I always call Hermosa Beach the other Silicon Valley.

In response to the being happy thing... Don't underestimate the contribution that extreme feelings of inadequacy and desire to 'show them all' have made to all our lives. A lot of what we have came from people with serious emotional issues, and they achieved what they did because of them. Not that I want to be one of those people, but we all benefit from their problems and their attempts to compensate for them by practically sacrificing their lives.

Wait, what I am I talking about. I AM one of those people. Well, not quite. I don't have any desire to 'show them all' that I'm really better than them, and whatever feelings of inadequacy I have don't drive me to sit that the computer day after day. But, nonetheless, I have a strong drive to achieve something great, even though I firmly believe it's completely meaningless within the context of the bigger picture.

So I don't even have a good explanation for why I do it, but clearly I can't be completely healthy to have sacrificed most of my adult life to create something. And I certainly hope to get a big payoff from it. But I definitely see that as a means, not an end.

Ha ha YES! Thanks!

Yeah, understood. When I was starting out in custom sales, and I would hang with other custom salesmen for beers, we had all of our ego's pretty wrapped up in the "I've got a bigger project than you syndrome"...

I remember one time hanging with some pals in the business, and one guy said "Hey I took in $125K this week---and that was just for the design retainer!" Backl then that was like...WOW!

Kind of like p*nis envy. Of course Bryan as you and I know... the big jobs can equate to big losses and big grief if all does not go well. On the other hand, they can lead to big margins or at the very worst -- cash flow until the next profitable one comes along.

I've seen some big projects take down some CI guys, but no risk - no rewards - right?

I have not met you but you are a writer, and most writers are nerds; nerds are "in" these days and considered hot. I stand corrected; there is one.

Trying to climb out of the hole I dug earlier :-)

I think there are those who want to achieve something great...which then leads to "showing them all" even if that wasn't the intent. Then there are those who just want to "show them all" without putting in the actual effort. Luckily we have the entertainment industry and politics... where it is possible to rise above everyone else while spending your whole day on your knees.

"I just traded in the OLD Koenigsegg Agera S for a NEW Lamborghini Veneno. How about you?".... LOL

So you don't believe that it's possible to have a desire to accomplish something world class, and to sacrifice most of one's life to it, without it being driven by some sort of class warfare or revenge against perceived social slights in high school or some other sort of negative motivations?

Or, if you do finally achieve it, that it's impossible to avoid a conspicuous consumptive?

No.


I think some people set out to jump the highest or sing the best just because they like what they are doing and want to give it their all.

And when people work hard at things that they love to do...they get noticed and the fame (showing them all) comes to them whether they want it or not.


Not sure what you are getting at here. I don't think Michael Jordan worked as hard as he did so that he could become famous or rich. I think that he loves basketball. I doubt that he was the only athlete ever to receive the born-with ingredients to be as good as him but for some reason he stands out among the crowd in a big way IMO. When you think "basketball" you think "Michael Jordan" (or you have some sort of mental healthy issue that keeps you from thinking obvious things but thats another thread :).

I also don't think that the fans or consumers made him a luxury item just because. He is a luxury item in terms of basketball players and he deserves every dollar he got. It's no accident that more than half of the shoe stores are filled with Nike and most of that with the Jordan brand. He made an impact and i think he would have done it even if he made $50,000.00 a year.

I'm with Ya on the factory stuff. I've had about all I can take. Banking 90k a year though (although I put in 2500 hours a year to do that), 401k match, benefits are great and cost basically nothing, pension too. Just hate it. Corporate bullshit. Ignorant management. Every year it's more and more rules to make ur life miserable. Def wake up everyday dreading it. Despite the income and benefits I need to get after my own biz full time. Feel like it's a waste of my brain and talent if I stay there and that I'll regret it looking back if I never left. At the same time it's hard to make the leap into the unknown.

Uhmmmmm, trading in my Saturn Station Wagon for a used Yugo...

j/k

This thread kind of summons up a similar thought...

If customers want _________________ who are we as resellers to turn up our noses at that product or products if we think it is below us to provide said product? i.e. lets say B*SE or S*N*S???

Bottom line is we are not doing this for our health and happiness. We are doing this for the money. We, well actually EVERYBODY who sell ANY product or service are basically whores... Give the customers what THEY want...

Well yeah but you need to decide what kind of whore you are going to be. (I wonder if that goes through the minds of actual whores...?). Shall I be a 20 dollar crack whore or a 50k per night flown in on the private jet kind?

Ha ha good point! At this point in my life, if a fair & realistic profit can be made, I'll do anything at both ends of the spectrum...

I recall back in "The roaring 90's" a lot of use could afford to be a little snobbish... but these times are different.

Whichever brings you happiness