I don’t know about the rest of you but I just can’t deal with it anymore. The “It” I’m talking about is working for the very wealthy, day after day. I sub for a number of “A” list GC’s who get cream of the crop jobs (I really shouldn’t be complaining) but I’m just sick of having my nose rubbed in their money, every day. The waste I see, huge sums of money spent on thing they’ll never use or don’t need when people in this country are strugling to make ends meet, alot of them building trades people. It’s just a “Glut for Stuff” with these people. It makes me want to retch when I see a customer spend $30,000.00 on a kitchen range and there is guy on that same job working having to chose to either pay a phone bill or buy food for thier family. And the only way they can do both is to do what we commonly call “side work”. It’s a shame that a man in the building trades today can’t provide for his family by working 40-50 hrs a week. He can only do it by also working nights and weekends on his own, it’s obscene…… And then there is this on going discussion on how do we attract new workers to our trades, we can’t if this is the way it’s going to be. Why would someone want to, I do it because it’s in my blood but I’m ready to give it up after 25 years, I just can’t stand here and watch it anymore.
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supply and demand my friend...
They didn't get filthy rich by picking a direction that many others can and do pick.
Good for them.
Sorry you feel you have your face rubbed in money, but those jobs will test your skill more than any Tupperware house.
Where is the grief? You want half their money because you work hard? You want to be assured life will be roses if you show up to work every day?
Boy, if you were looking for a pat on the back maybe someone else can help you. Sounds to me that you should have been a union boy, like twenty years ago.
I used to like working on those tupperware houses, as you call them, and not for the "work" for the people. They were real and considerate and genuine, that made it worth it, not just making something look pretty. These rich folks half the time don't know your name and don't care to, and I'm tired of whoring myself to them because they got the big bucks.....I'm not looking for a pat on the back from someone, I get that from myself, I know my work is good. I'm only looking for someone of like thinking and venting a lot of years of frustration. As for your union boy crack, I wasn't interested years ago when I got the offer and I'm not now, I'm not into their whole trip, I like to work for a living.
Edited 9/20/2002 5:40:00 PM ET by REDHEART3
Red, the folks on welfare aren't gonna hire you no matter how much they might appreciate your work. If the people with money decide to stick it under the mattress instead of buying veryextraspecial-uselesss hit, we'll all be in trouble.
Them folks driving those Cadillac Escaloochies help keep the economy going for all of us. Laugh at 'em if you like, but the Union Bros on the assembly line bitchin & moaning about how their job sucks wouldn't have a job to bitch about if it weren't for them.
On the other hand, some of them are first class morons. Have you ever been to a HD Expo store? Absolutely the most useless bunch of overpriced junk in one place you'll ever see, and every bit of it is designed just for McMansions. Joe H
Edited 9/20/2002 5:41:05 PM ET by JoeH
I understand basic economics, it's not those rich folks making the boat float, it's all the rest of us doing the bulk of the working and spending and living and dying who make it all happen. I think your missing the point. Some guy working in corporate America performing at the top of his game is being paid very well, and probably should be, right? Then why shouldn't the same apply to, let say, a carpenter who is performing at the top of HIS game, the best of the best, why is it that he can only gets maybe a buck or so more than the average carpenter? It's that way for all the building trades, and why is it that way. It would be nice it every trade professional with 15-20 years under their belt was making 20-30 dollar an hour like the bussiness professionals out there, it just doesn't seem right. Anyway, I'm not saying to stop working for rich people, I just think that we all should be getting paid more and respected more for the work we do. So we also can have some of the niceity that the "A" croud enjoy. You know it starts in high school, they send all the social and academic misfits to Vo-tec, WHY? Because they think anyone can do this ####. And from there the general public has condemed us all as idiots and morons. Anyone who does manual labor is less than them, right? And all these home improvement show and home centers reinforce it saying any monkey with two opposable thumbs can do just about any home improvement job. I've just had it!
Red...I did not get condemmed to Vo-Tech.....I came to it, after college, after a masters and more imprtantly after spending a short time behind a desk, with a tie on, and in boring meetings inside, when it was sunny and warm outside. That was many years ago....but I enjoy my freedom from it every day.
They may make more money than you, but they spend 8+ hours in a prison , every day. With a TIE on. In prison, with a noose around the neck, and a corner office, with a window looking out to where THEY DON"T WORK...we do. Ahh the fresh air, the warm sun...the loud music....the exercise....they sit, and eat, and stare at papers, and wonder what it is like to be free.....free as us.
