Have you found your passion?

I never enjoyed playing poker, the variance and the environment were always detrimental to my fulfilled happiness, and it's probably for that reason I hit my ceiling around MSNL. I enjoy the analytical side of problem solving/decision making inherent in poker, but you can find that in many other arenas. I've made a lot of money playing poker and I'm proud of what I've accomplished with it but I've never truly enjoyed being a professional poker player.

I find doing entrepreneurial startup work a lot more fulfilling because I enjoy creating something tangible. It's also like infinitely harder than being a pro poker player but the work can be fun especially if you work on a problem you're interested in or passionate about, and you surround yourself with equal minded, positive people (which is very unlike poker imo, where there's largely a culture of negativity in various forms). Now I focus more on web development which I really enjoy as well because I also find it's like poker in that there are different ways to come about finding the "best" way to solve a problem, although the subject matter in programming far outweighs that of poker.

Who knows, though, because the only career I've spent considerable time in has been poker and maybe other things will jade me too. My true passion likely has to involve music or painting, which sounds cliche, but I'm not good enough at music to make anything of it and painting is just a zen-ish hobby (and obviously financially unfulfilling as well). I find there has to be a balance between "doing what you love" and also doing something that will fulfill your financial needs at a reasonable level.

one of the best TED talks imo. I guess i'll chip in

Sadly i've been losing my passion for poker lately, ever since I started i've been playing on and off, making just enough money to live comfortably. Now i'm depressed, with little drive / motivation, no work experience and no clue what to do with my life. feels bad man :/

It feels like I lack purpose in life...not sure if everyone goes through this phase? maybe i'll do some overseas volunteering soon and try to work towards something bigger than me.

In spite of all this, i'm not really worried about my future - I rarely think about it. i'll just improvise as things come, it's funner that way. but for now, i'm gonna try to get back into poker..

Well my passion is MMA

As long as i am involved in the MMA scene either as a fighter or as a trainer i can never be unhappy.
After being sick for some time i currently work part time as Fitnestrainer in a Gym and as MMA trainer in our MMA Gym
I dont make much money but i enjoy what i do.

I think poker was never the right thing for me.
Despite trying hard at some points I made about 3-5K net winnings within 2 years (LOL T_T)
The Problem has always been that i cant deal well with only being able to have a very small amount of influence on your results within a limited amount of time.

Poker is quite the opposite of what i loved in all the other things i did back then.

I mean you play drums and fail to hit a Song correctly -> u practice for 5-10h and then u can play it smooth and nice
U play Quake3 and your aiming sucks ... u train 5-10h specifically aiming and then u will aim significantly better
You suck at an Escape in BJJ -> u train it 5-10h and then u will be able to perform the escape much much better
U cant get a BO down in Starcraft ? -> train it for a week in every ladder game and then u will make it smooth and nice

Poker was totally different ....
You have problems in certain spots over 50K hands and then make an adjustment of which u arent even sure that it works for the good
then u have to play another 50K hands to get an Idea if your adjustment might have been for the better a greater percentage of the time than for the worse ...

I just want to fuck around and entertain people.

On October 16 2012 05:56 k4ir0s wrote: one of the best TED talks imo. I guess i'll chip in Sadly i've been losing my passion for poker lately, ever since I started i've been playing on and off, making just enough money to live comfortably. Now i'm depressed, with little drive / motivation, no work experience and no clue what to do with my life. feels bad man :/ It feels like I lack purpose in life...not sure if everyone goes through this phase? maybe i'll do some overseas volunteering soon and try to work towards something bigger than me. In spite of all this, i'm not really worried about my future - I rarely think about it. i'll just improvise as things come, it's funner that way. but for now, i'm gonna try to get back into poker..

u pretty much just described my life brah, hang in there, we will rise again.



FKIN SHROOMS MAN

have been thinking so much about this type of stuff during the last couple of months and it seems like theres been alot of discussions all over the place about this lately.

for me it all started with a mushroomtrip that went to hell, to sum it up somewhat short i basically thought i was dead for 2 hours and it was sooo much anxiety trying to accept the fact that i was dead and now was trapped in some loop somewhere in my memory in the universe. but i also got to have time as the anxiety layed off alittlebit after an hour or so (time didnt excist but evaluating it afterwards i guess it was an hour or so of maximum panic and anxiety). and all i could think about was that i had so much more to give in life, i didnt wanna die yet but i kinda accepted it and calmed down and tryed to get ready to explore this wierd afterlife and i got thinking about stuff, like now that im dead, i can see the world and do what i want with no bounderys (i still was on this world)

when i got out of it i started crying like a little baby and my friends, wich i thought was just created in my mind as a defencemechanism to make me feel safer, started crying aswell as they had been tipping on their toes and was scared as fucked for the last 2 hours since i had been completely gone from this world for 2 hours just kinda sleepwalking and talking random nonsense and saying wierd stuff to them, and it got really gay as we cryed together 3 25 year old guys but i was so happy that i wasnt dead and that i was back to reality.

