Hi Suzanne, you really have the ultimate attitude and the best one for achieving happiness and fulfillment. If only there were more like you; if only I could fully achieve it for myself! I'm most of the way there but sometimes I look around at humanity and it's hard not to be negatively affected!

I feel like I am one of the last who would go Galt and like Eddie I may just wait too long.

when an animal is born in the wild the mother primarily teaches the offspring to fend for them selves. animals do not question why they are here, they just are and they are basically program to function a certain way. they do not have the capacity to reason i.e. think. Man does have the capacity to think and he must learn how to survive which takes years versus most animals less than a year. Because he has this ability to think he works towards making his life better. That is the short version of why man works.

I guess you are Eddie Willers. His fate in the book was one of the most unfortunate and I really didn't understand his place in the story. It is however the fate for the bulk of the population who while not Moochers, do rely on the creativity of the Men of the minds for survival.

I like the analogy of JG... He was probably one of the least financially compensated in the gulch, yet he both gave and received fair value.

I imagine old Nat Taggart - spinning in his grave under the lower level track switch multiplex in tunnel 3 of the Taggart Transcontinental building - at the disaster his son not only was, but was to become... Especially when compared to the resounding success his daughter was.

You are probably physically healthy for your age and obviously your mind is good. all because you continue to work. Now give thought to what you would do if you sold out and walked away from what has been good for you for 40(?) years. You might just vegetate. I have been in my business since 1961 and can even consider what i would do now if i retired. your parents did as mine did instill a work ethic in me. those born today up to those who are 50 for the most part do not nor will they have a healthy ethic.

Great points Susanne. I love what I do as well. Over the years I have had my niece and 3 nephews work with us. Being around family is important to me. I get a little frustrated at times seeing the James Taggerts of the world being massively over compensated for what they do. Who is John Galt?

Excellent point about making my money work harder. Just wish the Government would take less of it.

I don't think it's accurate to base your earnings on someone else's. I knew a man who was an executive chef who worked well into his 70's - he did it because he loved the work, not for the financial gains (which, while sufficient, were meager compared to others).

While people joke about it being a "shrug job", I am a civil servant, doing amazing things and working my butt off 60+ hours a week, have 2 pretty labor and time intensive hobbies, and am returning to school next month. Yet I see people who make twice what I do that are clockwatchers, slackers, and moochers. But I don't compare myself to them - one, I love my job and I love work, so I feel that in a real sense is one of the rewards for my hard work... Two, I can look at myself in the mirror in the morning without wincing! But comparing what I do - and my life - to what someone else does does is a no-sum game - the only person I have to satisfy that I am producing at the top of my game is myself. If I did it for another - then I would be the most miserable sort of person...

over time you would want to work smarter...i have retired from two jobs and educated myself along the way to trade the option market for growth and income...you can do the same...make your money work hard for you, so that you do not have to work as hard for your money..

Hi James. One of the reasons I chose to do what I do was to spend time with my family. My parents and 2 of my 3 brothers work there and a sister in law. Back in the 80's when Reagan was President I really thought this was a good choice. Now that the US has gone Atlas Shrugged on us it would appear I was wrong. I still enjoy what I do. I guess I just want the Government off my back and out of my wallet.

Thanks OA. Best of luck to you. Small business still seems to be the backbone of this country. If we go the way of the dodo because the free market decides it then so be it. Having the government decide who succeeds and fails reminds me of my favorite novel. :-)

Hello richrobinson,
Same here; except I will be able to retire before too long by cashing in my assets. If the idiots in Washington D.C. had not pulled the rug from under the economy I could have retired already. I worked so many hours during the creation of my company that I can now just work a regular schedule and since they have made it less profitable over time I refuse to work harder and feed the beast that stole my future and rewarded the indolent. So now I will eventually retire comfortably but not rich... Fortunately my desires have changed and a simple life looks more appealing than it once did.

Now, if the government would get out of my way I would like to ride the economic upswing one last time. When things are good I have much more incentive. I like to be productive and make things. I make things for the military which I cannot disclose. Many have saved many American lives, but I will not be properly compensated. By the way, anyone working for the government as a vendor can usually tell you they are among the slowest and worst to collect from, but Galt help you if you owe them money. They will just take it from your bank account promptly.

You have a great work ethic and values. It is the government roadblocks that have diminished your rewards. In the name of equality they want us all to be equally poor and dependent on them. After all "you didn't build that." All your investment and those hours were/are imaginary... right?
Regards,
O.A.

LOL! Wait, that's not funny. :)

Amazing how ungrateful some recipients of our tax money are. I think they assume all the money is coming from Donald Trump and Bill Gates.

I had a customer during that time that took his company public. He said a number of people told him to add "dot com" to the company name even though it didn't really make sense. Luckily he didn't. The bubble burst soon afterwards.

I've sometimes complained that I spent the 90's building a software company that made a small profit every year and that had I built an internet company that lost millions I could have sold it for a fortune.

I am with you Rich. I worked 60-90 hours a week, for the first 8 years in business to get established and it is a slap in the face to hear someone say I didn't build that. And to top it all off, since becoming somewhat successful our government reaches farther into my pocket, distributing it to businesses that are deemed to big to fail and other looter is disheartening. Who, is John Galt?

Thanks Joe. I love what I do and each year I get more and more frustrated supporting those who don't want to contribute at all.

Rich

You are a perfect example of someone lucky enough to have thinking parents conveying their values to you in a manner strong enough to ward off the school system's attempts to perform a reasonectomy on your brain. Had the schools succeeded, you would have been certain that you were owed a living provided by the government.

Joe