How successful/well off guys do things differently.

[CornbreadFed]

Actually they don’t. Only 18% of individuals make that.

I make low six figures and it feels like nothing. The new “six figures” is 200k.

There's a lot of hidden costs to making six figures in the USA that do not understand. Yes, you make six figures, but you might have lifestyle inflation, live in an expensive area due to work, have more stress relief hobbies from the job, debt from student loans, debt from fvck ups caused by stress. The ideal position is to be in a stress free 50k-75k job with little to no debt working from home or in an area that doesn't have a high COL.

 

[Solomon]

This thread is telling from the guys who lack limited experience(and limited beliefs) dealing with high-earning people and high-earning social circles to the guys who are actually doing the work and grinding hard.

Keep grinding fellas!

 

[CornbreadFed]

You remind me of these people that go door to door trying to solicit random services and products lol. I live in a desert in a semi rural area and a while back had a guy come to the door trying to sell pest control services. He made some comment about how they clean up the black widow webs, which are very common here, and something about scorpions lol. I remember saying something about how I wasn't interested, and he literally just stood there in the door for several seconds staring at me haha. I literally had to say if he needed anything else before he left lol.

It was an insurance job so basically pretty similar SMDH

 

[sangheilios]

Actually they don’t. Only 18% of individuals make that.

I make low six figures and it feels like nothing. The new “six figures” is 200k.

There's a lot of hidden costs to making six figures in the USA that do not understand. Yes, you make six figures, but you might have lifestyle inflation, live in an expensive area due to work, have more stress relief hobbies from the job, debt from student loans, debt from fvck ups caused by stress. The ideal position is to be in a stress free 50k-75k job with little to no debt working from home or in an area that doesn't have a high COL.

There's a lot that needs to be taken into context.

As you both know, and has been mentioned on this thread, location is a huge factor. In places like CA, NYC or any of the major coastal metros the cost of living is incredibly high. In many of these areas, you are looking at an averaged sized house being 500k+, in fact closer to a million dollars or even more for some of them. You could easily be paying 10k per year in property taxes alone, a huge liability. For decent rent you are probably looking at a minimum of 2k per month, probably closer to 3k or even higher. You need to be pulling close to 100k or over this to be comfortable. However, add this with a higher income being taxed much more aggressively by the federal government and you are even tighter. In addition to this, many of these states also tend to have high state incomes taxes.

Obviously, if you are living in a lower cost of living state this changes, but you'll also find that you typically make quite a bit less as well. It depends upon a lot of factors. Many of the states that used to be very affordable not that long ago are becoming somewhat more comparable to that of the major metros. You can find that real estate prices in the major metros haven't changed that much over the last 20 years, but you'll also see that the once cheaper states have taken off dramatically. Places like NC, TX, NV, ID and AZ that were once fairly cheap and had mass migrations to for years are now getting up there in price, especially since the pandemic. Phoenix and Boise are two really good examples. A suburb of Boise, Meridian, had a population of around 10k in 1990 and now is something close to 200k. Phoenix and AZ as a whole has grown tremendously over the last roughly 30 years. You'll find that many of the homes are from the late 90s/early 2000s.

I live in AZ and bought my first home, a 2 bed/1 bath, that was in serious need of some cosmetic work for 75k in 2015. The market had still not recovered from the 2008 housing crash, so this was a golden opportunity. It was a solid house in a nice development but the broader area it was in was not the best. Approximately 4k was invested into the place to beautify it, just needed tile floor and some fresh paint. I sold it for profit and repeated the process 2 more times. That very same house is now estimated for around 230k or so.

Texas actually has very high property taxes, but you'll find that there plus with these other states you have the option to move further out and still get a lot of land, house, etc. Remote work is definitely one of the best answers to this, but also the willingness to commute.

I saw this video here and one of the towns he mentioned in the video was 50 miles away from St. Louis. I'm not saying you need to move to these places, they are cheap for a reason, but there are solutions.

Top 10 Cities to buy CHEAP HOUSES (less than $100,000) (youtube.com)

@CornbreadFed You bring up an interesting point about debt. I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but a dentist may make 200k+ potentially but it's also very normal for them to have close to a million dollars in student loan debt. Someone who is a doctor was more or less a professional student for over a decade and didn't get into their career until maybe their mid 30s, though I'm not sure what kind of debt they typically accrue in that time frame.