So buck up. Become the boss, or start your own company, and make what you want, doing what you want.
You can have secutity, and realitively small responsibilty for low wages. Or you can own the company, and shoulder it all for much more money. Depends on what your motivators are.
Keith, while I agree with you 100%, I also have to admit there have been many times when I've been thinking my feet wouldn't be frozen and my fingers numb if I was in one of those miserable offices with the heater on.
Joe H
Redheart
I to do some work on some very "nice" places, places where they just spent $65,000 for plasma TV's for the bedrooms in the house, I look at all of it in amassment sometimes but I'm glad that I'm doing this kind of quality work. To bring myself back down to where the rest of us are I build a house for Habitat each year and I feel that compared to where they are I must seem well off, believe me I'm not, its all relative.
I have two college degrees and could be doing something else that would pay more but I don't think that I would like it, that's why I do what I do. Think about it you make more money than probably 75% of the people in the world, they may think you have to much stuff. Just my 50 cent worth, I feel the same way at times about the money that we make but that's just the way it is. If you are wanting to get together and stage some nationwide strike and demand our fare share you can count me in, don't know if that's any help?
Doug
Hey, I own my own bussiness and have since 1985 and I'm doing better than average, some might think I'm doing even better than that. I guess I'm really complaining for the brotherhood, who I work with and respect every day, they're the one's getting the short end of the stick. Truthfully I can't see myself doing anything else but at the same time I can't stop feeling repulsed by these people's wealth. Most of my customers don't work or are retired, many younger then myself (under 40). Most are worth millions some billions. I had one tell us he was making 2 million a WEEK. Swallow that and don't say it isn't a bitter pill. This is every day for me and that's why I've said I don't like having my nose rubbed in it. Why aren't my brothers making more than 10-15 dollars an hour when these people have all this money? It just doesn't make any sense or seem right.......Maybe I should go back to working for common folk for a while to shead some of this baggage, you think?
Nahhh....when you feel they are rubbing your nose in it, lift your leg and rip off a long one, wave your hands and say " man, 12 Budweisers tend to make be fart the next day, well ,that an them there hot wings, mind if I use your crapper, I have to take a wicked dump" They'll never rub your nose in it again, I guarantee it!
At a very basic level, a worker has no intrinsic value. An employer pays the going rate for a task, or group of tasks to be completed. If the going rate is $50/hour, that's the pay scale; if it's $15/hour, then that's what you get paid. While there may be premiums for quality or speed, there's no additional pay for having done the job for the previous 20 years. As shown here already, the real money is in selling the entire task, building a house for example, because the perceived value of the complete task is much higher than the sum of the parts (e.g. x units of labour). .
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Where are you? My GC charges $50 and hour, which is common here in California where good contractors seem to be in short supply. Maybe there is an oversupply of contractors in your area, driving wages down?
"A completed home is a listed home."
Lisa,
to argue the other side for a minute...a GC charging out guys at $50 isn't paying them anywhere close to $50. My last employer charged the same....$50/hr/guy......
Carp helpers were paid $9.50-12.00
Carp's went from $12.50 to $15.00
Lead Carps went from $15.50 to $18.50.
I have a buddy there that's a lead and ran well over a 1/2 million dollars in jobs last year....and he's topped out at $18 and change......and I still say it's his fault for accepting what they throw him....he jokes about working for a percentage.......me, I'd stop joking!
Jeff
.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
I think the middle class (us construction folks) pull a little more weight than we should. One of our laborers got himself into the City's home improvement program, (he had the proper # of kids), and fixed up his house, he got a kitchen, family room add-on. free. The city basically gave him 75 grand, keep the house for five years, and he owes nothing. I think there's a little fat that can be trimmed off these welfare programs.no turn left unstoned
If your laborer earned enough, he wouldn't be on any welfare program.Cut me some slack here
Quittin' Time
Your right, let him go out an earn the money. Don't you think?# # # # # # # , # # #--# # # # !
Seems to me that he is already working.
He just isn't being paid enough to live on without welfare.
Cut me some slack here
Quittin' Time
he's free to get a better paying job. He could even clerk at 7-11 part time.# # # # # # # , # # #--# # # # !
