LevesqueIsKing
An Instant Classic
- Apr 4, 2007
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I found this thread on another forum and completely agreed with the op. I decided to bring it here to discuss with you guys as well :wink:
I think part of the reason I agree with this person is because the way I've been raised. My parents raised me strictly by their opinions on life as if there were no other choices, which I think it a terrible way to raise a child. My sisters went through high school with 4.0's or higher each year. That followed suit in college (although I think one of them got a B once :lol
. Anyway, seeing as I average somewhere around a 3.85 I'm basically the failure of my loving family.
Why do we (is it just america, or everyone?) have this standard for living? Why do we feel sorry for the people working at McDonalds when in reality, they might be living a better lives then us, with high paying jobs?
A few years ago I heard a quote that fit the topic perfectly, and luckily, I once again found it. I will be sure to save it this time around as I absolutely love this quote. Here goes:
Go to school, study hard, get good grades, get into college, lather, rinse, repeat, get a "good" job, get a house in the suburbs, get married, have kids, move to Florida and retire....
Can anybody tell me why society is so obsessed with this formula for a "perfect life," why it looks upon the high-school drop out who very much enjoys his life (even though he doesn't wear a suit to a monotonous 9-to-5 job) as if he is a piece of trash who has wasted his very existence? I don't understand it, really. I don't get why the concept of a "wasted life" even exists. If somebody (be it a pothead, crackhead, or what have you) enjoys their life, who is anybody else to look down upon them for "wasting" it? Why is the cashier at a retail store regarded as "less successful" than a millionaire businessman? What good is money, what good is an education, if it subjectively brings you no more joy than sitting around and smoking pot on your free time? Can anybody give me a reasoned, logical answer to that?
I think part of the reason I agree with this person is because the way I've been raised. My parents raised me strictly by their opinions on life as if there were no other choices, which I think it a terrible way to raise a child. My sisters went through high school with 4.0's or higher each year. That followed suit in college (although I think one of them got a B once :lol
Why do we (is it just america, or everyone?) have this standard for living? Why do we feel sorry for the people working at McDonalds when in reality, they might be living a better lives then us, with high paying jobs?
A few years ago I heard a quote that fit the topic perfectly, and luckily, I once again found it. I will be sure to save it this time around as I absolutely love this quote. Here goes:
The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.
Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."
The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"
The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."
The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution.
You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"
To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years."
"But what then?" asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."
"Millions?...Then what?"
The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
- Author Unknown