I also agree with you about lifestyle inflation. Most people honestly are terrible with money and spend frivolously on things they don't need. Our economy is based around excessive spending and endless cycles of debt, but it doesn't mean you need to follow along with it. I personally am extremely frugal and it can be difficult for me to spend money on myself. I never eat out and make everything at the house, which is the best way to save money btw. I literally just pay for essentials and invest a ton of my money. My hobbies are gym/working out, hiking, sauna, playing chess and just reading or watching youtube videos about things that interest me. These are things that are incredibly cheap or completely free, something that you'll find is a trend for the hobbies and pass times that are best for you.

@Solomon I enjoy your posts, man, but you don't need to spend much at all to have a great life. I don't believe in being excessively cheap but when you start getting into pointless spending on clothes, cars, jewelry, entertainment, etc. is when you get into trouble. There is nothing wrong with it, but as far as I'm concerned you are really only impressing people that you really shouldn't want around, especially gold digging women. It's insanely easy to get into a loop where you need to keep spending and spending to keep up with your appearances instead of focusing on building true wealth. I don't like phonies, so I'd rather not try to attract them.

 

[CornbreadFed]

Texas actually has very high property taxes, but you'll find that there plus with these other states you have the option to move further out and still get a lot of land, house, etc. Remote work is definitely one of the best answers to this, but also the willingness to commute.

Texas is not this cheap low cost of living paradise that is portrayed in the media, but that is a discussion for another topic lol.

I also agree with you about lifestyle inflation. Most people honestly are terrible with money and spend frivolously on things they don't need. Our economy is based around excessive spending and endless cycles of debt, but it doesn't mean you need to follow along with it. I personally am extremely frugal and it can be difficult for me to spend money on myself. I never eat out and make everything at the house, which is the best way to save money btw. I literally just pay for essentials and invest a ton of my money. My hobbies are gym/working out, hiking, sauna, playing chess and just reading or watching youtube videos about things that interest me. These are things that are incredibly cheap or completely free, something that you'll find is a trend for the hobbies and pass times that are best for you.

I am trying to live a more frugal life while balancing out some luxury necessities I need to maintain sanity. I will spend the money on my hobbies, and I love nice vehicles lol. To @Solomon points, I disagree and agree. There are some luxury things that I think are worth the money like gym memberships, airline tickets, kitchenware, clothes, and etc. However, the 5 star hotels, food delivery(yes I consider that a luxury), and fancy expensive dinners are all vastly overrated IMHO.

 

[SW15]

Texas actually has very high property taxes, but you'll find that there plus with these other states you have the option to move further out and still get a lot of land, house, etc. Remote work is definitely one of the best answers to this, but also the willingness to commute.

Texas is not this cheap low cost of living paradise that is portrayed in the media, but that is a discussion for another topic lol.

Try renting an apartment in a desirable neighborhood of Dallas or Houston. It's going to be expensive.

Right now, a very basic one bedroom apartment in a non-ghetto area of Dallas is around $1,300-$1,400/month. This is likely to be a 40+ year old apartment that is minimally updated and isn't an impressive bachelor pad. 10 years ago, that same apartment would have been around $850. Rents in Dallas have skyrocketed.

 

[Solomon]

There's a lot that needs to be taken into context.

As you both know, and has been mentioned on this thread, location is a huge factor. In places like CA, NYC or any of the major coastal metros the cost of living is incredibly high. In many of these areas, you are looking at an averaged sized house being 500k+, in fact closer to a million dollars or even more for some of them. You could easily be paying 10k per year in property taxes alone, a huge liability. For decent rent you are probably looking at a minimum of 2k per month, probably closer to 3k or even higher. You need to be pulling close to 100k or over this to be comfortable. However, add this with a higher income being taxed much more aggressively by the federal government and you are even tighter. In addition to this, many of these states also tend to have high state incomes taxes.

Obviously, if you are living in a lower cost of living state this changes, but you'll also find that you typically make quite a bit less as well. It depends upon a lot of factors. Many of the states that used to be very affordable not that long ago are becoming somewhat more comparable to that of the major metros. You can find that real estate prices in the major metros haven't changed that much over the last 20 years, but you'll also see that the once cheaper states have taken off dramatically. Places like NC, TX, NV, ID and AZ that were once fairly cheap and had mass migrations to for years are now getting up there in price, especially since the pandemic. Phoenix and Boise are two really good examples. A suburb of Boise, Meridian, had a population of around 10k in 1990 and now is something close to 200k. Phoenix and AZ as a whole has grown tremendously over the last roughly 30 years. You'll find that many of the homes are from the late 90s/early 2000s.

