Would You Rather Be Very Rich or Very Skilled?

Soldato
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No, not for the purposes of this fun question. Note I said very rich or very skilled. So, to add more definition:

Very rich = You have more money than you will ever need, so money is no object for anything at all, as far as cost is concerned, you can cover it. You will never have to work again for money if you don't want to.

Very skilled = You can turn your hand at anything, you can master new skills very quickly, you can understand things fast, you are extremely adaptable, you are extremely capable. Most tasks that are required for a successful life you can perform yourself.

Rgds

Very rich, as you can buy other people's skills to fix your car, mend your roof, fit a new kitchen etc. Whilst they're doing all that, you have free time to explore the world, meet people and live a little.

Skilled might sound appealing to some but in a binary situation like this I'd rather not have all my time taken up using my skill to do boring jobs.

I suppose the way I'm looking at your question is that money effectively buys you time as well as the skills of others and it's the free time I value above the self satisfaction of fixing my own toilet.
 
Caporegime
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Hi Guys

Would you rather be very rich, or very skilled i.e. be very good at doing things for yourself. Personally, I'd rather be very skilled and able to do stuff myself. I'm not that interested in being very rich, it doesn't really appeal.

What about you?

Rgds

Why is there no "I'd rather be very rich and very skilled" option.

It seems these self-congratulatory threads are basically about saying "Look at me I'm beyond material wealth". Usually because they have none and aren't likely to have any.

Yawn.
 
Man of Honour
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I am very skilled but I'd rather be rich.
I was a Michelin Engineering Apprentice, always done my own car repairs (and others), always done my own DIY (and others), I have two PCs on my desk ready for repair/upgrade, I play several musical instruments to a semi professional standard but give me money every time.
 
Permabanned
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Very rich.

Typically, very skilled people are very skilled in one, or a small number of related, areas.

Very rich people, on the other hand, can pay very skilled people to do jobs that require skill, be it installing a new kitchen, maintaining your car(s) or making your garden look great.

Very rich people can also afford top quality materials to start with. A rich person can afford really nice quality wood to build a nice study, but the highly skiloed but poor person, building his/her study, is probably limited to much cheaper laminates.

Also, while using a really nice kitchin, study etc appeals, spending a week or two building it doesn't, when I could be using that time travelling in interesting places, sampling quality cuisine and culture around the world or soaking up the sun on some exotic beach while admiring the brevity of costume some of my fellow bathers were almost wearing, while sipping a long, cool drink .... and knowing some skilled individual is sweating over building the study I'll get to use.

I suppose if your passion is some form of art, whether it's painting, poetry, sculpture, ballet, whatever, then being highly skilled at it is an end in itself not just a means to an end.

But personally, I think money is primarily an enabler, giving the possessor the option to indulge in whatever they fancy, and the time to do so.

You've just got to know how rich is rich enough, and spend time enjoying it, not get obsessed as many do with getting ever-richer.
 
Permabanned
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The skills barely pay the bills, where the riches get you the bitches.
Be careful what you wish for, because that type of bitch can be really, really bitchy.

There's more than a grain of truth in the Beatles' lyric, money can't buy you love. It can, however, make it tricky separating a genuine relationship from a scheming, opportunistic gold-digger.
 
Soldato
Joined
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Inherited or earned? That is the question.

If the former, then you cannot really help that, and can pursue a life of whatever takes your fancy with enormous advantages.

If the latter, no, I'd rather have a fulfilling life, with just enough to do whatever is that I want to do. Skills that interest me aren't that expensive either -- pen and paper, and that's me done. A roof over one's head helps too. Having a PC is nice. Same for the net. But none of it is that expensive or essential. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
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Be careful what you wish for, because that type of bitch can be really, really bitchy.

There's more than a grain of truth in the Beatles' lyric, money can't buy you love. It can, however, make it tricky separating a genuine relationship from a scheming, opportunistic gold-digger.

If i was that filthy rich i wouldn't care if it was genuine. I'd be balls deep in every 21 year old named after some alcoholic beverage.
 
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