is there life before death

the part about "do you wanna look back and say 'i'm rich bitch'"

it's a lot more fun looking forward and saying 'i'm rich bitch'.

the other sounds like you're trying to use wealth as a way to defend your past and your lifestyle.

oh and my two cents about the rest of it: poker doesn't primarily attract wunderkind. the vast majority of people who attempt to derive their majority of income from poker were attracted to it because of the lifestyle it affords them. i.e., it's sort of like one of those schools that gives kids a months worth of work at a time and lets them do it at their leisure.

i bet there are a ton of guys here who play a TON then don't play for a while and are slow to get playing b/c let's face it; who has the motivation to play poker 50hrs/week for more than 5 years straight?

VanVeen, your post was very intriguing and thought provoking. I'd love to just sit and chat about all kindsa **** like that. I'm generally fairly consumed mentally about states of happiness and their meaning/purpose/worth

very simply, i think a desire for glory is an ego-based paper thin dream that would ultimately result in no fulfillment at all. Movie stars and Icons should be the most happy. but yet Movie stars go ballistic and have breakdowns and do hard drugs. Christian Bale rails on regular dudes, Hemingway shot himself, the list goes on.

i often find myself happy from the simplest of things, like a beautiful view or witnessing a very heartfelt moment between two people. Or certain songs, with powerful/meaningful lyrics, or books or stories that move me.
so why then, is empowerment/happiness so fleeting? probably because happiness only has meaning becuase it is not perpetual. conventionally, a similar experience is seeing morning light after nighttime. that often makes me very happy, to wake up to a sunny day after a late night.

I agree with VanVeen, the times i find myself happiest are times when i am not consciously 'trying' to be happy, or analyzing. I think honestly, analysis/thought has its place, but is ultimately not fulfilling.

I have written a book, hope to get it published someday, became fiscally responsible for myself thanks to poker, and still have stress/unhappiness. The things you do, the objects in which you ascribe yourself to (i am a 'writer', i am a 'poker player', i am a 'new yorker', etc.) are not meaning, nor to they give fulfillment. That is an acceptance of who you are, and simple contentment of being.

the best times in my life are those in which i am without trying, completely embracing the moment, and enjoying the world in which i currently sit.

poker as a job >>>>>>> likely any day job , at least for me--I can't stand the tedium

I once imagined myself growing up to pursue the mysteries of the universe etc via physics/math and/or philosophy, but i perhaps lacked the passion for it. That and/or perhaps such a path doesn't satisfy the WIN aspect that poker, for instance, does.

this is probably the best post in the thread

bad bump. in 6 months whoever reads this....please do not bump

first world problems?

kurosh for nobel prize 2010

Holy crap I really recognize myself in OP's first post. Particularly the part about wanting to learn everything about something and then getting bored. I always quit so many things that I do. I started playing poker again on Jan 1 and I'm doing really well but the boredom is beginning now.

Tell me more wisdoms of this personality trait plix.

if youre bored with poker start playing blackjack...I heard its really profitable...

If youre getting bored youre just not interested enough... there are always new things to discover and challenges to take on. If you dont see it that way... then youre not gonna be anything but a par for the course.

Money ideally is a result of doing what you love and loving what you do.