 - 08/06/06 03:04 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Also to be noted is that those who profess to care about others first are usually self-righteous themselves, continously seeking attention for themselves and their actions, especially at the expense of others. 
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Fractalated
There's no onehome up there...

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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5937388 - 08/06/06 03:35 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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I think saying that one should always put one's own success first is perhaps overgeneralizing. As Jesus said, there are those who see the splinter in the eyes of their brothers, but aren't aware of the log that's in their own eyes.
To me, this means that one must liberate oneself before one can most effectively go about liberating others. But that doesn't mean that one cannot or should not help out whenever possible. In Mahayana, the ideal is the Bodhissatva, who strives to liberate all beings before achieving liberation themselves.
In terms of material success, things get a little bit more complicated. As biological organisms on this planet, we all have needs. The most basic need is survival, which entails adequate food, water, shelter, air, and health. It is therefore quite natural to go about obtaining an adequate supply of the above. However, it is often the case that once your needs have been met, you continue trying to get as much as you can. This is where greed and self-indulgence come into play.
I make a distinction between self-preservation and self-interest, and self-indulgence. Once I've got all that I need to survive, then I try to help out those who don't have all they need to survive as much as practically is possible. Gandhi said that the earth has enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed. And this is true. When great numbers of human beings compete, out of greed, for the limited resources that we have, then the world turns into the state its in today, with war, famine, hatred, violence, poverty, and so much suffering.
I think one needs to make a distinction between enlightened selfishness (maintaining one's being here while causing the least amount of suffering in others as possible) and unenlightened/animalistic selfishness (trying to get as much as you can for yourself; being greedy and causing suffering for yourself when you can't get what you want and in others when they can't get what they want or even what they need).
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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Silversoul
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5937403 - 08/06/06 03:39 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
fireworks_god said: Also to be noted is that those who profess to care about others first are usually self-righteous themselves, continously seeking attention for themselves and their actions, especially at the expense of others. 
 Peace.
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." -- Mt 6:1-6
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MushmanTheManic
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5938021 - 08/06/06 07:01 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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...but what is success?
Could you give an example of a theoretical or real person who is successful vs. a person who is not?
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PhanTomCat
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fucknuckle]
#5938033 - 08/06/06 07:05 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Fucknuckle said: Attention to people in this thread..I gots FW on ignore so I am not sure if I said the right thing....but based on his many other Sermon threads I think I probley got it right . this should be fun responding to his posts not knowing whta he said becasue it will make no difference anyway what I say to him.he's always right
Childish much....? 
>^;;^<
-------------------- I'll be your midnight French Fry.... "The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...." >^;;^<
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fireworks_god
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: PhanTomCat]
#5938044 - 08/06/06 07:11 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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It is not childish to love others and to put others first, as you get back what you give. 
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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fireworks_god
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: MushmanTheManic]
#5938046 - 08/06/06 07:12 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
MushmanTheManic said: ...but what is success?
Could you give an example of a theoretical or real person who is successful vs. a person who is not?
Success is relative and defined by one's preferences. 
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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PhanTomCat
Teh Cat....


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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5938061 - 08/06/06 07:18 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Have you put him on ignore, proclaimed it to the community, and then still blindly "addressed" one of his posts....? 
---That being said, I agree with your reply (in theory).... 
>^;;^<
-------------------- I'll be your midnight French Fry.... "The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...." >^;;^<
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RRRR
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5938102 - 08/06/06 07:28 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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That isn't nessecarily true. Collective action problems have haunted history since the begginings of man. They are situations where everyone has a choice between two alternatives and where, if everyone involved acts rationally in relation to their own sucess, the outcome will be worse for everyone involved.
Such examples are freeriders and the Prisoner's Dillema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dillema)
-------------------- Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21 (New King James Version)
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MarkostheGnostic
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5938218 - 08/06/06 08:17 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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<----Failure-------------------------------------------------Success---->
'Individual Psychology' - the school of Alfred Adler in a nutshell. I have long endeavored to NOT see the 'givens' of my existence placed on the above-illustrated continuum. I am both a failure and a success depending upon how I choose to look at my life, and how others view me.