I live in AZ and bought my first home, a 2 bed/1 bath, that was in serious need of some cosmetic work for 75k in 2015. The market had still not recovered from the 2008 housing crash, so this was a golden opportunity. It was a solid house in a nice development but the broader area it was in was not the best. Approximately 4k was invested into the place to beautify it, just needed tile floor and some fresh paint. I sold it for profit and repeated the process 2 more times. That very same house is now estimated for around 230k or so.

Texas actually has very high property taxes, but you'll find that there plus with these other states you have the option to move further out and still get a lot of land, house, etc. Remote work is definitely one of the best answers to this, but also the willingness to commute.

I saw this video here and one of the towns he mentioned in the video was 50 miles away from St. Louis. I'm not saying you need to move to these places, they are cheap for a reason, but there are solutions.

Top 10 Cities to buy CHEAP HOUSES (less than $100,000) (youtube.com)

@CornbreadFed You bring up an interesting point about debt. I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but a dentist may make 200k+ potentially but it's also very normal for them to have close to a million dollars in student loan debt. Someone who is a doctor was more or less a professional student for over a decade and didn't get into their career until maybe their mid 30s, though I'm not sure what kind of debt they typically accrue in that time frame.

I also agree with you about lifestyle inflation. Most people honestly are terrible with money and spend frivolously on things they don't need. Our economy is based around excessive spending and endless cycles of debt, but it doesn't mean you need to follow along with it. I personally am extremely frugal and it can be difficult for me to spend money on myself. I never eat out and make everything at the house, which is the best way to save money btw. I literally just pay for essentials and invest a ton of my money. My hobbies are gym/working out, hiking, sauna, playing chess and just reading or watching youtube videos about things that interest me. These are things that are incredibly cheap or completely free, something that you'll find is a trend for the hobbies and pass times that are best for you.

@Solomon I enjoy your posts, man, but you don't need to spend much at all to have a great life. I don't believe in being excessively cheap but when you start getting into pointless spending on clothes, cars, jewelry, entertainment, etc. is when you get into trouble. There is nothing wrong with it, but as far as I'm concerned you are really only impressing people that you really shouldn'tou want around, especially gold digging women. It's insanely easy to get into a loop where you need to keep spending and spending to keep up with your appearances instead of focusing on building true wealth. I don't like phonies, so I'd rather not try to attract them.

I didn't say anything about jewelry or cars please point out a post where I'm talking about jewelry and cars.
You think this whole thread is fake because you don't live that reality that's fine but stop trying to project your fake righteousness, assumptions and insecurity on people who are actually doing the work and are successful in that arena, with your false assumptions, and limited beliefs based on your reality, Not Mine. Who says that the (some) of women aren't successful in their own right? who said anything about spending? you keep moving the goalposts and now you just adding a bunch of nonsense that is much ado about nothing
You have no clue what you are talking about here and are out of your depth

Some of you hella salty in this thread not my fault step your money game up fonzworth!

 

[sangheilios]

Texas is not this cheap low cost of living paradise that is portrayed in the media, but that is a discussion for another topic lol.



I am trying to live a more frugal life while balancing out some luxury necessities I need to maintain sanity. I will spend the money on my hobbies, and I love nice vehicles lol. To @Solomon points, I disagree and agree. There are some luxury things that I think are worth the money like gym memberships, airline tickets, kitchenware, clothes, and etc. However, the 5 star hotels, food delivery(yes I consider that a luxury), and fancy expensive dinners are all vastly overrated IMHO.

Texas has some of the highest relative property taxes in the country, which was something I mentioned in the previous post of mine. I definitely agree with you about this misconception of it being a low cost of living paradise, that ship has now sailed along with the other states I had cited. However, in these states you have many options that are quite rural and much cheaper. The problem with these areas though is that they are going to be incredibly far away from amenities, shopping, etc.

I also agree with your comments about the luxuries. Gym memberships more often than not are very affordable, though I'm starting to see a lot of clubs getting quite expensive for new members. The thing is, this is a hobby/activity that can bring a lot of value to your life, anything that keeps you in shape and gets you out of the house is a win as far as I'm concerned. Airline tickets I can agree with as well, I think some travelling and having new experiences is a good thing. I personally have travelled a lot but have no real desire to leave the country, there are just so many things to do in America. I have Hawaii and Idaho area on my list, plus some particular national parks.