and then weeks have passed, ive been thinking alot about my lifestyle and what it is i want in life? is it really watching tvseries in my sofa while being high? i havent even smoked weed since then wich is pretty crazy for me, ive been going outside more, training alot alot alot and eating alot of healthy shit because im pretty sure liveing a somewhat healthy life is something that will make ur life better. what it is i wanna do in the future, and it probably isnt poker for all eternity thats for sure. and its probably not going through this standard careerladder either trying to reach the top, like the man speaks of in this tedtalks doing some stressed out shit just to get acouple of extra $ out of it. money wont make me happy in the end.

i still pretty much dont have a clue about what i wanna do after poker,
(gonna give it maybe a year or two more and see how it goes since ive already come so far in my development and knowledge/skill as a player, hopefully can make some money and give me some good backup for the future, since sadly enough money is kinda of an important tool in our society)

I know that i wanna travel more, and see more of the world, and be somewhat close to nature at times, because nature is the fucking shit. and i think i wanna work with people in the future because social connections is everything, like helping people, children or w/e something that will give me some type of purpose in alittle gay way

soooo my future is pretty open, and im glad ive atleast started the process of figureing this out in some kind of outside of the box way at the age of 24 and not 50, and im not really scared or worried about it. as i told a friend of mine, im fine with doing what ever i find interesting, like i could go to australia and breed donkeys, who cares. aslong as its something i wanna do. hopefully poker can help me out on the way by makeing me some money to give me a better ground to do maybe something that dosnt pay to much in the future, since i still kinda find poker interesting, astlest when im running well and are in the zone i think i will rise again and make some money out of this fucked up game.

but even if i wont, im pretty sure it will be ok, cuz money sux anyways



btw im crazy aswell joey

On October 16 2012 06:14 byrnesam wrote: I just want to fuck around and entertain people.

couple mates of mine (both successful poker nerds) recently did a 6 week course in standup comedy just for fun, culminating in a "new talent" gig for first time performers in a pub in central london. (was quite outside their comfort zones and they were super nervous imagining potential scenarios of failure and embarassment but both their performances were quite good and got some decent laughs but not relevant). ever thought thats something u could get into abit? ur basically The funnyman here anyway:D

oh and also, im busto if people thought i was rich already or something and ive been pretty much for the last months going through a really brutal pokeryear for me.

o.o You were posting 5/10 hands just a few weeks ago, what happened (if you don't mind me asking)?

As for on topic; I don't know. I've been struggling quite a bit lately after realizing I didn't have any passion left as a progamer (which was a dream I clinged to for a really long time when I was younger, largely because I didn't have any idea what else I wanted to do with life I think), and I have motivational issues in general right now despite actually enjoying playing/learning poker and very much could see myself playing 10 years or 20 years from now (though I wouldn't say it's my passion).

On October 16 2012 08:09 TianYuan wrote: o.o You were posting 5/10 hands just a few weeks ago, what happened (if you don't mind me asking)?

ive been staked by the supercool OP ket the shet

For the guys in jobs, tell us what you're doing, why, what you hope to get out of it and what the plan for after is.

I'm currently a technology specialist at a large us bank. I'm working there because it's a great place to have a career as well as the benefits are pretty sweet. 6% full matching to a 401k as well as annual profit share. I've gotten 3 promotions within 2.5 years, I contribute that directly to wanting to be the best at everyone of my positions (I first strive to learn everything, then be the best on the team, then be the best in the area. I hope to working here a career as well as get my own business up off the ground (basically geeksquad at 75% cost)

For the guys in jobs, tell us what you're doing, why, what you hope to get out of it and what the plan for after is.


I work for Spotify as an Analyst (it's essentially Revenue forecasting, so a good mix of numbers and people) , I absolutely love working here, because it's a super cool company with really smart people. What do get out of it? Well, working for a start up in always fun, the entrepreneurial environment has it's benefits. Not sure what the plan is, but I'm enjoying my job so hopefully i'll be here for quite some time.

On October 16 2012 05:56 k4ir0s wrote: one of the best TED talks imo. I guess i'll chip in Sadly i've been losing my passion for poker lately, ever since I started i've been playing on and off, making just enough money to live comfortably. Now i'm depressed, with little drive / motivation, no work experience and no clue what to do with my life. feels bad man :/ It feels like I lack purpose in life...not sure if everyone goes through this phase? maybe i'll do some overseas volunteering soon and try to work towards something bigger than me. In spite of all this, i'm not really worried about my future - I rarely think about it. i'll just improvise as things come, it's funner that way. but for now, i'm gonna try to get back into poker..

like longple, this describes me too.
unlike longple, I'm not actually good at poker, nor do I actually work hard at being good at poker.

