I dont know dreamer but the way you're presenting this whole thing is kinda focus on how to get rich. And how average people are just losers. I just find that a bit offensive. Eg. A stay at home mom decides to sacrifice get career to bring up her 2 lovely kids. That's normal. It's parental love. It's unconditional. She's willing to sacrifice a career and bring up her kids. So would u then say she's not successful? Not the best? Just average person who will never get rich? Different people have different thing that gives them satisfactiOn in life. Who are you to say what people should be aiming for? To be te best and be rich? I think that's a load of crap.

I am sorry to hear bout your circumstances. and as I say I know a lot of people out there are struggling,
I am not asking people not to aim for money or financial independence but I am saying dont be too obssess in making money that you forget bout everything else that is equally important. that's what i am trying to say.

honestly, I just read the first post of TS. and i am merely asking him what does he mean by rich. if he means being financial independent is rich then okay. but if he's implying that you have to be a millionaire or somebody like donald trump then no. I dont agree that everyone has to be like that to be happy.

I am trying to promote a moderate living. that is having a job that pay bills and enable you to save for your retirement and also having time to appreciate things and people around u.

and i am not saying this is about me either. i am sorry if i come across that way but i really do not like people who are obssess with making money and trying to be rich and when they are..they shove it in other people's face and look down on them and say they are just "average" people and i am the best kinda bullshit.

perhaps, dreamer is trying to motivate. but I just dont like how he is saying average people cannot be rich. my brother's pretty average. and he's financially independent. he's not the best in his job but he has his skills that are in demand. you know what i mean?

Compare that with the people living in Africa like Ethiopia, when people regularly starve to death, loss their lives to disease, women who are raped on a daily basis and man who are forced by militia to work 16 hours gruelling forced labour for very little food and no money. People who have nothing to eat and resort to eating cow's dung.....You, my friend are considered very, very, very lucky. The fact that you were given an opportunity to move out of poverty proves that you are very lucky compared to the africans who have no such opportunities and risk death every single day!!!.

I think what maverick trying to say was most of the older generation come from poor family, which is kinda common at that time to work long hour and food is not abundant.

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Added on August 29, 2011, 8:11 pm

The only reason I apologize previously was because I felt that I unintentionally insulted you. I respect what you have been through. That's why I apologize. As simple as that. I wasn't giving any excuses.

Somehow I can see one more thing from you. I think you are good at giving others opinion or in other word teaching, but you are not a good LISTENER. You don't LISTEN and UNDERSTAND what other people trying to TELL, but you listen and INTERPRET the message in your own way. Which at the end you don't get the message people trying to deliver to you and you only listen to yourself. 

Rich people make the rules, wealth can buy all the luxurious things in life because eat, sleep and shit is boring, so, average people spend majority of a lifetime working to enrich the wealthy. Average people is important to the rich, otherwise who will do the dirty jobs? Imagine a rich man telling his workers to be above average and they supposed to quite their job and do something else?

The rich man won't teach his worker how to be above average nor dream to be rich, but want to feel noble and tell it to strangers in a forum / kopitiam / restaurant / bup... loh.