I'm free to walk on the moon, too. How many jobs do you have, Red ?Cut me some slack here
Quittin' Time
Edited 9/21/2002 7:14:14 PM ET by Luka
Luka.....
that laborer is also free to get an education and better himself......or go to the library and read up on construction tech's so as the job's progress...he can present himself as more than just a laborer.
A laborer is just that.....a body to do basic, unskilled labor. Supply and demand...simple as that......and any uneducated person in fairly decent shape can fill the bill........who's fault is it now that the laborer in question didn't make himself more valuable?
Construction is a wonderful field....as in there is a real chance for advancement for anyone willing to push themselves farther.
your argument here is starting to sound more and more like the typical ghetto attitude...I want more because I deserve it...someone owes me something.
Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Jeff,
You are, of course, correct about the opportunities.
I don't understand your last statement. What argument ? I asked questions and stated facts. Nothing more. Something to think about.
You are assuming that I have an agenda. (Argument) You are assuming further, what that agenda is, and even further, that you don't like the agenda. Where do you get that I have a 'ghetto attitude" ?
I do have an opinion on this subject. I MAY eventualy state that opinion. You probably won't fully agree with it. But you may partially agree. Meantime, you are marginalizing my opinion, even before I have made it known.
Cut me some slack here
Quittin' Time
What nobody here has mentioned or seems to realize is the guy making the money is NOT the guy doing the work. The same is true in almost any field. The people who sell the products tend to make the most money. In the building field it's the General Contractors who sell the jobs, it's the electician or plumber who has a crew or crews, the more risk you take, the more money you make. It's also the size of your dream and your goals. Ask yourself when was the last time you wrote down a list of goals? When was the last time you went out and looked at stuff you couldn't afford and tried to figure out how to afford it? Most of us pay about 1/2 our income in taxes (add them all up, not just federal, though that's bad enough). Vote for those who want to decrease that burden, not the guys who want to give everyone more of your hard earned money. If you want just to be a carpenter or a plumber or an electrician, that's fine, but don't bitch about only making $20 an hour, that is what the market will bear. Be glad you''re in a country that doesn't tell you what it is you have to do for a living, or maybe a place where you have to work 16 hours a day just to put food on the table. Ever stop and think why it is that if you're not born in this country you have 4 times greater a chance of being a millionaire than if you are born here? America is still the shining light of the world, be grateful for what you do have, and work to make yourself better as a person, and you will be paid more.
Almost all of the wealthy people I know, and I know many, worked their way up from nothing, and are some of the kindest, most considerate people around. They tend to treat others with respect, if they didn't, they wouldn't be where they are. Contrary to popular belief, most do not have a high level of formal education, in fact, I believe that more surely than anything else, will keep you broke. You may be broke at a slightly higher income level, but still broke.
Pretty much everyone that has ever made it to a significant level has written a book about it. The secrets of success are only secrets because most people don't seek the information. A couple of books I'd recommend are "The Millionaire Next Door" and "The Millionaire Mind" by Thomas Stanley. If you really want to know who the weathy are and how they thing and how they got where they are, these are excellent books. I'd also highly recommend "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Schwartz, and "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. In fact, if you look at the bookshelves of the houses of wealthy people you work for, I think you'll find the latter three books on all of them, that should be a hint.
I would highly recommend you guys learn to sell. I sell for a living now. I had a small construction company with a partner in the mid 80's to early 90's, and if I had known what I know now about selling, I'm sure our sales would have been 3 to 5 X what they were. I sometimes hire people to do stuff, and when I see how these guys sell, I am appalled. Almost NOBODY EVER follows up on a quote. Even the guys with good reputations whom I thought were pretty successful builders. Half the people never show up or call back to bid the job. Do yourselves a favor, follow up on all your quotes within 48 hours. I suspect the people on this board are the type that are trying to better themselves by reading FH, but you really should be working on people & sales skills. That would benefit every one of you immeasurably more in the long run. Good luck!
