This is why rich people like to hang out with equals – there is no undercurrent of jealousy which eats away at the foundation of a relationship slowly, like termites. The taboo of money perpetuates what is left of a class system in America. It’s just easier to hang out with people of your tax category.
When I ask people in Silicon Valley what motivates them, the conversation usually goes like this:
1. The product they are working on must usually fit into their value system.
2. That said, they are working such long hours because this is a once in a life-time to make a hell of a lot of money.
Twice a year, in February and August, the firm “settled up” with the sales force, awarding six-figure checks, so-called “bonuses”, which amounted to the difference between their earned commissions and their monthly draw. I have never seen such wealthy people so unable to celebrate, so unable to muster anything but anxiety. No matter how much that check was written out for, there was something belittling and disparaging about one’s worth being reduced to a number, sown to the penny – a small computer-generated piece of paper stating who you are, and all you are.
I’m going to give you one of my trade secrets right now, for free. Po Bronson’s Rule of Writing Dialogue:
“Dialogue conveys character, not information. “But of course, you knew this already – you know this instinctively! When you’ve got the Union Bank of Albany on the phone, what are you really selling? You’re not selling the Fannie Mae 8s vs. Fannie Mae 10s spread, not really. Your customer at Union Bank of Albany knows that you did better on your SATs that he did. He knows you went to a better college than he did He feels lucky to even be talking to you. You’re selling “approval”. You’re offering him the opportunity to prove he has the intellectual brain power to comprehend the Fannie Mae 8-10 spread. You’re offering him a chance to join the club. No amount of technical information distracts you from realising its all about character”
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