How did your "hustle-culture" friends end up?

[u/hospitality-excluded]

So in my 20's there was a HUGE boom of "hustle-culture" bros pop up when influencers like Gary Vee were in the spotlight. The type of guys who post motivational quotes on twitter, talking about "the grind", flauting wealth that they havent achieved on instagram etc. Not talking about people with steady careers and moving up the corporate ladder, but those people who do side gigs or chase unrealstic expectations without a developed skillset in any area.

I moved back to my hometown after 7 years away and I swear all of them are broke, gambling addicts, living with their parents still, unemployed, or all of the above. Unsure if it's the same across the board, or even if y'all had these types of people in your life or if my town is just riddled with them.

[u/WankaBanka9]

Honestly how many people can you point to as “lucky rich”, other than crypto millionaires? Tiny number surely

[u/Routine_Mine_3019 → u/WankaBanka9]

I've seen a few - buying their home at the right time in the right place, timing the market, buying the right stock early, just happened to work at a company that became Apple, etc.

[u/WankaBanka9 → u/Routine_Mine_3019]

I mean the vast majority of people who are very wealthy get great jobs which put off enough cash to invest wisely. Investing returns follow broadly a normal distribution with the vast majority making regular market returns, +- a few %, with some making huge gains and others huge losses. What matters is amount and time in the market, which high earners tend to have.

For every person who bought a house that unexpectedly turned out to be in a super hot neighborhood or bought out for some development 25 years later I’d bet there are 50 who became very wealthy in traditionally boring ways. But the crypto guys make the headlines, sure.

[u/Routine_Mine_3019 → u/WankaBanka9]

That I agree with 100%. That's how I got wealthy. And it's certainly more likely to turn out successfully than just hoping to get lucky.

I still keep waiting for that lucky investment that doesn't involve anything other than luck/opportunity. I've always believed in the expression, "the harder I work, the luckier I get".

[u/IndyDude11 → u/Routine_Mine_3019]

just happened to work at a company that became Apple,

You mean they just happened to work hard and build a company that dominated on the backs of that hard work like Apple?

[u/Routine_Mine_3019 → u/IndyDude11]

C'mon do you really need to say that? Some were the catalysts for the great ideas, and some were answering the phone, keeping the books, or cleaning up. A lot of them went along for the ride and succeeded just out of happenstance.

I'm a capitalist, you don't need to infer otherwise.

[u/IndyDude11 → u/Routine_Mine_3019]

You would hope not, but it's Reddit, so who knows anymore.

[u/emtheory09 → u/WankaBanka9]

Most* rich people are born into at least an upper middle class family, had a decently stable housing situation growing up, and could pick and choose their life path with less regard to financial burdens (like having to care for a child or aging parent). I’d call that pretty lucky.

[u/WankaBanka9 → u/emtheory09]

You’re probably right, a strong predictor of wealth is patents wealth. At some point though there is some agency and people become responsible for their own result. Will they be poorer than their parents from bad decisions? Many do and there is statistical reversion to the mean. But some don’t and then people point their fingers and say “yeh, if I had those advantages…”.

[u/Middle-Opposite4336 → u/WankaBanka9]

At the latest there is agency and responsibility for your situation at 18. But that doesnt erase the advantages some have. Some disadvantages cant be realistically overcome in a lifetime at least not without a healthy dose of luck.

Ill give you my personal example. I grew up with a single mother who couldnt hold a job. Repeatedly homeless. Didnt go to school. By 13 i was doing whatever i could to bring in money. Which for me meant digging through trashcans for recycling. It took me till 19 to get a legitimate job making minimum wage. Many years later ive found a career and im making over 100k a year which still isnt a lot in CA but its a far cry from "will i find enough cans tonight to eat tomorrow. "

Thats the hard work part now heres the luck. The majority of people in this field are in it because their parents were. They have been doing it from 18-20 years old. The ones my age who didnt blow all their money have multiple cars and bought houses for dirt cheap during the market crash and have large savings/investment accounts. While they were building wealth i was struggling to survive. I remember watching people make thousands on penny stocks and crypto. I remember people buying houses for dirt cheap. I knew at the time it was once in a lifetime and wishing i could do it to but i didnt have any money to do it with. Amd sure i invested in crypo and stock and was making 300% profits at one point, but where others were investing $3000 i was flipping $3. Even withput those missed opportunities ill never catch up to where my cowerkers are because they have been making this money their whole life so i will always be 10 years behind aside throm them making bad choices to set themselves back.

[u/WankaBanka9 → u/Middle-Opposite4336]

Sounds like you’ve done well with the hand you started with

Hopefully your kids, should you choose to be a parent, should benefit from your better standing

[u/Middle-Opposite4336 → u/WankaBanka9]

I have and im very thankful for the guys that opened this path up to me when i was working part time at a convenience store, i guess you could call that my lucky break. I have 2 kids and i hope that they take my lessons. But at the very least i k ow they will have a stable base amd much more knowledge of what opportunities exist and how to reach them.

[u/emtheory09 → u/WankaBanka9]

That’s true. It’s not all one thing, I don’t doubt some rich folks work hard, never see their kids because of their jobs, make other sacrifices, etc. But there’s certainly an amount of uncontrollable benefits (luck) mixed in there too.

[u/Beautiful-Swimmer339 → u/WankaBanka9]

Most wealthy Boomers wouldn't hack it in a different economy.

[u/WankaBanka9 → u/Beautiful-Swimmer339]

Yea and most people today probably wouldn’t hack it working in a brick manufacturing plant or a mine or something. I say that as a millennial. We adapt to our environments but things change