The expensive stuff is really just a waste of money and doesn't really bring all that much value to your life. Again, I think it's trying to keep up with appearances or impress people that you shouldn't even want around anyway. Who the hell spends thousands on bottle service at a club for instance lol?

I grew up in the Boston area, and I remember years ago there was this NBA plyaer from the celtics that was hitting up a particular club called Guilt heavily. He was having all of these parties thrown for him by this club promoter TJ Green lol and getting hyped up on social media, funny af to see. Anyway, this NBA player ended up going bankrupt and guess what happened with all of his "friends"? I'm sure you know the answer to that lol.

Try renting an apartment in a desirable neighborhood of Dallas or Houston. It's going to be expensive.

Right now, a very basic one bedroom apartment in a non-ghetto area of Dallas is around $1,300-$1,400/month. This is likely to be a 40+ year old apartment that is minimally updated and isn't an impressive bachelor pad. 10 years ago, that same apartment would have been around $850. Rents in Dallas have skyrocketed.

This is an issue you'll find throughout the country as a whole. I was going to add, a lot of places will charge that kind of money for a crap apartment that isn't even all that nice. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have not gotten stuck in the trap. I feel the rent trap is right up there with debt that prevents people from ever building wealth. How is a young and single guy supposed to save or invest when his rent is half of his income, maybe even more, and he has student loan debt, a car payment and basic liabilities (groceries, utilities, etc.)? Best thing a young person can do is get some sort of training or education and work a lot while living at home and saving/investing. I'm very lucky to have had the opportunities that I've had.

I didn't say anything about jewelry or cars please point out a post where I'm talking about jewelry and cars.
You think this whole thread is fake because you don't live that reality that's fine but stop trying to project your fake righteousness, assumptions and insecurity on people who are actually doing the work and are successful in that arena, with your false assumptions, and limited beliefs based on your reality, Not Mine. Who says that the (some) of women aren't successful in their own right? who said anything about spending? you keep moving the goalposts and now you just adding a bunch of nonsense that is much ado about nothing
You have no clue what you are talking about here and are out of your depth

Some of you hella salty in this thread not my fault step your money game up fonzworth!

This whole thread is fake because @Jesse Pinkman is a troll who is claiming to be within the social circle of unusually wealthy young adults and how they operate in a club environment, spit game, etc. lol. I don't really know how to explain to you how ridiculous that is. Only a tiny subset of young(ish) men are going to have this degree of wealth that was being discussed. We then started talking about cost of living, being a millionaire in NYC does not mean anything when it costs that much for your own place there lol. With the exception of those who are incredibly lucky and/or who had talent (musicians, athletes, etc.), people that do quite well for themselves at such a young age are working their asses off and don't have the time for this nonsense. They are busy working 60+ hours per week, or working on their advanced degrees or this or that. This does not leave any real room for a social life at all, let alone a dating life. Anyone who has been on a real grind knows this and it also takes YEARS to get to this level of wealth. The only exceptions to this, outside of the incredibly talented and unusually lucky I mentioned, are going to be young men with rich parents, those that engage in illegal/shady stuff OR those that are faking it.

You should have read my post more thoroughly. I also am living in a home with no mortgage and have 6 figures invested whilst living a very frugal lifestyle. I don't have the exact numbers, but I guarantee that I'm way above the average and unusual.

 

[SW15]

Texas has some of the highest relative property taxes in the country, which was something I mentioned in the previous post of mine. I definitely agree with you about this misconception of it being a low cost of living paradise, that ship has now sailed along with the other states I had cited.

Texas has had high property taxes for a long time. There was a time where Dallas and Houston had some rental price bargains relative to some other larger USA cities. That's no longer true. In the 2000s and most of the 2010s, Phoenix was considered an inexpensive larger city. That's also no longer true.

There are still some cost of living deals to be found in Texas but they are now in the mid-sized metros and smaller. Think Abilene, Amarillo, and San Angelo type places. Those are more difficult places to date within Texas.

How is a young and single guy supposed to save or invest when his rent is half of his income, maybe even more, and he has student loan debt, a car payment and basic liabilities (groceries, utilities, etc.)?

Sometimes the man is using his car brand as a way to seduce women. There are men who have BMWs and Benzes in part as a way to impress women.

