Inflation is out of control

Paul G said:

You just don't know how fortunate you are

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I just don't get how you can't keep America out of your posts if the .... is going on everywhere. You could probably search America, US, and United States in this forum and most of the people using those terms aren't from here and/or don't live here. Its bizarre.

I'm not fortunate. There are many, many people much more fortunate than I.

Let's define success for a moment. I don't consider it some Bezos level of wealth. Wealth on its own is a poor metric of success. Even that ...... got divorced and paid handsomely for it. I consider success improvement on your status and situation. To which there are many degrees of success. Some may have the foresight to buy a disk operating system from a talented programmer for $50K, back when that was a lot of money, and turn it into billions. Others may simply escape the generational poverty their family has been living in. Some just climb a little higher than their parents did.

There is a running coach, Jack Daniels, who gave a good presentation about the ingredients of success.


They are...

1. Inherent Ability
2. Motivation
3. Opportunity
4. Direction
5. Focus on the Task at Hand

All of those things are necessary to produce a champion. What ever the sport, and for the sake of this conversation let's consider life a sport.

You can have no opportunity but high ability, motivation and with good direction and focus, make something of yourself. All of these things work in varying levels to produce success and a surplus of one can make up for a lack of another. The only potential negative being direction. Meaning you can receive bad guidance which leads you down the wrong path. Let's say some told Bill Gates, don't buy that DOS nonsense for $50K, it's a waste of money.

I'm sure there are many, many people less fortunate than me. I help the people I can help but its up to them to elevate themselves. Being better than you were is success.

Excellent post bp

I love giving things away to people who aren’t needy but are in need. I have given away a lot of parts on this very board to help out where I could. For those who don’t know me, my main business is food mfg. I invented a new tech to make portable food products that is revolutionizing mfg, logistics and cost of doing business.

We are growing at an exponential rate. We are heavily involved in government food programs (DOD FEMA, HHS, World Food Program etc) it is my goal by 2024 to be able to give away one food item for every one we make. That for me is success. As I build wealth and benefit from all that brings, I can help feed the globe and hopefully ease some of the ridiculousness of hunger. To have hungry people in this day and age is embarrassing for all civilized nations. If you’re not giving back, you’re missing out.

bp_SFV4 said:

I consider success improvement on your status and situation. To which there are many degrees of success

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It's up to each of us to define success on our own terms right? So that means you lose the right to call out others who don't live up to your ideals.
When your next big birthday is 70 like me, you don't really give a .... about what people think anymore, success to me is lots of small things, like having the time to talk rubbish on the net with you lot and a few big ones like able to spend time with the people I want, help out. Bikes etc are part of that but if that got taken away...meh who cares, Ive got plenty on.

I'm offering a counterpoint to you and Endos reacharounds over a very narrow definition of success. Like I said luck determines many things, as for the totality of human experience, lets just say its this crazy blue marble is full of surprises. Whats totally mad is that we have Ducati's in common and can blast electrons across the world sharing the passion...

bp_SFV4 said:

Some may have the foresight to buy a disk operating system from a talented programmer for $50K, back when that was a lot of money, and turn it into billions.

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To be fair he only turned it into billions because he ...... over his business partner IBM, same goes for Ray Croc and the McDonald brothers.

bp_SFV4 said:

Electricians and miners aren’t paid minimum wage in the US.

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I never said they did.

I had to double check and make sure I was still on the Ducati Forum. Sure enough I was. Boo Hoo

Halo2 said:

I never said they did.

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Your post suggested that you have no idea how minimum wage works.

Paul G said:

I'm offering a counterpoint to you and Endos reacharounds over a very narrow definition of success. Like I said luck determines many things, as for the totality of human experience, lets just say its this crazy blue marble is full of surprises. Whats totally mad is that we have Ducati's in common and can blast electrons across the world sharing the passion...

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IDK, I offered a pretty wide definition of success, literally saying its up to the person to define. I can't paint that with a wider brush.

Paul G said:

Craig, I am not denigrating hard work, higher ed and all the planning that Endo refers to, the luck I am talking about is being born into certain circumstances, having the genetics to overcome adversity and so on. Some people are never ever going to have it as good as you as you or I purely due to the hand they got dealt in life. Whether it's your country, health, your race, your ..., your parents, your college or whatever. Meritocracy in the 2020's is mostly is a myth promulgated by the lucky few and by those who's purposes it serves to keep telling low wage workers that you can make it. Look at the Fed right now- its committed to ....... working class people over by forcing austerity to lower wages , the American dream huh?

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I didn’t assert that you were denigrating anything; I asked if you had data to support your assertion that luck is the factor that “most” determines success. My suspicion is that you don’t (because I suspect that data doesn’t exist).

Above, you make another assertion:

“Meritocracy in the 2020's is mostly is a myth…”

Do you have data supporting that assertion? I suspect not. See the pattern yet?

Arm wrestle.

It's the only way to sort everything out.

RickD996 said:

Arm wrestle.

It's the only way to sort everything out.

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I’m in

RickD996 said:

Arm wrestle.

It's the only way to sort everything out.

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Civilization was born when man first learned to hurl epithets instead of spears.

Nah no arm wrestle, its win a trackday time

He who rises above another man in the process and the making of the best track day latte wins it all.

Are we still doing this? Every time I drop a grenade in the trash can, things always go the same way:

1. Paul hits his head against a wall repeatedly without flinching and lectures everyone on America even though he lives in New Zealand (the guy is like Billy Butcher in The Boys - I bet he uses the 'C' word in real life every other sentence). The thing about New Zealand is that the population of most 4th grade rural towns in America is bigger than population of entire New Zealand. So while New Zealand is cute, its lessons have no bearing on America, the world on any matter of importance to humanity really. Just focus on filming lord of the rings, K? But wait, is there now an Aussie in the mix too?!?!!
2. Endo goes off on one of his predictable rants about how he made millions by cracking the yoga studio market and how everyone should just get their .... together and make a million dollars already. It is yoga studio correct? Or is it some kind of hippie health food infomercial product? I can't keep track amidst the lectures.
3. Jolly jumps in every 3rd page or so just to stoke the fire and ensure fighters in the ring don't lose focus. He hands out powerades to keep everyone hydrated so the fight can go on. Jolly is my agent, I pay him minimum wage.
4. bp... I'm not sure what his POV is. I haven't figured it out yet.
5. Craig... he politely and consistently asks questions he thinks he already knows the answers to. The man just keeps on asking questions.
6. Then there are the one or two MAGA nutbag regulars that just use threads like this to rant about how their time in the military or navy or whatever taught them everything they need to know and use the Internet as an outlet for their resentment in life. Oh, the pharma companies are trying to make them impotent by secretly hiding a left-wing drug in their Chobani yoghurt.
7. And how can I ignore myself? The great TomFoolery. The guy who looks down on everyone who doesn't win trackday championships, hates MAGA nutbags, is ocassionally funny and is very argumentative around the same time every month.

Who did I miss?

Its all RickD996's fault.

The good news is no one cares, especially the sad keyboard warriors who hang here pretending to have a life.

I'm willing to take the blame.

I've secretly been hiding, the fact, that I invented crossfit.

It's Brexit man, come on!!!