On October 16 2012 09:07 iop wrote: For the guys in jobs, tell us what you're doing, why, what you hope to get out of it and what the plan for after is. I work for Spotify as an Analyst, I absolutely love working here, because it's a super cool company with really smart people. What do get out of it? Well, working for a start up in always fun, the entrepreneurial environment has it's benefits. Not sure what the plan is, but I'm enjoying my job so hopefully i'll be here for quite some time.

nice, and what does an analyst at spotify do? from what background do u land that role? enjoying what ur doing for its own sake and not for the extrinsic benefits is so huge imo

longple/gawdawful/FA, i think the most valuable thing you may find useful from that video i posted was the bit about how you should go out in the world and try loads of diff things and in doing so maybe discover something u love that you really want to invest your time and effort doing? I can relate to both your guys' situations and def know the feeling of lack of direction, so I can only guess this is what we should be doing. Come back and share ur experiences once things progress

On October 16 2012 05:59 PplusAD wrote: Well my passion is MMA As long as i am involved in the MMA scene either as a fighter or as a trainer i can never be unhappy. After being sick for some time i currently work part time as Fitnestrainer in a Gym and as MMA trainer in our MMA Gym I dont make much money but i enjoy what i do. I think poker was never the right thing for me. Despite trying hard at some points I made about 3-5K net winnings within 2 years (LOL T_T) The Problem has always been that i cant deal well with only being able to have a very small amount of influence on your results within a limited amount of time. Poker is quite the opposite of what i loved in all the other things i did back then. I mean you play drums and fail to hit a Song correctly -> u practice for 5-10h and then u can play it smooth and nice U play Quake3 and your aiming sucks ... u train 5-10h specifically aiming and then u will aim significantly better You suck at an Escape in BJJ -> u train it 5-10h and then u will be able to perform the escape much much better U cant get a BO down in Starcraft ? -> train it for a week in every ladder game and then u will make it smooth and nice Poker was totally different .... You have problems in certain spots over 50K hands and then make an adjustment of which u arent even sure that it works for the good then u have to play another 50K hands to get an Idea if your adjustment might have been for the better a greater percentage of the time than for the worse ...

Sounds like some life winning going on, hope it takes u places (but even if it doesn't, it's not like you've lost out if youre already enjoying the present of what youre doing)

On October 16 2012 08:31 Svenman87 wrote: For the guys in jobs, tell us what you're doing, why, what you hope to get out of it and what the plan for after is. I'm currently a technology specialist at a large us bank. I'm working there because it's a great place to have a career as well as the benefits are pretty sweet. 6% full matching to a 401k as well as annual profit share. I've gotten 3 promotions within 2.5 years, I contribute that directly to wanting to be the best at everyone of my positions (I first strive to learn everything, then be the best on the team, then be the best in the area. I hope to working here a career as well as get my own business up off the ground (basically geeksquad at 75% cost)

Can't really fault this, sounds like some corporate crushing is going on atm. If I had to ask a question, do you think you'll be alright if the promotions at some point cease and youre stuck in the same position, or in some way you're no longer matching/exceeding expectations for what external benefits you hope to get out of doing what you're doing? By the sound of it my read is you're pretty money/"success" motivated (nothing wrong w/ that incase u confuse this for criticism which it's def not) and are loving the rush of earning, investing wisely to secure your future and moving up the ladder. Basically, ignoring those nice things, do you find what youre actually doing good fun for its own sake? Just want to know.

My passion is game design.

On October 16 2012 10:03 Arirang wrote: My passion is killing scrubs with stormspirit.

fyp

btw no thoughts on my youtube link?

Larry was my macroecon teacher. Dynamic teacher who teaches for fun and to network with students. He's def enjoying his life.

Ie he told the story of how he bought a BMW on a credit card by always asking to boost his limit. That was one of his goals in life.

I'm currently a sort of junior/senior majoring in accountancy. Is meticulously keeping track of business transactions my life's passion? Hell no. But I've chosen accountancy because the field lays down the base rules of how we keep track of our economy (which is something I'm interested in), and I will come out of school with an employable skill.

The whole "passion" thing just.. doesn't resonate with me. I'm not sure it ever has. What is the feeling granted by a passion? How do you identify it?

(spoiler'd some crap about my feelings)
+ Show Spoiler +

I'd like to hear about passions that you've experienced.


btw thx for making the thread its good to read about the different fields people are in and shit they're doing.

On October 16 2012 09:11 Ket wrote: Show nested quote + On October 16 2012 09:07 iop wrote: For the guys in jobs, tell us what you're doing, why, what you hope to get out of it and what the plan for after is. I work for Spotify as an Analyst, I absolutely love working here, because it's a super cool company with really smart people. What do get out of it? Well, working for a start up in always fun, the entrepreneurial environment has it's benefits. Not sure what the plan is, but I'm enjoying my job so hopefully i'll be here for quite some time. nice, and what does an analyst at spotify do? from what background do u land that role? enjoying what ur doing for its own sake and not for the extrinsic benefits is so huge imo

It's essentially Revenue forecasting for all Markets in Europe, but also looking at user growth and usage (amongst a ton of other things). I've worked in the IT industry for the past 5 years basically, and went from Sales/Marketing over to an Operations type role.

I would make more money at other companies (and have had other offers), so I'm not in it for the money per say, i.e. extrinsic benefits.


