Cullen Roche of Discipline Funds (Ticker: DSCF) has an interesting post regarding what he thinks of the the F$ck you money concept.
This term is pretty vulgar (which usually suits Kyith) but one of Cullen’s point is no one he encounter actually got to the point where they need to say “f$ck you” to the establishment or some boss.
One interesting point he made was of the jerks, who the money should amplify them to be bigger f$ckers.
Jerks will tell everyone to EFF off when they get rich because they were always jerks and now the money gives them the power to stop caring. They never really cared before, but they had to behave well because they couldn’t afford to piss everyone off.
You see it on Twitter all the time – literal billionaires acting like jerks because they can afford to act like jerks. They think they’ve reached a position of f$ck you, but in reality they were already f$cked. The money just gave them the confidence to show it off to the world.
Sometimes, I wonder if it is a coincidence Cullen didn’t encounter a situation that was so bad. Then again, he know more rich people and worked in finance. That is probably a bigger pool of people where someone can get richer than the norm, have enough jerks and enough stressful shit to encounter like that.
Without the money, I didn’t see an argument that got so bad that someone blew their top in my 20 years corporate life.
I am not sure who started the phrase F$ck you money but I suspect Jon Goodman in this movie has a lot to do with it:
- “That (the structure of money) is your fortress of solitude.”
- “Someone wants you to do something? F$ck you.”
- “Someone pisses you off? F$$$$$$ck you.”
- “Own your house. Have a couple of bucks in your house. Don’t drink.”
- “I guarantee your [grandfather] did it from a position of F$ck you.”
- “A wise man’s life, is based around F$ck you.”
- “United State of America is based around F$ck you.”
Very simple money rules to lived by. But probably something that my colleagues can’t use.
The second part of Cullen’s reflection on F$ck you will make you think more before you embark on this journey.
- “I’ve seen people who made $100MM in a year and they don’t know what to do. They certainly don’t tell the whole world to piss off.”
- “Even the richest people in the world are still going after it almost every single day.”
- “They realized there isn’t a finish line to this race and that it doesn’t even really stop when you’re put in the ground. It keeps going, you’re not a participant anymore, but you can impact the race even when you’re gone. And there’s a certain beauty in that.”
- “There’s a comfort in knowing that you can keep charging thru life, trying to be productive and knowing that financial freedom isn’t a finish line.”
I think there is a distinct difference if you are your own boss versus if you are an employee. A boss may have more autonomy over their time more than an employee that has to toe the line.
And this is why folks like Cullen may not fully understand why others are so bent on wanting F$ck you money.
They had enough situations where they really wish to say F$ck you to someone.
If it is not someone, it is to a business unit, or even a company.
Instead of someone, I reckon is a culture of work. First, you will say why does the people in this company put in some ridiculous work system. Or some work process. Then you had enough and jump into another place. And you realize that the processes is just as ridiculous.
Some of us really cannot stand doing ridiculous stuff repeatedly.
It is not that we don’t want to grind and do work but we want to grind for the right reasons. When my boss Chris taught us the true meaning of Ikigai, there is this word call Ganbari. Ganbari is a japanese noun which sort of means to persist and don’t give up.
Kind of means if you grind through, you will develop a sort of ikigai. I take it that if you manage to see the fruits of your hardwork, it is a personal, implicit achievement that you would feel that it was worth it.
Doing the things Cullen mention above likely is a form of Ganbari for many who achieve financial independence, and they kept going because what they are working on became their ikigai. But it is an Ikigai if you manage to see the meta achievement, or the meaningfulness in the tough work itself.
Many bullshit processes at work will just grind you out. Even if everyone tells each other Ganbatte!, they will eventually lose hope because there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
If we are truthful, there are more bullshit at work then the meaningful things to derive personal satisfaction from if you are in middle management or lower.
A key difference might be how much autonomy you have. Those who are financially handcuffed and need the job will feel the need to F$ck off more. Those who yearns for “something to do”, “do meaningful things” can do because they set the process (which may be the bullshit processes in the first place) and likely have enough financial safety net that security is not an issue.
If you have financial security then you can explore these meaningful stuff.
Ganbari is a philosophy that helps us grind, and could power us through some bullshit processes and people we work with. Just not everything.
And this is where I disagree with Cullen.
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