Prose from a Poshboy

[VBlue]

Apologies if I sound like a twat, but looking for something to make you happy is futile.  Being happy and then going about your business is the way to go.

It's much easier being happy in life if you really enjoy your job believe me.  I have been on both sides of the fence and i know which makes you more happy even if you earn less money.

What I am saying is don't go expecting something, or even someone, to make you happy.  You have to make yourself happy.  I've worked plenty of dead-arsed jobs over these last seven years.  The job itself does not make you happy or unhappy.  Happiness is definitely a decision you make.  

[RED-DOG]

Apologies if I sound like a twat, but looking for something to make you happy is futile.  Being happy and then going about your business is the way to go.

There is a lot of wisdom in this post. Happy is, for the most part, something you just decide to be.

[arbboy]

Apologies if I sound like a twat, but looking for something to make you happy is futile.  Being happy and then going about your business is the way to go.

It's much easier being happy in life if you really enjoy your job believe me.  I have been on both sides of the fence and i know which makes you more happy even if you earn less money.

What I am saying is don't go expecting something, or even someone, to make you happy.  You have to make yourself happy.  I've worked plenty of dead-arsed jobs over these last seven years.  The job itself does not make you happy or unhappy.  Happiness is definitely a decision you make.  

Sure i agree with what you are saying but i always think you will be more happy in general if you enjoy your job.  You spend a long time working.

[redarmi]

Think doing something else is probably the best way to go but it will be very hard.  If you got a job you are realistically going to be earning less than you could earn at the poker table initially and for that you will have to get up at 7am, commute etc etc.  It will take a lot of discipline etc.  I have dipped in and out of working and it is vital to take roles that you find interesting because having a manager etc feels very restricting after being your own boss for years and setting your own schedule.  All that said it is important to be fulfilled in life and that isn't just about money.  In many ways it is about contributing to society too and gambling for a living on any level you just doesn't do that.

[BorntoBubble]

Ive worked most days since vegas, and ive had a ball. I enjoy going to work everyday, dont mind working weekends as well. I have a lot of flexibiloty and im doing something I enjoy but there is work out there aside from poker that can make you happy, make you money and give you flexibility you just have to have a bit of get up and go I think.

The only reason im playing less now is because I know i can make more money working long term (and short term) then playing poker. Even if you quit poker for a living it doesent mean you have to stop playing also, you can still play events but make a weekend of it and dont feel like you need to be tied to the cash games because you need to make money you can bust a comp and if someone asks you to go for a drink or dinner you can say yes because you can now afford it and not NEED poker.

In essence my advice is try and get a "job" doing something you enjoy, make money, have fun, go to vegas next year.

[NEWY]

FWIW I don't see you as the type of person who would be happy in a "job".  After living a very good life with the freedom to do as u please when u please, it would be hard to give that up.  I personally couldn think of anything worse than having to be at a place of work at certain oclock to be told what to do by someone in charge. instead I think u should look to start up your own career in something that still allows u certain freedoms where u can still play semi pro or whenever u get the urge.  Something along the lines of property development, shares trading, invest in some businesses already established - restaurant - bar etc.. Your a smart lad I sure u will come up with some plan.. Gud luck with whatever u eventually decide and thanks for sharing some of ur journey up to this point, really enjoyed looking at pics of ur birds reading about ur escapades. WP GG

[nirvana]

Apologies if I sound like a twat, but looking for something to make you happy is futile.  Being happy and then going about your business is the way to go.

It would be hard for this to be truer - the pursuit of happiness as an end in itself must by definition mean one is unhappy/discontented etc and very probably likely to remain so.

Having said that, I'm not sure Alex was looking for something to make him happy as such, rather just to avoid heading into a life/work etc combo that definitely reduces his happiness from it's current place. And that is really just a choice.

Think of something you'd like to do, train to be good at it and then do it. It many ways it's perfectly simple - I just think most people don't do the first bit very well and then often struggle with the second in terms of application.

Or, just take the earlier path you had mapped out as a sports bettor, especially now you know the difference between odds on and odds against

[Tractor]

Enter the Apprentice, would be good to get a Blonde on the show.

[cambridgealex]

FWIW I don't see you as the type of person who would be happy in a "job".  After living a very good life with the freedom to do as u please when u please, it would be hard to give that up.  I personally couldn think of anything worse than having to be at a place of work at certain oclock to be told what to do by someone in charge. instead I think u should look to start up your own career in something that still allows u certain freedoms where u can still play semi pro or whenever u get the urge.  Something along the lines of property development, shares trading, invest in some businesses already established - restaurant - bar etc..

Agree with this completely, and most of the stuff said by others too.

I'm need to do Vegas again, and hopefully every year for the foreseeable future (the main event at least). But I'd love to get stuck into a project like you mentioned.

I think I'd find it so hard to do the commute, the 9-5s, the office job - and it'd be so easy to give it up if things got tough when I know I can make good money in poker. But at the same time, I might find something I really get into, and become obsessive over, just like poker was at the start, and then a whole new path is opened up for me. So I want to give it a go.