Call me a 'sophomore' a 'wise fool.'
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fireworks_god
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: RRRR]
#5940129 - 08/07/06 08:46 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
RRRR said: They are situations where everyone has a choice between two alternatives and where, if everyone involved acts rationally in relation to their own sucess, the outcome will be worse for everyone involved.
If "everyone involved" includes the person who is seeking to be successful, which it certainly does, then engaging in action that provides a worse outcome for everyone involved would not be successful, now would it? 
Quote:
Such examples are freeriders and the Prisoner's Dillema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dillema)
Quote:
Wikipedia said: One resolution of the dilemma proposed by Douglas Hofstadter in his Metamagical Themas is to reject the definition of "rational" that led to the "rational" decision to defect. Truly rational (or "superrational") players take into account that the other person is superrational, like them, and thus they cooperate.
That was exactly what I was thinking when I was reading it. I don't have the energy (so unbelievably exhausted that I would not be sitting here if it were not for the fact that I was waiting for some pizza ) to continue reading it, and perhaps the specifics of the situation were such that willingly cooperating with each other wasn't possible... or something...
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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fireworks_god
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Quote:
MarkostheGnostic said: I am both a failure and a success depending upon how I choose to look at my life, and how others view me.
Unless how others view you is an aspect of your preferences that you concern yourself with, then their viewpoint as to whether or not you are personally a success is irrelevant.
Success, to me, simply means living in alignment with one's preferences on how one wishes to live. Well, perhaps more than that, on a different level, as well, referring to living one's life in the most beneficial manner for one's life - providing oneself with the most fufilling, sustainable experience that one can. I feel that this will also benefit all involved, in a general sense, as one effects one's environment. 
It isn't as if I am proposing some concrete thought here, or anything, just general ideas. 
 Peace.
--------------------
If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Fractalated
There's no onehome up there...

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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5940162 - 08/07/06 09:04 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Success, to me, simply means living in alignment with one's preferences on how one wishes to live.
I guess the question is if there is any sort of objective definition of success, or whether it is a strictly subjective matter. For example, a person, who happens to be named Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin, decides that they prefer to live in a world without a certain race of people, so they go about actualizing that wish. Hitler kills six million Jews. Is that success? Certainly not for anyone except for him and perhaps those who he's brainwashed.
Your definition is the most basic definition of success: simply achieving what you want. I think it's necessary to take into account other factors if you want to live life pursuing some degree of wholesome success.
Well, perhaps more than that, on a different level, as well, referring to living one's life in the most beneficial manner for one's life - providing oneself with the most fufilling, sustainable experience that one can.
Again, that seems very subjective. What I consider to be very detrimental another could consider to be very beneficial.
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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RRRR
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5940218 - 08/07/06 09:32 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
fireworks_god said:
Quote:
RRRR said: They are situations where everyone has a choice between two alternatives and where, if everyone involved acts rationally in relation to their own success, the outcome will be worse for everyone involved.
If "everyone involved" includes the person who is seeking to be successful, which it certainly does, then engaging in action that provides a worse outcome for everyone involved would not be successful, now would it? 
By seeking to be successful, it refers to each individual being a perfect rational egoist, that is perusing their own ends guided by logic and rational. By following logical, rational premises that dictate behavior in order to maximize one's expected return, one ends up being counter productive.
Quote:
That was exactly what I was thinking when I was reading it. I don't have the energy (so unbelievably exhausted that I would not be sitting here if it were not for the fact that I was waiting for some pizza ) to continue reading it, and perhaps the specifics of the situation were such that willingly cooperating with each other wasn't possible... or something...