Oh, and will watch the video once I get home from work. But is this my true passion? Probably not, not 100% what it would be, but it's definitely something with Music / Sports. But I really like what I'm doing, and wouldn't want to do anything else right now.

Thanks for the video. I'll share my experience.

I am currently running a small start-up, 4th year of university (business) and playing poker on the side. Yet, when I watch this video I can only think of one other thing. All of the things above, I do them because I want to achieve financial freedom. I wish I could be piss of rich, but not REALLY want in. My goal is to have 2-6k of passive income every month, to do that, I need around 200k in a savings account. At this point I'm only mildy interested in poker, as university and my business are a grind basically.

This video resonates with me cause I truly have a passion, powerlifting. Unfortunately, powerlifting is nothing u can make money off, as all PT's are piss poor and it won't be on the olympics within the next 20 years prolly.

I expend around 2 hours at the gym everyday. I happily beat myself mentally and phisically for the chance to add 20kg to my lifts every year, which to some people is obv insanse. Not to me, cause not only I enjoy the results but the process. To give you an idea, Andy Bolton (WR Deadlift holder) programed an entire year to beat his PR by 5kg (on the deadlift only) or something ridiculous like that.

When not im the gym, I'm constantly looking for videos or articles on technique and training, to find more ideas that can help, even the slightest ones. Its really small stuff, but it all adds up. I would train twice a day like the bulgarians, given the chance.

On the relationships thing, it is indeed tough. I used to go out 3-4 times a week, get drunk with my friends and sometimes (my game sucks) hook up with girls. Now I can't really go out that much cause I need the sleep, and heavy drinking affects my training, so I can only drink sparringly and saturday is the only day I can get drunk if I wish it (cause I take sunday off).

But I fucking love it, and is all worth it. Anything else I do (besides getting stronger) is about having enough money to support my sport and not being piss poor and eventually have a family on my own with a decent standard of life.

My tangible goals are breaking the world tested (not roids) Squat, bench and total RAW records @ 183. After that I'm going after the open ones (might or might not juice, its a far ahead decision). Deadlift record is out of reach (fuck you ed coan).

I think I'll have an honest shot at the bench press record within 2-3 years.

"There was for me only one thought and one desire- to become strong- and everything else had to bow before this unconditional goal." - Maxick

This deeply resonates with me. Fuck a normal "balanced" life. Average life is for mediocre people. Read this Q/A, this is how champions are made.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=122395951&page=1

And captain kirk

The problem with natural powerlifting contests is people can go on steroids and get their strength up really high and then cut them out before the competition so they pass the drug tests. Some of the stuff is undetectable after a few weeks. But I guess if you are really that close to making the world record then it will be even more satisfying when you beat everyone naturally. GL SIR!

I just recently took up bodybuilding again and have been having really good results. I have been eating 7-8 meals a day, weight training 4 days a week (doggcrapp style), and doing cardio every day. It's giving me a lot of energy and I feel good. It's definitely a lifestyle change and the most important thing is continuing to string together days of efficient action. I've gained about 8 lbs so far and lost some bodyfat. I know a lot of it's muscle memory because I used to weigh a fairly solid 230 back in 2004.

On October 16 2012 05:56 k4ir0s wrote: one of the best TED talks imo. I guess i'll chip in Sadly i've been losing my passion for poker lately, ever since I started i've been playing on and off, making just enough money to live comfortably. Now i'm depressed, with little drive / motivation, no work experience and no clue what to do with my life. feels bad man :/ It feels like I lack purpose in life...not sure if everyone goes through this phase? maybe i'll do some overseas volunteering soon and try to work towards something bigger than me. .

This... i suck at poker, and i dont know wtf im going to do with my life when i graduate from university, like in 1 year.

Just saw the TED talk, epic. thnx for posting.

Lol he was my microeconomics professor. One of my fav profs.

I don't think there exists a fulfilled poker player in this world, based on the psychology of the gamer and what keeps you motivated. You have to be striving always, and these desires are rarely satisfied, and when a desire is satisfied it's only for a brief period until many more begin and are unsatisfied. An important aspect of it is that when we are striving to accomplish our next goal, we become self-absorbed and we take things for granted, and the negative always outweighs the positive because of it, so we end up getting more dissatisfied than satisfied when we play poker in general. Self-centeredness is the enemy of happiness. I think being an online poker player might be one of the worst things as far as leading a fulfilling life. It contributes to no one other than us, so we can't give our best and develop as individuals like the ones who work for something bigger than themselves. I have given up on it years ago.

To answer the question, I don't see myself having a career, ever. I am interested in certain subjects and will always be actively studying but I see no point in pursuing them on an academic level unless I would want to become a teacher, which I don't. And if you aren't completely passionate about what you're doing, I see having a career as an enslavement.