A younger male will often use his apartment as a way to impress women too.

Gym memberships more often than not are very affordable, though I'm starting to see a lot of clubs getting quite expensive for new members. The thing is, this is a hobby/activity that can bring a lot of value to your life, anything that keeps you in shape and gets you out of the house is a win as far as I'm concerned.

Gym memberships have a wide range of prices. Planet Fitness is the cheapest. 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness are a step up and reasonably priced. Equinox is a very expensive gym brand.

There are also some pricier class based chains out there. SoulCycle and Title Boxing are examples of 2 class-based chains that are pricy.

 

[CornbreadFed]

Gym memberships have a wide range of prices. Planet Fitness is the cheapest. 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness are a step up and reasonably priced. Equinox is a very expensive gym brand.

There are also some pricier class based chains out there. SoulCycle and Title Boxing are examples of 2 class-based chains that are pricy.

I go to Equinox and if I couldn't afford it I would probably stop going to the gym. Gen Z and everyone is obsessed with the gym now to the point LA Fitness and Planet Fitness are a pain in the @$$ to go to unless you wake up at the crack of dawn or go late at night.

 

[SW15]

I go to Equinox and if I couldn't afford it I would probably stop going to the gym.

Equinox is a pricy main gym and its corporate class-based sibling SoulCycle is nearly as pricy. The types of females that go to Equinox and SoulCycle are a different caliber than what is at some other gyms, including 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness.

In order to go to Equinox, a woman is either a married woman to a higher earning guy, she's a careerist Boss Girl, or she's a well compensated model/Instagram model/OnlyFans model.

Gen Z and everyone is obsessed with the gym now to the point LA Fitness and Planet Fitness are a pain in the @$$ to go to unless you wake up at the crack of dawn or go late at night.

I don't think Gen Z is as gym obsessed as you think they are. Obesity rates are still high. Since the oldest Gen Z's are now 26-27, most still don't make enough money to afford Equinox but plenty of 22-27 year olds can afford Planet Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, or LA Fitness.

 

[sangheilios]

I know a guy who lives in Texas (kinda of a friend of a friend) who is SO rich it's insane. I'm talking multiple million dollar houses, gambles 100k at the casino on a night out like it's nothing etc etc. I don't know his net worth but i'd guess it's like 200 million!

He tells people that he grew up poor and is rich because he's an amazing day trader and learnt the skill at a young age and so never needed a 'job', but i've seen him trade live before and he's clueless. I've seen him make lots of money some days (like 100k in a day) but he kind of relies on his bankroll with positions often going way against him. There's no way in the world his story is remotely true. He'd never have been able to 'build' a huge account in the first place based on his trading skillset. What i do know is that he DOES indeed trade but it's basically just a bored millionnaire gambling for fun. Some days makes 100k Some days loses 200k. But there's no way that's HOW he got rich

I'm convinced he must have billionnaire parents or something lol

So yeah, as you say, for some reason most don't want to admit it

This doesn't really have anything to do with the OP btw, but your post made me think of him!

Bro, when I read this back it reminds me of a couple huge phonies that were famous.

The first one is Dan Bilzerian. He claimed to have made millions playing poker and had a whole bunch of stories behind that which didn't line up at all. Poker requires a high degree of intelligence and studying/effort to get to that point, and he sure as hell did not have the traits neccessary for that. His father was a wall street crook who embezzled ridiculous amounts of money, actually ended up going to jail for it. The reality was his dad probably put it in a trust or somewhere that the authorities couldn't touch, so it went to his children lol. There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money, but Dan Bilzerian basically lived a life of vice and sin instead of doing something good with it. Associated with a bunch of gold digging prostitutes, gambled, did drugs and partied, etc. There was a story where he was partying in vegas and was drinking, doing drugs and popped a bunch of Viagra like they were skittles.....to which resulted in him having a heart attack lol. He's just a huge phoney that a ton of teenage boys looked up to because he was regularly surrounded by a bunch of *****s, had cars, guns, private jets, etc.. Whenever I watched him he just seemed super insecure and fake, especially with that beard to cover up his horrendous jawline lol.. He also claimed to be a Navy Seal and a lot of that didn't really line up either. I actually met a guy a few years ago that claimed to have been a Seal and it gave off the same vibe lol.

