greatest asset – your job????

Going back a bit in the post…

Credible economist? LOL…don’t, you’re killing me with laughter. That’s the best joke I’ve heard in a while! They are the sort of people who say, “we expect the All Ordinaries Index to be 4356 by the end of the year.” Recently I read an article where a “credible economist” was mapping out the next few years. Wow, I don’t need to do anything other than follow his advice, right? I think not, somehow.

Scaremongering about the future is a great pastime for many, but we can’t take it as Gospel because nobody knows the future. All we can say is that unexpected things will happen at some point, for sure. There will always be changes too.

I am essentially self-sufficient. I hated my job, so I thought I needed to do everything I could to become financially free. I’m not quite there, but investing money is my career and the only career that motivates me. At the moment I do a few months contract work year-to-year to supplement my investments. My view is you only work if you have to, or really want to. There are many other activities to occupy your time. Maybe you love your work – great! I didn’t and am doing what I can to escape the ratrace for good. I hadn’t worked in paid employment for over four years, until the short contract I am doing now. The freedom to make my own choices is brilliant.

To me, your greatest asset is if you can think of a way to escape your job for good. It’s too restrictive.

Wes.

aussierogue

Yes, you do have to sort the wheat from the chaff. The thing is they are always so convincing and rarely concede there are other possibilities. I feel many people like to be proven right. It is important to them and gives them a warm, fuzzy feeling. In the markets it is unwise to try to prove you are right. It’s akin to trying to control the markets. Can’t be done. Much better to take what the markets give and not look too far into the crystal ball.

By the way, can you let me know some good economists then? Maybe they are in print and I can read their commentaries regularly.

Wes.

I suppose the post about a job as an asset is very subjective to each individuals story. And everyone has a story. I remember when I was living overseas and I had to work for a pension (pronounced penseeon) in Turkey. I suppose it was a bit like bird dogging in a way except, instead of sourcing properties for buyers, I was sourcing accommodation for German tourists (Germany has quite a very high contingency migration of Turks). I enjoyed the work for a month but the pay was crap and I thought my boss’ concept of accommodation was really exploiting some of the tourists so I then felt I was just as guilty (which I was). I then thought stuff it! “My bed was like a womb this morning, you’re lucky I showed up!” Then my boss would say “Adrian why aren’t you working?” I’d tell him that there’s no Germans on the beach in Cirali. His reply would be, “Well you pretend like your working!”, in a very stern tone. By this stage I thought “well f$&*# it, why don’t YOU pretend like I’m working! In fact if you’re going to fantasize I’ll pretend that your pension is full and we can close for the day! It’s such a different mind set when your goal is what determines the level of importance you place on your job. It’s a bit like John Lennon when he sung ‘life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.’ It’s a bit of a juggling act really depending upon one’s situation. Sorry for the elaborated deep and meaningful, but it just came to mind while reading this post.
Cheers,
Gatsby!

Just a thought……

For some people maybe their job is a Liability ?? i.e. it’s keeping them from going on to much better things ?????

That whole inaction thing again ???

loanwolf

Let’s use some logic. You hate your job. Doesn’t that say, either find something you like doing or escape the ratrace, i.e. become financially independent? That is exactly the choice I had to make. I decided to become financially independent as quickly as I could, so I don’t have the burden of going to a workplace I can’t stand just to survive in this world. That is what motivates me everyday.

Hi Aussie & all,

Basically I agree with you…

I don’t like that so many people attend one of Steve’s Seminars or something and they feel that they have to quit their jobs on Monday morning, to do “property fulltime”….[baaa]

People need to plan to “scale down”, not “shut down” in this kind of economic market.

Of course there are exceptions, and some people can make a real go of “property”, but many can’t.[confused2]
For many this “freedom” of quitting a job, will just cause hardship and disappointment.[blush2]

There is always time to do your “day job” and to be a “property investor” at the same time.

When you have a million or so, in REAL equity, then perhaps look at quitting.

Just my thoughts.[buz2]

Del

Yes, very much agree with the last two posts. You must learn the art of investing by putting in the hard yards. There ain’t no shortcuts. Never underestimate the capital required to make either property or share investing a success. The idea you can quit your job and start with nothing is crap and misleading to novice investors. With share investing, don’t think you can come to the game with $20,000 even and make a living. It won’t happen.

Invent something. Yes, sounds simple when you say it, but how many people do you reckon make it with their inventions? Many of us have grand notions of becoming a best-selling author, inventing something that captures a huge market or becoming a celebrity with our untapped talent.

No-one should be discouraged from trying to achieve great things beyond the ordinary. However, I am suggesting you need something to fall back on, or you could be in for much hardship and disappointment. Some people really do make it big, but that’s not reality for most of us. I’m sure J K Rowling didn’t set out to create a monster with Harry Potter, but the right time, right place, luck and many other elements came together to catapult her into the big time. If you think you can achieve on a similar scale, go for it, but you might wish to think about the chance it won’t happen.

Having said that, I do believe if you are in a dead-end job, it is in your interests to ultimately get out of it and find something better. That’s what I did.

Wes.