Once again Loco ruins everyone else's fun
I do agree that online poker is hardly a fulfilling career if it's the central pillar of ur life, however if you just treat it as a convenient way to make money while u pursue other endeavors (hobbies/passions) I think that some degree of fulfillment can be reached. Or maybe you can just have a bunch of kids and hope they fulfill your empty heart as they suffer in this cruel world -.-

btw loco whats your plan to sustain urself if u dont wanna "work" ever?
Studying interesting subjects forever does sound like a pleasant enough activity but that dsnt pay bills :/

No not really, but no the subject matter of that video, I watched it last year and thought the guy was a moron.
2c

On October 16 2012 09:55 Ket wrote: Show nested quote + On October 16 2012 08:31 Svenman87 wrote: For the guys in jobs, tell us what you're doing, why, what you hope to get out of it and what the plan for after is. I'm currently a technology specialist at a large us bank. I'm working there because it's a great place to have a career as well as the benefits are pretty sweet. 6% full matching to a 401k as well as annual profit share. I've gotten 3 promotions within 2.5 years, I contribute that directly to wanting to be the best at everyone of my positions (I first strive to learn everything, then be the best on the team, then be the best in the area. I hope to working here a career as well as get my own business up off the ground (basically geeksquad at 75% cost) Can't really fault this, sounds like some corporate crushing is going on atm. If I had to ask a question, do you think you'll be alright if the promotions at some point cease and youre stuck in the same position, or in some way you're no longer matching/exceeding expectations for what external benefits you hope to get out of doing what you're doing? By the sound of it my read is you're pretty money/"success" motivated (nothing wrong w/ that incase u confuse this for criticism which it's def not) and are loving the rush of earning, investing wisely to secure your future and moving up the ladder. Basically, ignoring those nice things, do you find what youre actually doing good fun for its own sake? Just want to know.

I do like to challenge myself otherwise I find myself getting complacent, but if I can't see my future in a company long term I don't really see much of a point working their longer than I need to. If that means I eventually jump ship in 10 years to continue my career path at another company so be it. As it stands though, I'm really enjoying my job and the people I work with and work for. There is a lot of competition now for promotions and it's a lot different in an office setting vs a sales setting. You can clearly see who is a better performer looking at a few reports, but in an office where there aren't as many figures sticking out to show who is better at what it becomes a lot more politics and networking. My next step is to find a mentor as well as join organizations within the company for more networking opportunities.

On October 16 2012 18:32 Loco wrote: I don't think there exists a fulfilled poker player in this world, based on the psychology of the gamer and what keeps you motivated. You have to be striving always, and these desires are rarely satisfied, and when a desire is satisfied it's only for a brief period until many more begin and are unsatisfied. An important aspect of it is that when we are striving to accomplish our next goal, we become self-absorbed and we take things for granted, and the negative always outweighs the positive because of it, so we end up getting more dissatisfied than satisfied when we play poker in general. Self-centeredness is the enemy of happiness. I think being an online poker player might be one of the worst things as far as leading a fulfilling life. It contributes to no one other than us, so we can't give our best and develop as individuals like the ones who work for something bigger than themselves. I have given up on it years ago. To answer the question, I don't see myself having a career, ever. I am interested in certain subjects and will always be actively studying but I see no point in pursuing them on an academic level unless I would want to become a teacher, which I don't. And if you aren't completely passionate about what you're doing, I see having a career as an enslavement.

To play devils advocate pursuing your subjects at a tertiary level would probably expose you to a different set of thinking, ideas and knowledge. The end goal doesn't have to be teaching. There are many students (at least in this country) that are 'careeer students' who basically go from degree to degree studying the subjects that interest them (we are talking 4-5 degrees and hundreds of thousands in HECS-HELP fees).

Relating back to the TED talk you may be afraid of failing at university and so don't pursue it, inventing whatever excuses to justify your reasoning.

On October 16 2012 23:04 Uptown wrote: No not really, but no the subject matter of that video, I watched it last year and thought the guy was a moron. 2c

It's pretty obvious the guy isn't a moron.

I found myself in a position a lot of people on here are in right now but this was back in early 2010. I was a struggling low stakes player and then decided to shut the door on poker for good in January of 2010. I farted around jumping from job to job while I figured out what I wanted to do. Eventually I saw that Software and Web development were in high demand and the barriers of entry were relatively low as long as you didn't want to work for some mega corporation.

This was about ~1.5 years ago. I started off studying mostly Web front-end based coding but quickly grew bored of it because of all it's dumb details and inconsistencies. About a month after this I got more into the programming side of things and absolutely fell in love. From there I just studied general programming concepts obsessively every night after I got home from my crummy sales job. 5 months later I landed my first Junior gig at a start up. 7 months after that i scored my first mid level position at a different company.

