Work = Depression?

Yes. I would rather work and be depressed than be unemployed and depressed.

It isn't necessarily "work", it is all the stuff that goes around it.

Very close to the truth...

@excon -- It's always nice being the boss. Not everyone can be the boss.

Hello again, OS:

Actually, I think anyone CAN be the boss.  All they gotta do, is DO it.. 

Maybe I can clear up some confusion here... I am nothing special..  In fact, I was a high school dropout with NO capital and a criminal record to boot, yet I started a company..  I've started several...

excon This post was edited by excon at December 22, 2016 7:37 AM MST

@excon -- Ah yes, the My Personal Anecdote trumps all your silly macroeconomic and logical arguments counterargument...

Are you really that underinformed?

Hello again, OS:

Would I be wrong to suggest that you TOO are using YOUR personal history to bolster your argument??  You said "not everyone can be the boss".  I refuted it, because it's simply NOT true.. 

My father always told me, "you have to crawl before you walk".  He, too, didn't believe ANYBODY could START at the top..  Then he watched ME do it.  I understand that what I'm saying is WAY out of the mainstream..  So?

I bargained with life for a penny
and life would pay no more,
However, I begged at evening
when I counted my scanty store.
For life is a just employer,
he gives you whatever you ask.
But, once you have set the wages
why you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial's hire,
only to learn, dismayed,
that any wage I had asked of life,
life would have willingly paid.

So, I say again, using MYSELF as an example, ANYONE can be the boss.

excon

@excon -- You miss the point. Yes, ANYONE can potentially be the boss. But NOT EVERYONE can be the boss. It's basic Ricardan economics.

Poetry doesn't negate empirical reality.

If I recall correctly, you have several employees in your business. Can they all be bosses? If so, doing WHAT? What unfullfilled economic niches are out there just waiting for your employees to start their own companies which would have enduring scarcity power so they can be their own bosses far into the future?

[sound of crickets chirping]

I don't begrudge you your success. I am happy that you've found a niche that works for you. But don't fall into the idiotic "If I can do it, everyone can do it" fallacy. It's just not true.

Hello again, OS:

That's not the right question..  Can they all be bosses??  I suspect they CAN.  There's NO test.  Plus, I've seen some mighty STUPID people become successful.  If the criteria for success is the number of business's that succeed compared to the ones that don't, then NOBODY would be a success.. 

But, that's NOT the right metric.  It's also NOT a zero sum game.  You're suggesting that if there were an ABUNDANCE of great restaurants in your city, there's NO ROOM for another.  But, I say there is.

excon

PS>  By the way, the word I used was "anyone", not "everyone".  This post was edited by excon at December 22, 2016 9:14 AM MST

@excon -- And I led off with the word "everyone", because it's more important.

ANYONE can win the Lotto and live a life of luxury. No intellect is required.

But NOT EVERYONE can win the Lotto and live a live of luxury. It doesn't work that way.

And, yes, maybe there is room for one more good restaurant in your town. Maybe even two. But NOT ten, and certainly NOT a hundred. At some point, demand cannot support everyone's desire to be a restauranteur. That's why something like 90% of restaurants fail and go out of business within a few years.

OK, so you know a few not-very-bright people who became bosses. That tells us NOTHING about the likelihood of any one person becoming a boss, just as knowing a few Lotto winners doesn't tell you what the chances are of someone winning the Lotto.

Moreover, people like you who took chances and succeeded end up telling their stories to everyone who will listen. Those who took chances, failed, and ended up being night assistant manager at their local Taco Bell don't tell their stories. Survivorship Bias is NOT data.

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