Another example that also comes to mind is Rich Piana, he was a freaky bodybuilder that was famous on youtube for several years before he passed. He was all about appearance, fancy cars, clothes, tattoos, etc. and tried to portray this larger than life persona. He had a few minor acting roles, but nothing where he'd be making a lot of money. Anyway, he had accrued a bunch of houses in CA well before his youtube fame and made this claim of having been a "day trader", which was how he became wealthy. After he died there was a ton of stuff released about him, such as him having a drug addiction and other issues. However, there was an audio clip where he is in the car with his wife and he is clearly talking to someone and selling him steroids, specifically Anavar. There was a bunch of other stuff that came out about this, he was basically a drug dealer lol. The guy was nowhere remotely intelligent enough to have been some super successful trader/investor lol.

Whenever I hear these stories about people having ridiculous degrees of wealth at a young age there's always something off about them. The whole "day trader" thing I've seen a lot and whenever I see that I just assume it's a front lol.

 

[CornbreadFed]

I don't think Gen Z is as gym obsessed as you think they are. Obesity rates are still high. Since the oldest Gen Z's are now 26-27, most still don't make enough money to afford Equinox but plenty of 22-27 year olds can afford Planet Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, or LA Fitness.

They just go to the gym to mess around, hog machines and parking spaces. In addition, places like LA fitness promote the bring your buddy system, so it’s usually 3 per 1 member in that gym.

 

[characternote]

I know a guy who lives in Texas (kinda of a friend of a friend) who is SO rich it's insane. I'm talking multiple million dollar houses, gambles 100k at the casino on a night out like it's nothing etc etc. I don't know his net worth but i'd guess it's like 200 million!

He tells people that he grew up poor and is rich because he's an amazing day trader and learnt the skill at a young age and so never needed a 'job', but i've seen him trade live before and he's clueless. I've seen him make lots of money some days (like 100k in a day) but he kind of relies on his bankroll with positions often going way against him. There's no way in the world his story is remotely true. He'd never have been able to 'build' a huge account in the first place based on his trading skillset. What i do know is that he DOES indeed trade but it's basically just a bored millionnaire gambling for fun. Some days makes 100k Some days loses 200k. But there's no way that's HOW he got rich

I'm convinced he must have billionnaire parents or something lol

So yeah, as you say, for some reason most don't want to admit it

This doesn't really have anything to do with the OP btw, but your post made me think of him!

just had to bump this to show you the insane money i'm talking about.
This is from yesterday lol

Not a bad day!

 

[characternote]

Holy smokes, those are some good plays
Seems like he knows quite a bit on Supermicro

with that guy in particular it was likely just a good day and he probably lost a similar amount the day before lol. More of a rich gambler than a superstar trader.
BUT there are traders out there who make that sort of money consistently/most days, and it just blows my mind lol

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

My years is off a great start day trading, averaging $1,200 profit a day. Fingers cross and hope I don’t get those urges to size up

Not bad. What type of capital (or margins) you working with.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

I’m just wondering what kind of capital is required? That’s all because that’s a decent haul. Your fluid capital could be $10k or $20.00…

 

[Aurora Demon]

To go to a good school by default you need a significant head start in life with family wealth. I'm assuming you mean US Ivy League.

1. Biglaw regularly requires 60+ hour work weeks, but yes they can make 200k as an associate, not after tax though unless in partner level probably.

2. I can believe that, but in Miami it is unlikely they are clearing 100k after taxes.

3. This is definitely believable.

4. Believable.

5. Believable.

Nevertheless, I am pretty sure none of them are 1st / 2nd generation immigrants, because almost all of these require significant head starts in life that are granted at birth.

Moral of the story is, none of these pathways are really accessible for 99.9% of the population. Still good that you uncovered that the upper tier of american society can flourish like no place else.

You need WAY more than that. You need rich parents. A stable non-abusive childhood. Both parents need to be college educated or higher, typically. I mean for a top 20 college. My cousin got into Stanford, Yale, and Harvard. He was badly abused like I was, but his abuse was about 15% as bad as mine. He went to a prestigious high school that had some of the best teachers in the country for high school topics. He learned college level topics while in high school. The school required you to apply and take an entry exam and jump through hoops.

His mom was the smartest person of our older generation, that's a huge advantage.

Being wealth is almost necessary.

I would like to say that I helped him significantly in getting into Stanford, I honestly believe I did, but no way to prove it. I introduced him to self-improvement. What's bad is, he saw pick up and seduction and purely manipulative and victiminizing women. But he's never done cold approaches. Later on, he came out the closet as gay.