The co-operation would be based on trust, since communication would be impossible. Because of the fact that no sort of social contract could be formed, it would be counter intuitive to put faith into the other persons "superrational"
-------------------- Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21 (New King James Version)
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Fospher
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940384 - 08/07/06 10:44 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Fractalated said: When great numbers of human beings compete, out of greed, for the limited resources that we have, then the world turns into the state its in today, with war, famine, hatred, violence, poverty, and so much suffering.
What you are really trying to say is when human beings compete, period, it causes suffering, because you cannot compete with the one you are trying to help in the first place. So, with that logic, one should stay stagnant and feel guilty for every dollar they have not given away, and feel possessive of every extra dollar their neighbor has.
You can be one or the other, but you can't be a workhorse for everyone else's gain, just like you can't pretend of being an altruist when you are in fact, a moocher.
Men should compete for the greatest gain for the self, and if one decides to give away a part of his capital for a physical or a moral exchange of virtues, for someone who is trying hard to survive, then his efforts will not be wasted.
You can help others reach success with your aid if you share the same moral premises, however one should never feel guilty of their own selfishness. Their financial capital is their worth, the value of their material success.
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Fractalated
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fospher]
#5940404 - 08/07/06 10:56 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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What you are really trying to say is when human beings compete, period, it causes suffering, because you cannot compete with the one you are trying to help in the first place. So, with that logic, one should stay stagnant and feel guilty for every dollar they have not given away, and feel possessive of every extra dollar their neighbor has.
Close, but that wasn't exactly what I was going for. I was trying to say that there is a level of competition that is entirely natural. But beyond a certain point, when one tries to accumulate more and more and more solely out of greed, then it creates needless suffering. Will there be suffering when there is any sort of competition? Probably. But up to a certain point, it is natural to compete for resources merely out of self-interest and the urge for self-preservation, and suffering arising out of this type of competition is minimal I think.
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fospher]
#5940422 - 08/07/06 11:00 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Another reason to focus primarily, though not exclusively, on one's own success: if you are taking care of yourself, you will not be claiming resources and assistance from other producers. IOW, if you take care of your own shit, you won't be begging for a shovel. 
By extension, this means that someone who really needs assistance may be able to receive additional resources which you have not claimed.
Whether or not a successful person becomes a philanthropist/volunteer, they still have chosen not to become a burden on society's productive members.
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Fospher
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940462 - 08/07/06 11:13 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Fractalated said: Close, but that wasn't exactly what I was going for. I was trying to say that there is a level of competition that is entirely natural.
Kind of like two mammals going at it for succession as an alpha male, right? Where one goes in hunger due to the other's succession?
Quote:
But beyond a certain point, when one tries to accumulate more and more and more solely out of greed, then it creates needless suffering.
If someone is making money honestly, then they are getting their worth. Should they decrease their own personal value once they've crossed the threshold of their own success?
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Fospher
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Veritas]
#5940487 - 08/07/06 11:19 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Another reason to focus primarily, though not exclusively, on one's own success: if you are taking care of yourself, you will not be claiming resources and assistance from other producers.
Exactly, because with the exchange of trade with the use money, you have given back as much as you received.
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Fractalated
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fospher]
#5940504 - 08/07/06 11:24 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Kind of like two mammals going at it for succession as an alpha male, right? Where one goes in hunger due to the other's succession?
Kind of, only since we're talking about two human beings, they are capable of enlightened selfishness, and so would be able to share and compromise.
If someone is making money honestly, then they are getting their worth. Should they decrease their own personal value once they've crossed the threshold of their own success?
Yes! Once they've reached their potential they should suddenly stop and retire and leave all worldly things! 
Nah, I don't see any harm in making money honestly, provided that they are using that money to help with the greater good.
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940514 - 08/07/06 11:27 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Are you saying that there is harm in making money honestly if one does not contribute some of it to the greater good?
What harm would be caused through utilizing one's own resources for one's own survival and enjoyment, and nothing else?
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Fospher
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940563 - 08/07/06 11:43 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Fractalated said: Kind of, only since we're talking about two human beings, they are capable of enlightened selfishness, and so would be able to share and compromise.