I think if I could get a foot in the door and have an interview then I'd do OK, as I feel I've learned a lot through poker that are valuable skills in the business world. But getting to that stage is very difficult, maybe impossible without a degree.

[willrobrobu]

FWIW I don't see you as the type of person who would be happy in a "job".  After living a very good life with the freedom to do as u please when u please, it would be hard to give that up.  I personally couldn think of anything worse than having to be at a place of work at certain oclock to be told what to do by someone in charge. instead I think u should look to start up your own career in something that still allows u certain freedoms where u can still play semi pro or whenever u get the urge.  Something along the lines of property development, shares trading, invest in some businesses already established - restaurant - bar etc.. Your a smart lad I sure u will come up with some plan.. Gud luck with whatever u eventually decide and thanks for sharing some of ur journey up to this point, really enjoyed looking at pics of ur birds reading about ur escapades. WP GG

agree with this. that or find a flexible job. I work week on/week off night shifts which provides the stable income but gives me plenty of free time to pursue other interests (addictions)

[gouty]

What do other people think? This diary is over a thousand pages and full of great advice from day 1 from blondes from all walks of life. Without this diary I would never have got staked initially as quickly as I did so it's all thanks to this really. Would be good to hear people's thoughts 4 years on.

BoB for me.

I read a lot of poker stuff on the web. Some of the advice you can get on Blonde is just top class, and there is loads in this thread. All the great blogs, no matter what level the player is, are by people who write well. If you enjoy writing then try that as a career. Tony Holden, Vicky Coren and even the greatest, Herbert Yardley seemed to have had a lot of fun in their life's.

[GreekStein]

Alex I am really really similar to you on this. It's something that's been playing over and over in my head lately too.

I think I want 3 more years of poker, where I just get my head down and play a lot and work hard and then get out.

I definitely don't want to go back into the office environment that I used to work in unless it's my own office. When I stop poker I want to largely be my own boss and have my own venture.

[AlunB]

What do other people think? This diary is over a thousand pages and full of great advice from day 1 from blondes from all walks of life. Without this diary I would never have got staked initially as quickly as I did so it's all thanks to this really. Would be good to hear people's thoughts 4 years on.

BoB for me.

I read a lot of poker stuff on the web. Some of the advice you can get on Blonde is just top class, and there is loads in this thread. All the great blogs, no matter what level the player is, are by people who write well. If you enjoy writing then try that as a career. Tony Holden, Vicky Coren and even the greatest, Herbert Yardley seemed to have had a lot of fun in their life's.

Don't, whatever you do, do this. Unless you hate money or have an amazing book already written.

[AlunB]

Apologies if I sound like a twat, but looking for something to make you happy is futile.  Being happy and then going about your business is the way to go.

It's much easier being happy in life if you really enjoy your job believe me.  I have been on both sides of the fence and i know which makes you more happy even if you earn less money.

From a personal perspective I totally agree with this. Your job is such a big part of your life, in terms of both time and social contact, that if you can even come close to loving it then it makes an enormous difference.

You can, of course, be happy in whatever you do. But you will find it a hell of a lot easier in a job you enjoy.

[pleno1]

Alex I am really really similar to you on this. It's something that's been playing over and over in my head lately too.

I think I want 3 more years of poker, where I just get my head down and play a lot and work hard and then get out.

I definitely don't want to go back into the office environment that I used to work in unless it's my own office. When I stop poker I want to largely be my own boss and have my own venture.

I agree.

There's such a small % of people who could realistically be professional poker players and you fall into that %. Getting as far as you have and being as successful as you have, I think moving into a job would be a huge step back both from a career pov and from a life ev pov.

Not everybody wants to stay in poker thats fine, but I think as Cos said I think its important you make yourself your own boss.

I see as I'll work really really hard for 5 years both studying and playing, similarily to if I was studying Medicine or something similar but after the 5 years I won't be in debt and have to work for somebody else but I will have gained capital, contacts and ideas for what to do next. Starting a stable I think is a really good business decision as you have to weigh up a lot of business stuff and you can use the skills you've gained over the last 4/5 years. The roi will be a lot bigger too than most investments.

I tried to invest in stuff like bitcoins, just a small amount but reading a lot about them and understanding as much as possible so that in the future when I want to invest more I will be able to make better business decisions.

Also invested in a bar that will very likely be breakeven to a small profit, I'm not doing it to turn my xx thousands into xxx thousands but to understand how the business side works, the shady things you have to do to be successful all of those little things I'd have no idea about. If I invest in a bar in 4 years I will be asking very different questions to the ones I did this month.

In summary I'd suggest working really hard in poker for the next few years but spend 1 day a week managing business that isn't related to poker at all. Don't think about poker for that day but use it to brainstorm different business ideas. Friends I met in Budapest were doing this and I was like wow thats really smart.

You can even try to make a facebook website and spend 48 hours trying to make it go viral or a basic functioning wordpress site that you can monetize eventually.

To me all of ^ sounds a lot more fun and likely profitable than putting on the suit and tie and filling in holiday request forms.

What about trading potentially?

Sorry for wall of text just writing ideas.