I'm still working in it and absolutely love it. I would definitely say this is my passion. I can go to work for 8 or 9 hours a day and then come home and spend another 3 to 4 on programming. There's just so much to learn. I really think a lot of poker players would enjoy programming. I can see a lot of similarities that the two have or require. Just off the top of my head:

- Usually ending up in similar, yet slightly different situations
- Requires humility to continually get better
- A lot of analysis and thinking
- Requires tough skin and self evaluation
- Knowing when to walk away from a problem and come back later

To make things even better, there is almost no financial requirements to learning how to program -- just time and dedication. To anyone interested, this is a great site of links to excellent free resources on programming for all sorts of different languages:

http://programming-motherfucker.com/become.html

While I currently work for someone else I do not think that will always be the case. Once I feel a bit more grounded in my abilities I plan to expand my studying into non-programming related things. Hopefully this will draw up some inspiration and passion about something else than I can use my programming abilities to make better.

I used to work as a software engineer (sw developer) and I hated it. Was trying to work for different companies during like 3 years after the uni and it always ended up with me hating the job / bosses / colleagues. Even worked in a cool startup company in London and I just had to quit the job.

BUT the money was pretty good and thats why most people do it. When I hear ppl who work office jobs sayin they love their jobs and wouldn't do anythin else that just sounds like a cognitive dissonance type of thing to me

Its kind of weird when I hear poker bosses like Longple etc sayin they want to do somethin else, because for me when you can make more money by yourself than by working for a corporation you are the bosss and you are winning

On October 16 2012 19:56 MiPwnYa wrote: btw loco whats your plan to sustain urself if u dont wanna "work" ever? Studying interesting subjects forever does sound like a pleasant enough activity but that dsnt pay bills :/

I don't have a plan.

Spare a dollar?

On October 16 2012 23:04 Uptown wrote: No not really, but no the subject matter of that video, I watched it last year and thought the guy was a moron. 2c

He does remind me of a moron tho:



lol

On October 17 2012 01:13 Funktion wrote: Show nested quote + On October 16 2012 18:32 Loco wrote: I don't think there exists a fulfilled poker player in this world, based on the psychology of the gamer and what keeps you motivated. You have to be striving always, and these desires are rarely satisfied, and when a desire is satisfied it's only for a brief period until many more begin and are unsatisfied. An important aspect of it is that when we are striving to accomplish our next goal, we become self-absorbed and we take things for granted, and the negative always outweighs the positive because of it, so we end up getting more dissatisfied than satisfied when we play poker in general. Self-centeredness is the enemy of happiness. I think being an online poker player might be one of the worst things as far as leading a fulfilling life. It contributes to no one other than us, so we can't give our best and develop as individuals like the ones who work for something bigger than themselves. I have given up on it years ago. To answer the question, I don't see myself having a career, ever. I am interested in certain subjects and will always be actively studying but I see no point in pursuing them on an academic level unless I would want to become a teacher, which I don't. And if you aren't completely passionate about what you're doing, I see having a career as an enslavement. To play devils advocate pursuing your subjects at a tertiary level would probably expose you to a different set of thinking, ideas and knowledge. The end goal doesn't have to be teaching. There are many students (at least in this country) that are 'careeer students' who basically go from degree to degree studying the subjects that interest them (we are talking 4-5 degrees and hundreds of thousands in HECS-HELP fees). Relating back to the TED talk you may be afraid of failing at university and so don't pursue it, inventing whatever excuses to justify your reasoning.   On October 16 2012 23:04 Uptown wrote: No not really, but no the subject matter of that video, I watched it last year and thought the guy was a moron. 2c It's pretty obvious the guy isn't a moron.

So would picking up the books from those classes at the library, or watching free lectures from the university online, no?

I'm currently in school, but I have awhile before I graduate.

I've decided on a major, which is Linguistics. I'm going to move back to Asia again and teach English after I graduate, so I talked myself into taking up a degree in language, since it revolved around what I wanted to do in the future as well as being an easier degree to obtain than my original choice, International Business.

All I basically do is go to school, come home and study, while getting distracted with reading MMA websites/posting MMA news/watching MMA every Friday and Saturday. I manage to fit in 2-3 different TV shows into my schedule, depending on the time of the year. Currently I'm watching Alphas, Boardwalk Empire, and The Walking Dead, with the former ending in one week.

p.s. I go trail running on the weekends with friends, although my knees were in rehab for the past couple of weeks after I finished the "Tough Mudder" run. During the last obstacle, which is this area where you get electrocuted, I got zapped toward the end and fell to my knees, getting a deep scrape on one of them which had me limping for 6-7 days. I'll start running again within the next 2 weeks.

On October 17 2012 02:30 eestwood wrote: When I hear ppl who work office jobs sayin they love their jobs and wouldn't do anythin else that just sounds like a cognitive dissonance type of thing to me

I guess, I'm the exception the the rule.

On October 17 2012 02:30 eestwood wrote: I used to work as a software engineer (sw developer) and I hated it. Was trying to work for different companies during like 3 years after the uni and it always ended up with me hating the job / bosses / colleagues. Even worked in a cool startup company in London and I just had to quit the job. BUT the money was pretty good and thats why most people do it. When I hear ppl who work office jobs sayin they love their jobs and wouldn't do anythin else that just sounds like a cognitive dissonance type of thing to me Its kind of weird when I hear poker bosses like Longple etc sayin they want to do somethin else, because for me when you can make more money by yourself than by working for a corporation you are the bosss and you are winning

I like working for myself and even though Longple is more talanted then me I think I've made more monies then him so far and I actually have a fairly high net worth. However, I can see the point in having a pay check each month and not having to worry about downswings and such as much.