Enlightened selfishness? How can you, in a moment of unconditional love to everyone and everything, be only concerned about your sole gain?
Quote:
Yes! Once they've reached their potential they should suddenly stop and retire and leave all worldly things! 
Why should I, after decades of work and struggle, go back to 0? Why work then in the first place if my destination will be my very start? Or even worse, regression to an earlier point? It's like a fat man jogging, and the more he runs, the fatter he gets. It's the ultimate contradiction.
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LunarEclipse
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fospher]
#5940597 - 08/07/06 11:55 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Poster: Fospher Subject: Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success
Quote: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fractalated said: Close, but that wasn't exactly what I was going for. I was trying to say that there is a level of competition that is entirely natural.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kind of like two mammals going at it for succession as an alpha male, right? Where one goes in hunger due to the other's succession?
Quote: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But beyond a certain point, when one tries to accumulate more and more and more solely out of greed, then it creates needless suffering.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If someone is making money honestly, then they are getting their worth. Should they decrease their own personal value once they've crossed the threshold of their own success?
Most successful people would never hesitate to keep raising the threshold bar. Some would call that greedy but most successful people are only partly driven by money. Mostly, they are just very driven, energetic, and hard working people with lofty goals and that is what makes them tick. The mountain climber doesn't quit after climbing a mountain, he just finds a different or higher mountain to climb.
One doesn't accumulate money by being greedy, one accumulates money either by hard work, good timing, deferring taxes when possible and the time value of money. Well OK some inherit money but even there one can either squander or accumulate.
It takes money to make money and unless you are able to save the initial down payment on a house for example, you will never be a real estate mogul. Even there many don't understand the concept of or have the market timing sense to buy low and sell high much to their chagrin. That or they don't have a clue about the initial condition of a house, what it will take to fix it up, they lack the skills to do the fix up work yet try anyway, etc. on their way to foreclosure, bankruptcy and probably divorce.
If it was easy we would all be rich.
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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Fractalated
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fospher]
#5940598 - 08/07/06 11:55 AM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Enlightened selfishness? How can you, in a moment of unconditional love to everyone and everything, be only concerned about your sole gain?
See my first post in this thread please.
Why should I, after decades of work and struggle, go back to 0? Why work then in the first place if my destination will be my very start? Or even worse, regression to an earlier point? It's like a fat man jogging, and the more he runs, the fatter he gets. It's the ultimate contradiction.
'Twas a joke, hence the grin.
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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Fospher
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940641 - 08/07/06 12:15 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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I think one needs to make a distinction between enlightened selfishness (maintaining one's being here while causing the least amount of suffering in others as possible) and unenlightened/animalistic selfishness (trying to get as much as you can for yourself; being greedy and causing suffering for yourself when you can't get what you want and in others when they can't get what they want or even what they need).
So where's the line cross then? Should I work as hard as I can, have my own company, then leave to go sleep in a tin shack at night and eat from dumpsters because I've given away everything I had? Or should I simply not work, and not progress, simply living in animalistic conditions?
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'Twas a joke, hence the grin.
Just like your whole argument.
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capliberty
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940645 - 08/07/06 12:16 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Success lies in the word, the truth, not through false witnessing
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Fractalated
There's no onehome up there...

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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fospher]
#5940677 - 08/07/06 12:27 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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So where's the line cross then? Should I work as hard as I can, have my own company, then leave to go sleep in a tin shack at night and eat from dumpsters because I've given away everything I had? Or should I simply not work, and not progress, simply living in animalistic conditions?
It's interesting that you argue only with extremes. Neither of those cases exemplifies what I'm saying, and I think you know that.
You should work hard and get what you need, and once that is achieved, then I'm suggesting helping out others who, for whatever reason, aren't able to support themselves, or in some other way need help. I'm not saying give away everything you have, and I'm not saying make people dependent on you or to let people leech off of you.
Do you see the difference? It's in making yourself comfortable WITHOUT being greedy, and then helping others.
