Althouse: "Without ambitious projects to fill space... there is often a void that makes some of the bigger questions hard to avoid."

October 18, 2019

"Without ambitious projects to fill space... there is often a void that makes some of the bigger questions hard to avoid."

"The things you neglected are no longer drowned out by noise; they are the signal. It’s like facing the Ghost of Christmas Past."

Says a "life-hacking author and podcast star" named Tim Ferriss, quoted in "Why Don’t Rich People Just Stop Working?/Are the wealthy addicted to money, competition, or just feeling important? Yes" (NYT).

25 comments:

madAsHell said...: What ignorance!

Rich people don’t work for money! They have money that works for them!; 10/18/19, 2:00 PM
Sebastian said...: What if your "ambitious projects" tackle "bigger questions" or help others get the resources they need to deal with them?

Of course, I have great respect for people who ambitiously try to answer small questions, like how to squeeze more computing power out of a silicone wafer.; 10/18/19, 2:09 PM
Hunter said...: “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven...”; 10/18/19, 2:09 PM
Todd said...: "Why Don’t Rich People Just Stop Working?

It is like these people think everything, including life is a zero sum game. That if these "rich" people would just stop working, their current jobs would be filled by others that will then just continue to do those things these rich people did, to become right but will be better at it cause right now, they are poor!

And they "horde" their money like Scrooge McDuck. They have all that money in a huge indoor swimming pool and dive into it every night, taking money swims.

Morons. All that "wealth" is either spent on stuff moving it to others, invested making it available to others to use, put into banks making available for others to use, or given away.

Lord people can be so stupid...; 10/18/19, 2:10 PM
TerriW said...: Maybe part of the reason why they're rich in the first place is because they're the kind of people who are driven to always work and produce, even when they don't have to.; 10/18/19, 2:17 PM
0_0 said...: How would he author know?; 10/18/19, 2:36 PM
Money Manger said...: There is only one purpose to this, and similar campaign articles we will see in the months ahead: persuade Biden
supporters that wealthy people deserve to be, in fact would be happier if, they were separated from their wealth. It is the moral thing to do. Vote Warren; vote for a wealth tax.; 10/18/19, 2:41 PM
rcocean said...: It weird how America from the 30s all they way through the 70s at least, despised rich people. People who just made money and then made more money. And suddenly in the 80s that all changed and we we're supposed to admire wealthy people. Sorry I don't. I admire Some rich people because they've build up businesses and given us a better things in some ways. But i don't admire some stock Jobber, or someone who made their billions with a quasi-monopoly or got a big bank loan and gobbled up all the competition.; 10/18/19, 2:52 PM
rcocean said...: All shown by the billionaires and millionaires who speak on politics, most of them are only good for one thing - making money.; 10/18/19, 2:53 PM
rhhardin said...: The rich stopping working is called coupon clipping.; 10/18/19, 3:09 PM
mikee said...: If you got rich via inheritance, why not let it ride, so to speak?
If you got rich via entrepreneurial work, why stop? It ain't broke, so don't fix it.
If you got rich via government service, like Hillary & Bill, worry that the rubes will come by one day with pitchforks, torches, a log, pillows and a tar bucket.; 10/18/19, 3:16 PM
Fernandinande said...: wealthy people deserve to be, in fact would be happier if, they were separated from their wealth.

Hiding those gold bars in a different place every night is killing my back.; 10/18/19, 3:33 PM
iowan2 said...: How about I work because its fun? And it makes me feel good? And by working I'm helping others?. Sharing my experience transfers value to others. I have found someone to pay me to transfer my experience. Lucky me? Or. Did I work hard finding that someone?; 10/18/19, 3:56 PM
Michael said...: Tim Ferris has made good coin off his books and speaking. I assume he's banked a fair amount of that. So why is he schlepping a podcast?; 10/18/19, 3:59 PM
cubanbob said...: "Why Don’t Rich People Just Stop Working?"

To ask the question is to be too stupid to understand the answer.; 10/18/19, 4:18 PM
Beasts of England said...: I have a buddy about my age (fifties) who founded a pharmaceutical manufacturing company with his dad. They sold out five years ago for a few billion dollars; his payout was just shy of ten figures. He stayed retired for less than a year. He simply missed the action.

The drive that often makes those types rich doesn’t disappear after the bell gets rung.; 10/18/19, 5:13 PM
MadTownGuy said...: Why Don’t Rich People Just Stop Working?

Because at some point you've made too much money.; 10/18/19, 5:28 PM
William said...: Einstein should have quit when he was ahead. He spent decades trying for a Grand Unified Theory or some such nonsense. He could have taught a few classes, bonked a few coeds (which was permissible back then), and settled into a life as comfortable as an old slipper. But he kept looking for the next big thing and never realized that he had discovered it. What a sad waste those last thirty or forty years were.; 10/18/19, 5:42 PM
William said...: And what about all those writers who have one great novel, tell it, and then spend the rest of their lives retelling it in increasingly smudged and deficient ways.; 10/18/19, 5:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Addicted to being productive in my case. I still want to improve the world while I can.

I am using a measure of success which says your success is all up to you every day, and every day can be a successful day. It is a percentage of the talents you have been blessed with, whatever they are. Success is the fraction of those talents that you use. You can choose 100% every day.

Who benefits? My customers have need of my specialized skills to accomplish their goals. I often respond to Requests for Proposals--they ask me to sell them my services. The government takes first dibs on any contract I sell. My family and favorite charities benefit. I am far from the only one who benefits from the creation of wealth.

I think a majority of my peer group who retired had at least a partial motivation of disgust with their last employer. My last employer ran out of things for me to do so I left, a little bit disgusted, and decided to take matters into my own hands. I have networked with former colleagues who also still want to make a contribution, and we are doing it. It feels good!; 10/18/19, 6:19 PM
DavidUW said...: It's titles like these where I'm reminded, there are no stupid questions, just stupid people.; 10/18/19, 6:50 PM
Josephbleau said...: The fast flow of instantly appearing comments is over. I hope this inspires your writing.

words I have, fast flow I desire, When you enter the cave all that you have is what you have brought with you. Everything you know you have been taught, or have been genetically procived to believe. The first friend you have met is the first friend you have met.; 10/18/19, 7:46 PM
Josephbleau said...: The fast flow of instantly appearing comments is over. I hope this inspires your writing.

I like the fast flow better. Color me fast flow of ideas.; 10/18/19, 10:15 PM
iowan2 said...: Across the nation there are govt work centers for mentally disabled persons. Repetitive labor intensive hand work. Like counting fasteners into bags. Depending on the ability of the worker, they make . $.50 to $1.00 per hour. On the floor you will find people from 18 to 80. All of them love to come to work ever day. It completes them. I would assume that if the mentally challenged are smart enough to figure out labor adds to there sense of self, some educated, moral superior could understand it.; 10/18/19, 11:07 PM
Assistant Village Idiot said...: Why Don't People Just Stop Writing For The NYT?

It looks like exactly the same reasons to me.; 10/19/19, 8:23 PM