Now that three different people have wistfully said to me that they wish they went to work at Facebook, I'd like to remind everyone of Charlie Munger's analysis - envy is the dumbest of the seven deadly sins, because you only feel bad. All the others - gluttony, lust, etc - all have some upside as well as downside, but with envy there's only upside.
As an example Munger says you can pay someone on Wall St $2 million a year and they will be perfectly happy until they find out someone across the hall is making $2.1 million and then they will be miserable. An insane way to live.
“Well envy/jealousy made, what, two out of the ten commandments? Those of you who have raised siblings you know about envy, or tried to run a law firm or investment bank or even a faculty? I’ve heard Warren say a half a dozen times, “It’s not greed that drives the world, but envy.”
To which a rational approach is so what?
“Here’s one truth that perhaps your typical investment counselor would disagree with: if you’re comfortably rich and someone else is getting richer faster than you by, for example, investing in risky stocks, so what?! Someone will always be getting richer faster than you. This is not a tragedy."
So what is the right answer, instead of focusing on someone else, make sure you like what you do and are making a difference in your own way.
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