For instance, you work hard and are able to support yourself and your family. You don't give in to every whim and desire you have, but are reasonable with your income and outcome. Then one day you hear that you have a long lost brother in Ethiopia, and he's starving to death. Not through any fault of his own. If he could work, he'd be working every hour of every day. But there simply aren't any opportunities. There are only a few big corporations out there providing jobs, for measly pay and then charging quite a lot just for a little bit of food. The people who are lucky enough to get jobs are just barely able to support themselves, let alone family or friends. The land isn't very fertile, so there aren't many plants and there aren't many animals that he could hunt. Not to mention the medicine there is limited or non-existent. He's your brother and he's starving to death. Would you let him suffer and die just so you can get the latest and greatest Porsche? I certainly hope not.
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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LunarEclipse
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940691 - 08/07/06 12:31 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Neil Diamond - He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother Lyrics The road is long With many a winding turn That leads us to who knows where Who knows where
But I'm strong Strong enough to carry him He ain't heavy, he's my brother
So on we go His welfare is of my concern No burden is he, to bear We'll get there For I know He would not encumber me He ain't heavy, he's my brother
If I'm laden at all I'm laden with sadness That everyone's heart Isn't filled with the gladness Of love for one another
It's a long, long road From which there is no return While we're on our way to there Why not share
And the load Doesn't weigh me down at all He ain't heavy, he's my brother He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
Kinda gets ya right there 
Or maybe that was from the pepperoni pizza I had at Pizza Hut for lunch...
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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Fospher
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5940745 - 08/07/06 12:49 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Fractalated said: For instance, you work hard and are able to support yourself and your family. You don't give in to every whim and desire you have, but are reasonable with your income and outcome. Then one day you hear that you have a long lost brother in Ethiopia, and he's starving to death.
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It's interesting that you argue only with extremes. Neither of those cases exemplifies what I'm saying, and I think you know that.
No, I don't, and by what I'm reading, neither do you. 
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If he could work, he'd be working every hour of every day. But there simply aren't any opportunities. There are only a few big corporations out there providing jobs, for measly pay and then charging quite a lot just for a little bit of food. ... Would you let him suffer and die just so you can get the latest and greatest Porsche?
Of course I would help him, because I would value his health higher than a new Porsche. How I spend money is up to me, and his progression would bring much more than a new car. His hard work would be an exchange of mine, thus it would be a moral exchange of virtues. He's sharing my moral premises of survival, thus attempting to give back every penny I give out. I'm making a trade, an investment in his future, not giving something away simply on the basis of need.
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Fractalated
There's no onehome up there...

Registered: 07/22/06
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fospher]
#5940969 - 08/07/06 02:30 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Would you help him even if you knew that you would never get anything in return?
-------------------- "Now that the principalities and the powers stockpile weapons of mass destruction, contaminate the earth with their feverish industry, release floods of images to trigger insatiable desires, treat animals and humans as commodities and functions of a market, the devil must be grinning from ear to ear."
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MarkostheGnostic
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: fireworks_god]
#5941591 - 08/07/06 05:56 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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fireworks_god said:
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MarkostheGnostic said: I am both a failure and a success depending upon how I choose to look at my life, and how others view me.
Unless how others view you is an aspect of your preferences that you concern yourself with, then their viewpoint as to whether or not you are personally a success is irrelevant.
Well, I was simply trying to avoid the assumption that MY ego was the relevant perspective. It goes without saying that I would prefer success over failure, but it's gonna be relative to the evaluator. I mean, I graduated from 3 universities and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Most people I've met with a Ph.D. do not think any more of it than a ticket to a job. Who ponders what it means to be a Doctor of Philosophy in a particular field? I work in education, a field not known for high pay. To my late parents, I wasn't a REAL Doctor unless I could prescribe medication, perform surgery, make lots of money and carry the power and status assigned to physicians. My folks never called me a failure, but they shared the perspective of lots of people. I mean, I do have the power to 'Baker Act' (involuntarily commit for 72 hours of psychiatric observation) people I deem crazy, I have written letters to judges and gotten former counselees off probation and kept restraining orders in effect, gotten people's air fare refunded, and sometimes gotten myself a table in a restaurant - but I don't have a DEA license to dispense drugs - REAL power. Adlerian psychology is really into 'personal power' - the Nietzschean "Will to Power" was behind Adler's thinking, and power - financial and social is what the majority of people think of in terms of success.
