[sikeodelic]

Hey Guys,

After reading the epic MOB thread, I thought of a rough philosophical question I'd like to pose. In poker, tight players *usually* play by odds. This is because you always have limited information. Roosh and others have written about how "our retirement is now" or you should live for today. While I think this is a good attitude, I also believe it could be harmful as well. Many have argued that focusing on girls is a good idea and money should be ancillary to that. While there is a lot of uncertainty in the world, I can also see why people want to go to med school (simply financially speaking; disregard humanitarianism). In my mind, med school is like having having a made hand before going all in pre-flop with AAs. You still feel queazy but you know you have a better chance than anyone else. I feel taking an entrepreneurial route is like pushing in with 7 9 off suit (depending on you skill set, etc) and hoping you hit a straight. Maybe you get lucky on the river and outdraw the dude with AAs, but sometimes that card never comes. If we were to see life as an analogy, I can see why so many people take a safe office job or even better; a professional career. They are simply smart poker players. The entrepreneur does hit his card a minority of the time and that's what we hear about and is celebrated in society. To avoid sounding over simplistic, I'd compare a modest entrepreneur like roosh to his old corporate job rather than to facebook. While a med or law student might die while reviewing for an exam, the odds aren't good.

Again this was an completely simplistic, incomplete, and spontaneous analogy. But I'd be excited to hear your thoughts.

[Kitsune]

It is simplistic and that is where it goes wrong.

I believe a lot of guys on this forum have this misconception that entrepreneurialism is a lot more risky than it actually is. Yeah it can be a case of getting shitty cards initially and hoping you get a straight after the draw (I don't play poker much, so bear with me,) but it can also be a calculated and minimal risk decision.

Getting a good job could be considered a shitty hand; Imagine playing poker with your two aces and then your boss saying 'you're fired' and you having no cards.

But then, guys can get awesome jobs make loads of money and be fulfilled too. It really isn't straight forward.

[Giovonny]

Everyone has a different level of comfort when it comes to risk-taking. Some people are not designed to handle risk, those are the ones who probably should get a "secure" job. They need to be able to see how much money they will get every month, every year, and they can start to calculate their retirement years in advance.

Others can deal with greater levels of risk. They might be a in a safer position where they can afford to take a risk. Some enjoy risk-taking.

I generally like to "play the percentages" and go with my safest best, but, sometimes I have to go with my gut and do what I feel will make me happy. Sometimes, it takes a "leap of faith".

Right out of college, I had a safe, secure job with health insurance, retirement, and all that. I was miserable, I was not focused on what I wanted to do, my day was filled with solving other peoples problems. I wanted to pursue my own passions and interests. So, I quit, people said I was crazy, but I had to do it to be happy.

You ever heard of the lawyer who became a fisherman?

He said one day on his boat, in the water, fishing, was better then a lifetime of board meetings and pushing papers. He could never go back to the corporate world.

If you need security to be happy, take security.

If you need freedom to be happy, take freedom.

Or, if your smart and ambitious, you might be able to get both!

Most people are born to follow, but a few would rather lead. To each his own.

[joehoya]

I'm going to ignore the poker reference because it is confusing (as a non-poker player) and obscures some important points.

The key point to think about is lifestyle design. What I mean by that is asking yourself the question of what kind of life you want to have now AND in the future, then deciding whether or not your current career path is leading you in that direction.

Lets take your med school example. First we have to ask "what do you want?" Yes, I know you want to make a lot of money, but for what purpose? What do you want to do with that money? If your goal is to eventually be able to bang high quality girls in the city you live in, and later get married, raise a family, and become a pillar of your community, then med school is a good idea.

HOWEVER, lets say your goal is to lead the "international playboy" lifestyle people talk about here. Lets drop the "international playboy" title and just say that you want to be able to travel extensively and bang chicks around the world. In that case, I would say that med school would be a poor choice. Other than ER docs, who can often pick up shifts at different hospitals, most physicians have to build a practice, which means being geographically bound to a particular city.

In addition, the city which you may have the best financial prospects might not be the best city for gaming women. Contrary to popular belief, major cities like New York, LA, and Chicago are not very good for new physicians looking to set up a practice, primarily because of the increased competition and extremely high malpractice premiums. The best location may be some small town.

Furthermore, while you will make a ton of money if you do it right, you will also work a ton of hours. 50-60+ hour weeks are common. Your ability to take vacations will be severely limited as well. A two week vacation here and there might work, but closing up your practice for 3-6 months so you can hang out in Rio or Warsaw isn't going to happen.

Honestly, as a person who is addicted to international travel, I would become a nurse before I became a physician. I know a number of contract nurses that travel around the country, work for 3-6 months at a hospital that needs them, then take the next 2-4 months off to do whatever they want. I know a male nurse who travels extensively. The dude would work in the US for for several months, then take several months off to bang chicas in Latin America. The funniest part is that after banging chicas for so long his Spanish got really good, which resulted in him being able to command a 50% increase in hourly salary for contract nursing gigs in the US (there is an EXTREME shortage of Spanish speaking nurses in the US).

The whole point I am making is to focus on lifestyle instead of money. Too many people focus on money, without out being aware that what they have to sacrifice to make the money may preclude them from using the money the way they had planed to in the first place. What is the point in making $500K a year if you are working 90 hours a week? It is like being given all of the gold in Fort Knox with the catch being that they are going to lock you inside the vault with it and you can never leave.

[Saladin]

The assertion that being an entrepreneur is riskier than having your own job is wrong in many cases.

A large part of America has very little job security.

People think that being an entrepreneur is extremely risky, when in reality its not as risky in the long term(think of the skills you learn). The failure rates for entrepreneurs are so high because a)People don't check to see if there is a demand for what they offer, b)People start a brick and mortar business where the costs of failure is extremely high, c)People start passion businesses without rational analysis. The Millionaire Fastlane had a good chapter on why most businesses fail.

For those on the Rooshvforum, a web based business is the way to go. The costs for failure are extremely low. The more you try, the more you learn. The more you read, the more you learn. There's money for everyone, whether you're a programmer, a designer, or even a chef.