Interesting conversation with Mike Rowe

[hattaresguy]

I see this in the construction industry that I work in. Not many younger people are willing to wake up in the morning and do the work. The average age of the guys that work for me is probably in the mid 50's.

If I was unemployed I'd go find a job, even if it meant moving to North Dakota.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071


2. There are certainly jobs out there, I agree, but the point is they aren't sustainable jobs. Most of them are minimum wage with no benefits, and limits on how many hours you can work. I have friends who have graduated with 4 year degrees and couldn't find jobs, so they are working at Dunkin Donuts to pay off their student loans.


Same. The problem is, whenever someone wants to do something that can pay people $15-$20+ per hour, they get driven out ... at least here in NY.

We can *NOT* build transfer cases or make guns - but building a mall is fine.


Well the Northeast is just shot. CT is working on driving UTC to FL.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: TrevorS
Originally Posted By: Mykl
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Originally Posted By: Mykl
If you can't find a job, adapt.

The world changes. If you can't or won't change with it the problem is not the world, it's you.
Why didn't I think of that. Now can you tell me how I'm supposed to live in 2014, on the same amount of income that I had in 1984? That should be easy for such a knowledgeable person like yourself.,,


If you maintain an expectation that somebody is going to tell you specifically what you're supposed to do, you're already lost.


But you also have to see that by definition there will be people who are not successful despite their attempts to adapt and effectively your response to such people is going to be "tough luck".


Not everyone can be a winner. That's the reality that no one wants to admit.

 

[SteveSRT8]

^^^Small addition: Not everyone is willing to do the work and endure the failures and setbacks that eventually lead to success.

 

[TrevorS]

But Steve, it's always going to be relative. Imagine that suddenly we got rid of everyone who didn't meet your criteria of never giving up. In the remaining population, there would still be losers.

Warren Buffet said that luck plays a large part in life. He says he is lucky that the thing he is good at is valued in the system he was born into. He feels he is no better at what he does than a teacher or cleaner is at what they do.

That's the side that some in this thread have brought up. They are good at what they do and work hard but something happens that they can't control.

Those who are successful in business are invariably more adaptive than others but even in business there are people who have done everything right and something happens. Take all those people successful enough to give money to Bernie Madoff.

My take is that everyone has something they can do. Encourage them to do well and be productive and let's have a system that doesn't take away people's dignity even when they work hard. Something like that requires all of us to have understanding rather than automatically assuming that those who don't succeed are losers.

 

[hattaresguy]

I don't know become a landlord and perspective changes. Some people are very good at getting aide and playing Xbox. Is COD a skill?

The whole follow your passion thing is a bunch of HS guidance counselor [censored], that's what causes people to get degrees in ancient peoples from Yale and six figure debt to match it. (don't laugh I know someone who did exactly that.)

Passion is a hobby, find something that the society you operate in values, and become good at it.

Luck plays a part in it, but I'm a firm believer and making your own luck.

 

[javacontour]

Luck is a part of it. The question is always, did you make your luck, or did it just happen?

Many attribute luck to success. I'm not saying there isn't luck involved. But you also have to capitalize on your good fortune.

Some luck is simply manufactured by getting up at 4am (or whenever) and working X hours/day at success.

Some sit at home, munching on Cheetos and Hagen Daas and say, "Boy, that supermodel is luckly she's not big boned like me. If I had her luck, I'd weigh 105 instead of 255."

No, she's not sitting at home eating Cheetos and Hagen Daas. She's at the gym for an hour or two every day and eats fruits and veggies, not packaged foods.

And I do get that success is relative. In fact, that's my whole argument against progressive tax schemes or programs that simply look to transfer wealth solely on the basis that someone has more than another.

Until everyone has the same amount, there will always be someone on the bottom of the heap.

Most folks I know are more than happy to get a hand up to someone who is down on his/her luck. The problem is, everyone you meet claims they are unlucky.

You don't hear many/any say, "I goofed off in High School. I only did the bare minimum to get by and I put myself in this situation."

It's always, "I'm a victim. It's not fair! The system is rigged against me! The man is keeping me down!"

Would a business really want everyone else to be down? Of course not. Unless you are a government or a charity, it's not in your best interests to have a large mass of folks looking for a hand out. Who will buy your products or services if everyone is kept down by the man?

Even Bernie Madoff isn't luck. After all, if something sounds too good to be true...

Those folks who lost their money in Enron, investing everything in one stock. Was that luck or failure to heed solid advice?

Employees who put EVERYTHING in it were crushed. Yet the only thing they were required to put in ENRON stock was the company match.

Bad luck or bad choices? I say bad choices. They didn't have to lose it all, only the company match portion.

I still contend that much of your luck is manufactured by your choices. Not all, but a fair amount of it.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^Small addition: Not everyone is willing to do the work and endure the failures and setbacks that eventually lead to success.


Bongo, mediocrity is fed into kids very early on, at schools, plays and competition events. Everybody gets a participation medal and there are no winners and losers. While this kind of behaviour is good for the firs few years of kids lives, once they get older, they should learn what it takes to be a winner or how it feels to be on the losing side and hopefully learn from your own mistakes.
This is simply not happening.

 

[TrevorS]

"Bongo"?

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: TrevorS
"Bongo"?

It was supposed to be "bingo" but ipad keyboard is not that great and the spell check gets wonky as well.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: Mykl
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Originally Posted By: Mykl
If you can't find a job, adapt.

The world changes. If you can't or won't change with it the problem is not the world, it's you.
Why didn't I think of that. Now can you tell me how I'm supposed to live in 2014, on the same amount of income that I had in 1984? That should be easy for such a knowledgeable person like yourself.,,


If you maintain an expectation that somebody is going to tell you specifically what you're supposed to do, you're already lost.


Agreed.

The amount of opportunity out there is incredible. But it takes a certain amount of thinking outside of the box, and the desire to do what it takes to succeed.

It's been about 40 years since I've worked for someone else. In that time a lot of things have changed, but one thing remains the same-people who are willing to work hard, have a solid skill set, and are willing to do what it takes (including relocate in some cases) always land on their feet.

Everyone had failures in life, and everyone has both ups and downs. The smart ones learn from their downs and use the experience to their advantage. But there will always be some who prefer to blame someone else, and they'll never get ahead in life because they don't realize that the person to blame is themselves.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I see this in the construction industry that I work in. Not many younger people are willing to wake up in the morning and do the work. The average age of the guys that work for me is probably in the mid 50's.

If I was unemployed I'd go find a job, even if it meant moving to North Dakota.



Your right. I see very few 20 somethings onsite. Youngest tends to be in their 30s.
The youth of today have mom and dad handing them everything and putting a roof over their heads so they've never known what it means to be broke,hungry and homeless.
Once a person has been in that type of situation they don't want to be there again so showing up to work and getting that paycheque suddenly becomes all that matters.
We've got guys who whine about pumping lumber and their backs hurt. I can remember framing a house with a broken foot because I fell off a ladder,but no one else was gonna build it for me and just hand me the money so I HAD to work.
I got hit by a car and broke my right forearm. I got a cast and the bone set then promptly cut enough of it away so I could grip the air gun.
I was taking oxy contin to keep working. I'd eat 2 80mg oxy then work until the pain was so bad I couldn't hold the gun anymore,then repeat the process.
When a MAN has bills to pay and HIS family to feed he does whatever it takes to provide for them.
I've never asked for nor taken a hand out. If I want something I'll get it by earning it.
Today's youth doesn't know what it means to fail and without failure a person never has to dig deep within themselves to accomplish their goal.
Failure is as important as succeeding because without failure exactly what is success.