Tomorrow I return to work. I've been on vacation since May 26th. I'll have a couple of Jewish holidays between tomorrow and Thanksgiving when I'll get four days off, then I'll get two weeks off at Christmas and ten days for spring break I work 212 days out of 365.25 which means that I am off 153 days (including weekends) every year. Now, I'll never make six figures in education, but sometimes I'm pegged at being in my mid to late 30s when I'm actually 53. Some of that is genetic but some of it is because I have more time than most to enjoy free time! Personally, free time is much more precious to me than most everything. With free time I can alter my consciousness for re-creation and regeneration. My ex girlfriend tried to insult me by calling me a "Puer Senex," by which she meant an old man acting like a youth (because I wouldn't 'grow up' and do what SHE wanted me to do ).
I see success in terms of freedom, not power (money & status). Fortunately, we are both introverts and have no real desire to experience the 'outer' world. We can afford to travel, but it seems more trouble than it's worth to us introverts. I do not need to physically sense the places and things I find interesting in the world like Hawaiian lava flows and the Great Pyramid Cheops-Khufu. It is ideas that we love, so we have National Geographic and Bob Brier DVDs. Internal Freedom is really the direction that we aspire to, but it needs to be cultivated in free time.
My brother-the-lawyer has been to Hawaii a couple of times and to Greece and other places. When he returned from Greece, I asked him what he had learned at Delphi (the place of the Pythian Oracle, the place that brings to mind [poignantly in my brother's case] the Socratic "Know Thyself"). His mood turned instantly hostile: 'What do you mean what did I learn?! We went to Greece - you've never been there! We drank Ouzo, we broke some plates, we had a good time, yadda, yadda...' Hey, if I wanted to go to Greece, I'd go with my childhood friend Gary and his wife, both who are of Greek extraction and speak Greek. We'd visit historical locations, argue about the Eleusinian Mysteries at Eleusis (now oilfields I'm told) and their covert influence on early Christianity, discuss Plato's 'Timaeus,' etc. But he and I can do that on the internet. I don't need to go to Greece. I have a bottle of Ouzo here, but I don't even like the stuff. I'm such a loser - just ask my brother the lawyer
Sorry for the ramble, but it's my last day of vacation. I read Gnostic stuff and Yogic stuff from 1-4, then got on the treadclimber, then cleaned the pool, put on a Grateful Dead concert on outside speakers, got in the pool, had a Beck's Dark and now I'm relating to youse guys. I'm...just...a...failure
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Fospher
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Re: Being Concerned With One's Own Success [Re: Fractalated]
#5942195 - 08/07/06 08:47 PM (17 years, 5 months ago) |
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Fractalated said: Would you help him even if you knew that you would never get anything in return?
If you want to know, read my response to your question again.
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Fospher
Crime FightingMaster Criminal


Registered: 02/09/05
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For me travel provides the different environment. It shows me through direct experience how different people are, and how much differently those different people act than us. When I was in Hawaii last April and went to the lava flows, it reminded me yet again how beautiful this world really is if we are to preserve it (Control of littering is highly enforced). I couldn't get that experience by watching National Geographic on Hawaiian volcanoes.
As far as success goes, I think success is a direct relation to your happiness. If you are a Japanese Zen monk without a Yen to your name, but you are happy - then you can consider your life a success. And on the opposite, if you are a corporate CEO with money to burn, but you hate your job - hate what you do and how you live - then you can consider yourself a failure.
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