To him: "Dude, you saying every girl I lay is a victim and that every woman wants a monogamous relationship and no woman wants to have casual sex, THAT IS SEXIST." I suspect my grandpa molested him. That probably contributed or caused him to be gay.

My family is really ****ed up. I need to get away from them. Both my parents are compulsive liars that tell our entire extended family EVERYTHING personal about me. Seriously.... Get a therapist, don't ruin my reputation and life.

Oh, you need a certain level of innate intelligence (IQ is the closest way to measure it). IQ is attempting to measure your G-load, which can't be measured, your G-load is your actual intelligence. I've spent over 100 hours researching IQ.

An IQ of 120 means you can DO ANY FIELD, ANY JOB, EVERYTHING IS OPEN TO YOU. That dosen't mean it will be easy.

IQ of 132 is genius, that's top 2%.

My IQ is probably between 125 and 131, I took an adult IQ test and scored 121 but I didn't know it was an IQ test (shows how smart I am) and was deliberately missing questions and taking slower on questions, because I was being tested for a medication, so I thought if I did too well I wouldn't get the med. I know I'm not a genius. My sister and cousin are geniuses. I'm close. But not quite there.

Your support network matters too. My cousin had/has 2 loving little sisters. My little sister is a literal sociopath. (I mean LITERALLY)
Off topic story: One of his little sisters was more courageous than all of us (everyone my age in my family was abused horribly). She was the only one to ever call 911. I never die because I thought they'd take my mom away. The police showed up and her mom never abused her again.

Gonna summarize some of the abuse, may seem like TMI, but it's normal for me and the culture I'm from: Chasing kids with kitchen knives, holding the knives to the kid's throat (ALL BEFORE 10 years old), turning on the stove and threatening to burn the kid alive, dragging them towards the stove, chasing with boiling water, threatening to cut off your **** while you sleep, making you eat garbage, locking you outside in the winter, etc. I don't want my race to be viewed negatively so I'm not sure I should say. Although maybe I did in another post... lol. Being molested, as far as I know my cousin and I are the only ones who were molested. Worst part, when telling people, nobody believed us. Also, whenever abused, there was either no reason or a stupid reason (you're eating slow, which means you won't grow up to be tall, so you won't get married, so I won't get grandchildren, then beat the **** out of me).

It had its pros though. I understand true human suffering and have done a LOT of community service and volunteering. Especially with genocide and human rights. I met a guy who was from Africa, he escaped a genocide, and experienced atrocities, we clicked right away, human suffering is human suffering. It made me more compassionate. I will always spend a portion of my resources and time and energy volunteering and trying to make the world a better place.

****, went off topic.

Either having tutors hired for you or your parents can tutor you, that is huge for people who get into ivy league.

I am uncertain if there's any correlation between study drugs and chances of getting in. My cousin never took them. If anyone is reading this and hasn't taken them, don't start. It's a horrible rabbit hole to go down.

Hmm... Having great mentors. I have those now, but not in high school. My cousin has millionaires and college professors and such as his mentors in high school.

Now, I have similar, millionaires, world class pianists, Ivy league grads, world class weightlifters, world class competitive video gamers (I mention him because he is so ****ing good at the game, he was probably the best in the world for over 10 years). World of warcraft. Also, never play that game. It does nothing to enhance your life.

Hmmm... My cousin also mentioned tricking himself into studying harder and working harder. He imagined his sisters poor and failing and unable to attend college so he put himself in a very painful state to drive himself into working hard. I can't do that, because the scenario I know isn't real.

 

[Aurora Demon]

They just go to the gym to mess around, hog machines and parking spaces. In addition, places like LA fitness promote the bring your buddy system, so it’s usually 3 per 1 member in that gym.

Go during off hours. Don't waste time. When I was actively working out, I worked out 2 hours, 5-7 days a week, alone usually, no music, 1-2 mins between sets. You want results? Don't mess around.

ALso, pro tip, consume a protein shake within 5-10 mins after you finish your work out, the less time the better.

 

[Aurora Demon]

I go to Equinox and if I couldn't afford it I would probably stop going to the gym. Gen Z and everyone is obsessed with the gym now to the point LA Fitness and Planet Fitness are a pain in the @$$ to go to unless you wake up at the crack of dawn or go late at night.

Wait, I'm gonna start another thread about gyms.