As for what I find interesting I've recently started doing a lot of research about various gold/silver miners and some other companies. My goal is to make a bit of money in those and from PLO the next few years and gradually put more and more money into high dividend stocks with decent growth potential. If I can get a portfolio of maybe 400k or so I'll have enough passive income to work maybe half time and still make enough to live comfortably. Not sure if I'll reach that though considering how I hope to buy a house the next few years without getting into debt and then maybe try and write a few books on various subjects, get at least a blue or purple belt in BJJ at some point and. In the long run it'd be nice to retire at 40 or so and spend time doing various interesting shit, spending time with my family and see if I can't make my mark on my small part of this world.

On October 17 2012 02:54 Loco wrote: So would picking up the books from those classes at the library, or watching free lectures from the university online, no?

To a limited extent only.

On October 17 2012 02:30 eestwood wrote: I used to work as a software engineer (sw developer) and I hated it. Was trying to work for different companies during like 3 years after the uni and it always ended up with me hating the job / bosses / colleagues. Even worked in a cool startup company in London and I just had to quit the job. BUT the money was pretty good and thats why most people do it. When I hear ppl who work office jobs sayin they love their jobs and wouldn't do anythin else that just sounds like a cognitive dissonance type of thing to me Its kind of weird when I hear poker bosses like Longple etc sayin they want to do somethin else, because for me when you can make more money by yourself than by working for a corporation you are the bosss and you are winning

This is a pretty normal occurrence in the world of software and programming from what I can tell. I think a lot of people end up here due to being nerds and wanting to add programming to their utility belt of nerdy things next to Star Wars, Pokemon Cards, and The Big Bang Theory DVD sets. Others get pushed by their parents to major in something like Comp Sci. Then these people hit the real world and it's like "holy moly, what was I thinking?" I'm not saying this is the case for you, just something I see a pretty high percentage of.

The other thing that burns out programmers quickly is the type of work they do. If you get stuck slaving away as a code monkey at some mega corp focused on only doing one specific piece of the software development process over and over and over again, you're going to hate it and burn out. Universities tend to pump out these types of people by teaching them Java as their first and only language.

If you get any satisfaction from programming at all I urge you to start a little side project of your own that you enjoy. I think you'll notice a huge difference.

I'm currently studying computer science at university. I am not 100% sure its my passion, but i always wanted to become good with programming. I currently could probably program decent Poker/Chess AIs, and thats really interesting to me (but those would take a while and i currently don't have enough time). The problem is i'm not passionate when programming something i don't care about.

I worked in mining/oil&gas as an engineer and the inefficiency of operations and waste of large sum of money SPECIALLY in mining sector was really frustrating to me. So in the past year I was involved in a high-tech start-up and now I am founding a company to bring technology to mining and oil&gas operations.

I love doing start-ups. Putting small teams of talented like minded people together to solve a problem. Talking to investors trying to convince them to give you money and making them believe what you believe and see what you see. Is always a thrill. Also contacting and meeting clients and mine operations to get on-board, convincing everyone to take that risk with you. Its just all challenging and rewarding.
Also being your own "boss" and not worrying about your "job" is always nice.

I got lucky to get involved with a bunch of "serial entrepreneurs" they are these folks with usually lots of money but money is not why these guys are in it. Its the game and the thrill itself. They are also really cool guys. Always speaking out their mind without a care in the world. Just watch Dragons Den TV show and you know what type of people I hang out with. There are investors who usually are all people who has done it before many many time. Then you get the team and other people who range from total nut-case lunatics to genius and super-smart. From honest and naive to super slimy and crooked.

And for me as a founder it all comes down to the calls you make along the way to make it or break it. And the best part is that in this business "there is no failure, there are only learning experiences"

So also if anyone here got any idea/contacts/projects related to Mining/Telecom or even other industries let me know, drop me a PM cause you never know what is gonna happen if you ask around.

unless u try dammn lol nice vid

I wanna be like iop when I grow up

for now I'm pretty happy crushing poker and making a lot of money (imo) and it's being fun so far, but I def wanna have some job like that 10 years from now and not play more than 5hrs/month of poker even if I will still be crushing it

I work as an insurance broker for a very large broker. It's not optimal, has its ups and downs but its a decent career. I'm hoping to retire by I'm 45, but I guess we will see.

I feel more comfortable now that i see more people have the same mindset on life as me ... not quite sure this is good for me or any of us tho

in the words of J:

Damn, little mans I'm just tryna do me
If the record's 2 mil I'm jus tryna move 3
Get a couple of chicks, get em to try n do E
Hopefully they'll menage before I reach my garage
I don't want much, fuck I drove every car
Some nice cooked food, some nice clean drawers
Bird-ass niggas I don't mean to ruffle y'all
I know you waiting in the wing but I'm doing my thing

Where's the Love?