I'm not to sure where to start to chime in, but it seems as though the only thing that I can add to all of the above wisdom and good advice is a short summary. You have an assortment of options, if you are willing to do anything about the issues you started the thread with. Get Rich, assuming you are in America, freedom and oppurtunity are abundant. If you make good decisions, and work hard the impossible, isn't. Work for poor people, you will enjoy the work and the company, so you won't have to make as much money. Sometimes happiness comes from your surroundings, and you may need peace of mind more than the increased profits of working for the wealthy. Learn to get along, of the few rich folks that I work for , most are nice people, and just want something fixed to eliminate one little worry from a very stressful life. Or my personal favorite, just do your job, collect your pay, and try not to think about the inequities of life. Many parts of the world consider you and I, as rich spoiled indulgent human beings, and they are right by there standards!! So don't judge somebody else just because they can "waste stuff". It is not fair, but it is real. If you can find a world "average" most of us are above it. Relax and enjoy, or donate it all, and go to work for the peace corps or red cross.
Dan Other peoples problems are so much fun, compared to mine.
Dave,---good points and an excellent reading list. I would like to add a book to it if I might?
The Jewish Phenomenon( seven keys to the enduring wealth of a people) by Steven Silbiger------please don't form the opinion that this book is in any way anti -semetic----quite the contrary.The book does point out a few different views of how success is achieved and after reading it you can see that the "protestant work ethic" we like to think built this country is actually counter-productive in a lot of ways.
I would also like to point out that the skilled lead carpenter described in previous posts could dramatically raise his standard of living if he learned some of the marketing and sales skills you describe-----while cutting his work hours by about 50%.I have done-it as a self employed roofer for years----and I have yet to meet a halfway talented carpenter that wasn't WAY smarter than me!Furthermore,the application of some basic sales and marketing efforts,combined with a real effort in efficiency means I can do it while working for middle class families( this relieves some ethical dilemmas for me)
Taxes really aren't the problem----its the hierarchy above you on the employer sponsored food chain that the employee lifestyle supports----thats the problem. Create your own "food chain" with YOUR family at the top and you will work out much better.
Good points on your end too. I've always said it's got nothing to do with smarts, at least book smarts, not only did most of the wealthy people I know not go to college, most were C students.
Well This is my take on the whole thing..
First no one ever got rich by working harder. They got rich by working smarter.
Alot of thes guys dont have much of a life. Theyre on call 24/7..weekend with the family..whats that.... A vacation..whats that. Thats why i see them on the phone driving down the street all the time. Thats why most are theyre 2nd or 3rd marriage if theyre married at all... Ask them about theyre kids Oh their in soccer or karate or dance...ask them what the kids did today in school they dont know..., they dont have the time to spend with them.... Theyre never happy or content . I just transfered my kids to another school in a more affluent neighborhood because the schools test scores were so much better and I cant afford a private school.
A engineer I know has a son in the same school, same grade different teacher. The school had a back to school get together bar-b-que, where the parents got to feel comfortable with the school ect... I was there with the wife and kids... where was he...I asked him about it he said "working", his wife had to attend. I was asking him about the homework the kids were doing...He told me he would ask his wife about it. They had parent teacher night, I went to both kids (K1 and 3rd grde) met the teachers talked to them about the kids progress. I asked him what he thought about it , He told me his wife was there.
Then on the other hand as I said more time than once about living in a barrio, My son is on a latin soccer team 2 times a week they practice and all the fathers are theyre helping the mothers are there in support (more than I saw at the games in the yuppie league my son was in last year) . On the Sunday games the parents, cousiins nephews everyone in the family is there cheering the kids on , After the game the parents ,if the kids one won, would pitch in and take the kids out to pizza, last week money was short for them so they got together at one of the parents apts and had a small bar-b-que for the kids. These folks work minimum wage jobs but when it comes to their families , Their families comes first they know their children get involoed in their lives. I live in a 52 y.o. small ,1180 sq ft home Im fixing up and Im considered wealthy compared to them so its all relative.
These folks are enjoying their life, their family and know what their working for is something that wont be taken out in the garbage in a couple of years or traded in on a new one because it is obsolete. They wont be offing themselves because the stock market took a dump. But their wives and children love them, respect them and care for them as I do mine. Thats what is it all about guys... Just be happy and content with what ya got. IMO
In conclusion Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"
Ya Ron- got a buddy that ran a cable company in the 90s he built from scratch. Did well, right time and rode the crest to the now. Everythings flat and he's tired so he's liquidating. He is so more relaxed now. Finally got a life. Everytime I use to see him he was on the rat's treadmill. Pretty unhappy, jaw clenched from stress kind of thing. Made the bucks but at what price. A lot of folks do that. A lot of folks that have big bucks didn't get it from hard work but dirty deeds. Money doesn't impress me but the way some get it does by honest work ethic and smart decisions while still having an enjoyable life.
Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
You're right in that I have no idea what he pays for help. But he does a lot of the work by himself - one man show most of the time - all billed at $50/hour. I think that's typical around here for highly skilled tradespeople. Electricians, plumbers, mechanics, etc. often quote $60-$70/hour for labor. Where was your friend working? I'm really wondering about the regional effect on this. I can't imagine a lead carpenter working for $16 - 18/hour here. I used to run a nursery program locally and I paid $10 an hour for unskilled agency babysitters who didn't even speak English.
As an employer myself, I pay people for the value they bring to the organization. People who increase my profit by their skills, knowledge or effort get paid more than those who just show up.
"A completed home is a listed home."
My Grandfather often quoted the old saw, "Never bite the hand that feeds you."
Lisa,
I believe Jeff is right on with the figures he quoted. $50/hr. sounds like a whole lot. I thought it was too before I learned what this all contributed to. Take a basic, but legitimate contractor. One man show, no place of business (other than the office that he has set up in a spare bedroom). A 4 year old truck, typical tools. Nothing special, right?
First, he has to pay for insurance. If he had employees, he would also have to pay comp. He has to pay for the depreciation on his tools, truck, and office equipment. Then he has to pay for the direct costs (ie., saw blades, gas, and printer cartridges). His marketing activities cost him $$. Who pays for his time while he estimates jobs and does the books for the company? Does he give himself some vacation and a retirement plan? Does he make a profit for the risk that he is bearing, one that he would not have were he working for someone else?
I'm sure you could find a thread with the search function that talks about rates and the employment burden. The costs that contractors have to foot are a whole lot greater than what the average customer realizes.
Jon Blakemore
As a business owner and employer myself, I know much about the overhead of running a business. $50 an hour doesn't sound like a whole to to me for just the reasons you mentioned. That's grossing roughly 100K a year, so probably netting out 60K if they're on top of it. That's why I'm floored about lead carps earning $16 or $17 an hour. That grosses out to maybe 35K a year, probably netting less than 20K when it's all said and done. That's unreal for a highly skilled, full time worker. Is that common in other parts of the country?
"A completed home is a listed home."
You bet. That's right on line for librarian salaries, too, though average starting salaries are in the 30-34 range. I don't know what the equivalent for a skilled lead carp would be to that.
For the heck of it, I went to see what the Bureau of Labor Statistics says about carps:
http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos202.htm
It's interesting to look at what they say for different trades. What I said for librarians would be on the low end of the middle 50%ile.
"I don't know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets." --John Glenn
Edited 9/21/2002 9:11:40 PM ET by Theodora
Edited 9/21/2002 9:22:24 PM ET by Theodora
I was making around $90/hr in the computer industry and now do good to make $100/day. I try to make it about $100/day because most folks that are hiring me are doing it to help me more than me competively seeking business. However, now that the 9/11 impacts are starting to lessen on business, I see IT opportunities picking up, but I am not sure I want to go back there... I really wasn't happier with all the cash. Is $180k/yr better than $32k/yr? Maybe, if that's all there is to being happy.
I guess it gets down to this. If you can make a living doing something you enjoy then you have succeeded in work. If what you enjoy doing isn't supporting you, you need to change something.
But I think it's a mistake to assume that all people who are making a lot of money are miserable in their work. Some have sold out their souls for the money, but some are doing something they love and gaining wealth doing it. Good for them!
Money can't buy happiness but poverty can't either. It's just disheartening to see people judging one another by the size of their bankroll.
For example, someone like Steve apparently wouldn't even give me a bid because I have a gate at the end of my driveway. The gate keeps the kids and dogs from spilling out onto the road where they'll get run over. If having it means people like Steve won't associate with me then I'm willing to live with that.
But IMHO people like that are giving that "gate" (or stove or bank balance or car or whatever) way too much significance. There might be some very nice people on the other side.
"A completed home is a listed home."
You ain't alone dude. Luckily I am self employed and can largely pick and choose where I will work. I prefer solid work for solid people----nurses,teachers,accountants,police men,fire men---regular people. I have mentally red-lined out certain neighborhoods to avoid----Is it un-constitutional to discriminate on the basis of too much money and too little taste?
my personal pet peeve---gated communities or single residences with a gate and a buzzer at the road.
