[extropy-chat] Re: extropy-chat Digest, Vol 22, Issue 15

[Claribel]

From: "J. Andrew Rogers" <andrew at ceruleansystems.com>

> In countries where wealth is primarily self-made, which would include
> the USA and probably Australia (but not most countries in western
> Europe), I would *expect* declining satisfaction in the wealthiest
> individuals -- it is a self-selecting population.
>
> One of the key characteristics of really successful entrepreneurs is
> that they are "hungry" by nature i.e. they are never satisfied.  In
> Silicon Valley, being "hungry" is often considered a non-negotiable
> characteristic of core team members when building new companies.  There
> is a strong correlation between this property and business success,
> which puts a lot of the wealth in their hands as a group.  This is also
> why successful entrepreneurs rarely retire, going on to more ventures.
> They are driven toward stressful environments with hard problems to 
> tackle.
>
> This may not explain all of it, but I'll bet it explains some of it.
> Most successful entrepreneurs I know are as dissatisfied after they have
> millions in the bank as when they were first starting out.  The money is
> somewhat immaterial toward that end.  They may not be unhappy per se,
> but they are hardly ever satisfied.

I've always thought that "satisfaction" is a vastly overrated virtue, and 
using it to measure "happiness" or "subjective well being", as some 
experimenters have, will produce skewed results. Divine dissatisfaction is 
the root of human greatness.

Am I happy? Moderately to extremely so, depending on my mood (occasional, 
biologically-driven depressive episodes excepted). Am I satisfied with my 
life and level of being as it currently is? Hell, NO. Am I satisfied with 
the progress I've been making? Yes. Perhaps it's the last variable that 
explains it.

Claribel