I've played poker but never that high (up to NL200) and haven't been really playing much since a couple of years. I work as a Head of Poker for a Top 4 room on iPoker which is pretty cool.
Head of poker basically means that I'm managing the high level strategy + marketing and product side.

I actually got hooked up with poker when I did my master in the US (never heard or played holdem before that) and since then I played quite a lot the first years after but then been working. I've been working in the industry for 6 years now. I love poker but I find it much better to have a "regular" work and then play on the side etc... It actually keeps you down to earth and allow you to have a good social life :-) It also helps to be working in the poker industry since poker is a passion and I get to travel to some live events for "work" as well

bump

hard to be sure weather poker is my passion or not, even after watching that video. Like phil galfond said about his decision to play poker instead of pursue a career path, it was a -ev decision and i believe it was a -ev decision for me as well, and probably a lot of other poker pros. I'm lucky to have what it takes to win @ midstakes.



All i know is that i enjoy playing poker, i enjoy it more than starcraft which was my hobby before poker. I enjoy thinking and solving shit. I quit starcraft for poker because starcraft relied on micro skills too much. I enjoy making money as well and trying to become the best at things i do. I enjoy the fact that i've learn't so much about myself by trying to make it in poker. I hate the fact that poker doesn't lead to anything, i hate the fact that i'm really bad at starting stuff myself, like going out and meeting people, or just taking classes in somthing i would enjoy. I procrastinate this stuff so much and i have no idea why. Laziness i guess. This is the biggest drawback in poker for me. You need to be a self starter in poker but in a career i don't think you need it as much.

I can definitely see myself putting in a million hands into poker every year though, for at least another few years. And i can see myself making more money in poker next year than this year. When i stop moving up limits in poker though i do get quite bored. I've been stuck at midstakes for a long time now. But crushing it a little more every month

I saw this bumped and in the mood to write some things.

Where to start?

I am not sure so I think I'll structure it in a topic + thoughts situation and maybe bounce around.

Passion

There are a lot of definitions of passion but when I think about passion I think about desire. I think about love. I think about losing oneself in an endeavor.

On the other hand, I think about suffering. I think about obsession. I think about a chase for a fleeting sense (or loss of sense) in transcendence and joy.

The problem with "Finding your Passion" is it is an impossible task. Passion is a fleeting emotion. You can't really objectively find passion. Furthermore, you certainly cannot jam the square peg of passion into the round hole of a lucrative market. You can get lost in passion and get lucky that that turns out to be a lucrative market or you can successfully (or luckily) predict a lucrative market and fall in deep, passionate love with the opportunity, with the journey, with the challenge. I am not sure there are any other ways to "healthily," "successfully" find your passion. A heroin addict is passionate about heroin. There are very few ways to parlay that into a reasonable, sustainable existence. There are always exceptions. Russell Brand seems to have done it but at the end of the day it is not good advice to say "Hey! Find your addiction and hope to hit an outlier!"

But even so, even right now, I struggle with that relationship.

Should one be saying, "Hey! Work your ass off, make good choices, continue to predict the future, continue to find lucrative markets. You only live once! You only have to be right once!" ?

"Continue to acuire knowledge! Continue to acuire valuable skills! Continue to trial, to adapt, to progress!" ?

At the end of the day, it's gotta be subjective, it's gotta be personal. I would imagine for most it is the better decision to find a job and use that as a tool to pursue these fleeting passions elsewhere whether that's a '55 Chevy Corvette Stingray, weekend local gigs, or the bad bitch in the red dress with the figure to match the devilish smile, exhilarating eyes, and the knowing, accepting, longing expression that makes everything in this existence ok. But, for the ones crazy enough or lucky enough to find their passion, their addiction, their love in occupation and run with it do your thang. I don't know. Just try to be good enough at it so you aren't starving or crazy enough that you don't mind starving. That's really what it's all about. Are you eating what you wanna eat? Living where you wanna live? Taking care of the people you want to take care of? Finding enough fun distractions to lose yourself in the moment and forget all about the human condition and all the bullshit that comes with it?

At some point I want to expand on reflection, rationalization, contracts, "heaven" on earth, "hell" on earth, "god," art, architecture, nature, science, theory, practice, maybe some others but that is a lot and right now I just want to relax a little bit then lose myself in some ball games and bull shittin down at the local ball court.

One Love

Do Your Thang

R

Well,

I guess a good way to relax is to get thoughts out of your head and onto paper somewhere.

Contracts

Contracts are hell. They are a way for assholes that don't give a shit about you to take advantage of these fleeting passions, emotions and the chase for happiness. They take advantage of human beings preference for habit. They take advantage of human beings ability to rationalize.

All contracts are hell. The best ones actually offer fair choices. Worse ones are coercion under the guise of fair choices. Even worse are the contract with existence and the contract with governement. We don't even get the chance to read it through or sign!

Really great stuff, RiKD.

On November 24 2012 16:18 Loco wrote: Really great stuff, RiKD.