BTW,Theodra----I worked as a student for the Akron- Summit County Public Library for 4-5 years. My sister still works there. I have done a lot of work for library employees---an interesting if somewhat bizzare breed.It would be a privilege to work for someone like you.
Thanks, sweetie, that was a nice thought, even the "bizarre" part. It would have to be a "privilege" 'cos I couldn't pay you! Hopefully when I get my "dream job," I can leave off some of this DIY stuff and employ the experts!"I don't know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets." --John Glenn
I'm fifty and I've got five kids. I wish had joined the Union years ago.The insurance benefits alone are phenomenal and at least they provide for retirement.I am not in the Union but I support Union workers.I get tired of bidding against kids with no workmans comp. insurance, an old pick up and chop saw.The Union might have helped me to consider retirement . As it is, I'll probably keel over on the job someday.I do however agree on one thing, the rich are pretty well insulated from we the common folk.I ran a plumbing company years ago in Cal and had fifty servicemen working the Bay Area.Only the poor or struggleing Mexicans or blacks ever gave a tip to them or a kind word.On the other hand you could go on a call to the expensive areas and the attorneys would figure...why pay?I'm an attorney...sue me.
Say what you like about 'rich' folks. I have a development that I am working in that the lowest house price is around $300k. The first guy I worked for is the doc who delivered my son. Installer of hot tub mounted it poorly, bad access etc. When local service guy is contacted to fix it, says $1100 - 1200 on phone, $1300-1500 when he sees house and winds up over $1700 for Doctor M. I would have fixed it for free if I was still working at my computer job, but as I am out of work, I let him pay me. Total cost to him was less than $1000. Since then they have kept me busy, their friends and neighbors have kept a trickle of work and money coming in and so I basically disagree. Maybe it's a bit different since they knew what I was doing before, but every one I see working for them is treated nicely.
Don't hold income or combined assests against anyone; hold their attitudes. A lot of it is how you approach them first too.
Look at it this way--at least they can afford to pay for your services. If you had to rely on an entire population of more modest incomes, like mine, you'd never get work.
I just broke my disposal. It was jammed and I went after it and knocked the whole damn thing off the bottom of the sink. I can't afford a plumber, so I did it. It took three hours, and I'm sweaty and gross and in pain and who knew that the sink trap smelled that bad and I can't really reach the circuit breakers, and what all else.
I did it, but I wish I didn't have to. (I'm a librarian.) Be glad these folks have a lust for stuff.
"I don't know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets." --John Glenn
>> It took three hours ...
That's impressive. When I replaced mine it seems like it took a whole Saturday, and I thought I knew what I was doing. The funnest part was telling the guy at the hardware store, "I'm looking for the one that will eat a fork without complaining."
AH, but I have librarian skills. I used old paperbacks to jack it up and hold it in place. They swell up when they get wet! The truly horrible outcome of the whole thing is I now have to wash the kitchen floor, which I usually try to avoid.
Redheart hits on a good point, though. Even I have way too much "stuff," more than I really need to be happy. But if we all quit buying stuff, then the people making the stuff can't make a living either. There's some basic economics in there somewhere that I could sort out, and something about the entreprenuerial spirit. But I would have to consider it a reference question, and charge accordingly, to think it through."I don't know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets." --John Glenn
Next time you get offered one of those jobs, raise your rates. Keep asking for more money, and eventually you'll get to an equilibrium where you do less of what you don't like, and get paid enough to tolerate what you do.
-- J.S.
welcome to the lifestyles of the poor and nameless
People treat you as you let them.
Plain and simple.
You want respect.....make them respect you.....earn it.
I see my very rich customers as no different then myself.....and I talk to them and approach them in that manner. Generally people are people......speak on a higher level...and a higher level of people will speak to you.
These poor carp's that can't afford to buy a loaf of bread........looks like paying a bit more attention way back in high school might seem like a good idea huh?
Generally....money follows education. Gain more knowledge.....gain more money.
I never feel bad for the 40 something year old rent-a-guy because I'm younger and have more money......maybe he shouldn't have thought it "uncool" to carry books home from school?
Bootstraps...and/or beltloops.......get some...find them...and pick yer self up by'em.
I don't hate the rich...as a matter a fact...some day I hope to join!
Jeff
.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
this(yours) should be posted as the "remedy of the day" . my observation for liquidity, and presence( which some people are born with) is consistency. showing up for work, a decent & stable home life, and always trying to excell in what you do. its really no big secret. and your arrival to where you want to be will follow. the other secret is to knowing when you are there and enjoying it . cheers staywell bear
So I guess greed is good?
Redheart,
A few thoughts.........
I use to feel as you do now about those who appeared to have “more”. I felt this way because I did not understand; every man’s path is indeed different, but no one path is better or easier than another. Frequently, the more valuable paths are those that are filled with struggle and the pride of surmounting difficulties rather than an abundant supply of money and the material things that it can buy.
The world has been filled with disparity since time immemorial and it’s not about to change because you recognized this. I can assure you that if positions were reversed, you wouldn’t be willingly to give up what you have because someone working for you thought that it was unfair. If you doubt what I’m saying, ask yourself if you would give up what you have to join those starving in some third world country. If so, then why haven’t you? What would you say to them if they told you that your opulent lifestyle made them “sick”?
Some of us “fall” into our positions in life and some of us “earn” our way there by the decisions, good or bad, which we make all by ourselves. Mostly, it’s a combination effect of the two. That’s part and parcel of the human condition.
Somehow it’s easier for most of us to feel camaraderie with those beneath us on the economic scale. Perhaps that’s because it makes us feel compassionate inside and then we feel better about ourselves. If you were to feel some sort of disgust when associating with those of lesser financial means, they’d likely pick up on it and perhaps feel toward you the way you’re feeling toward those of greater financial means.
If you think these “rich” folks are looking down their collective noses at you…….maybe it’s because you’re looking down your nose at them. As Jeff Buck already stated……he approaches these folks as if they are on the same level with him and everything works fine. That’s because they are on the same level. Money doesn’t make them any better or any worse than the rest of us. Recognize this and treat them like valuable human beings…nothing more and nothing less…and they’ll likely start treating you the same in return.
If you happen to have some “well to do” folks on your hands who do think they’re better than you……..treat them respectfully as your equal and perhaps you’ll be the one enriching their way of thinking.
I’ve been working for the same affluent family nearly every day now for the last three years, in a gated residence no less, and can tell you that they are truly fine human beings. If I had come to their home with the same attitude I had 25 years ago, I’m sure that things would not have worked out. As it is, we’re invited to numerous gatherings of family and friends …….. because we are friends…….and they come to our house, as well. This is a position that is accomplished in the mind, not in the wallet. We charge them the same that we charge anyone else for our services because in our minds, they are no different and don’t deserve to be “targeted”. People with money know that they’re frequently targeted and are consequently on guard for this potential. Just like you, they’re not dumb about envy; if you have it and display it………….they’ll recognize it and shy away.
I’m not inherently dissatisfied with my position in life, and just as well, because when I was………it disappointed me everyday with new problems over which I grew more bitter. But when I began realizing and appreciating the fact that I have more opportunity than I deserve………….life began rewarding me for my attitude alone. You have to be ready to receive before you will receive..........you must be grateful in advance.
None of us deserve all the blessings that we have, but we have them nonetheless.
Change your mind and you’ll change your life…….for the better or for the worse.
Goldhiller
Very well stated, couldn't agree more, just wish I could articulate the sentiments as you have.
By the way shouldn't you be posting on "You know you've been on the job to long because"
Doug
Hey, I did post there. You're obviously not keeping up to date. Tsk,tsk.Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Sounds to me like you should be doing social work, not building homes for wealthy people.
Well, Geez Red, think you struck a nerve? I just joined on to this happy little piece of Free- Speech and was first, caught by your viewpoint, and secondly, by the swarm of responses. I think all of us who toil in sawdust secretly wish we WERE those folks with all that money to waste, we'd just do it in so many better ways, right? I am a SMALL business operator, and I work in a part of Nova Scotia with a larger than average number of wealthy clients, and like everywhere else, they run the spectrum. I guess I've been fortunate that the ones I've gotten projects worth were good, so far. The worst thing with our trade is that it's a great job, but a lousy career, if you know what I mean. The world is full of guys just out to make a buck and you and I both know that in a few years after they finish, somebody like you or me goes back in and does it right. The trick is not to get hung up on it. Do your job, take pride in your work, don't work for someone JUST because they have money, and never look at the other guys truck too close. A wise man once said "..do not compare yourself to others or else you will become vain and bitter, for there will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.." or something to that effect. I know, easier said than done, but who are you working for? Hang in there.