Ice
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-19-2014 07:54 AM)berserk Wrote: Yeah, WestCoast laid it down nicely.
It doesn't matter if you're self employed or employed, what matters is quick upwards mobility and part in the loot. Are you one of the leading males of the pride who gets to feed first or do you passively wait for scraps. Yes, that is a very real analogy for the corporate world.
Do you quickly jostle into position for a management spot and a substantial pay raise/options/commission or do you think the 3-4% a year and job security is great. Do you knock on the door to the boss and ask for a raise and more responsibility? Does the company need you more than you need them?
In reality, you can be alpha as fawk in a corporate setting, but you do have to suffer office politics and incompetents. In almost all circumstances the corporate alpha will out earn the self employed at least until mid to late thirties at which point the self employed is either a broken man or made it good.
Both are difficult things to achieve, however the self employed route is riskier and therefore carries bigger rewards if succeeds.
Yeah my focus is not necessarily on making as much money as possible - if that was the case, then rising up the ranks in a corporate setting would make most sense, I think. As you said, in most cases one can earn more that way.
But my focus is more on doing interesting work, being in an environment where I don't have to deny my personality, and where I am able to make a name for myself for my skill and knowledge.
So I'm not primarily thinking about where I can earn most.
(This post was last modified: 03-19-2014 08:34 AM by Ice.)
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| 03-19-2014 08:33 AM |
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Ice
Chubby Chaser
 
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-20-2014 02:12 AM)tbone46 Wrote: If you have a great business idea then go ahead, start a business, be the next mark zuckerberg, and you can spend all day bossing people around and being "alpha". But if not you generally have to pay your dues to learn a business from someone else. I currently have a job that is performance based, gives me location independence, and is very lucrative...but for the first 5-7 years of my career i was literally a bitch at work. But i was a bitch to very talented people, made decent money, and the experience was invaluable. If you are so obsessed with being "alpha" that you can never recognize someone else that is talented that you can learn from then you are cutting off most of the avenues in life to make money. Capitalism thrives on personal exchanges like this...ie i will add value for someone else at somewhat modest pay and in return get the chance to learn from them and make more money down the road. There is nothing "beta" about making mutually beneficial exchanges or respecting other people who are worthy of respect...and this whole obsession with the term alpha and beta is quite frankly absurd.
Yeah I'm in the process of starting a business. But Probably I will need to get a job first though in order to be able to get it off the ground for money reasons. Been working independently on and off for the last years. But I am just realising hat I have to change my offerings. So I am working on updating my skills.
I don't have a problem learning from other people. I know some people who are very accomplished and I definitely give them respect. It's mostly when you work with bimbos and losers when the problems start. Unfortunately I was such a situation in the past.
You know how it is, most people are depressed and insecure and feel stuck in their life - working with these people is toxic. Those are exactly the people who will try to cut you down and sabotage you. People who are talented and accomplished are rarely the problem.
But yeah, good for you that you have a job that is very lucrative and gives you location independence.
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| 03-20-2014 04:09 PM |
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Ice
Chubby Chaser
 
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-20-2014 09:48 AM)berserk Wrote: It's also a question of how the OP perceives 'alpha' behavior' in the workplace. Some workplaces are much more open to traditional male bullshitting and such, while others are heavily feminized.
At the top of my head, white collar professions with machismo: trading floor in a bank, investment banking, marketing (though not all), sales.
Backoffice, admin, human resource, legal is full of women and stuck up people.
Yeah that is true. I worked in sales some time ago and it was a pretty "macho" environment. One time when we went out to catch some drinks after work my boss pulled out his dick in a bar and wiggled it around in front of a female co-worker's face. That was pretty funny. But that was in Europe - I think that would be impossible in the US - that guy would probably be in jail now.
But yeah anyway, even though the environment was cool, I think sales is not a career that I would want to pursue. But I know that everyone who is self-employed or runs a business is in sales at the end of the day.
(This post was last modified: 03-20-2014 04:32 PM by Ice.)
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| 03-20-2014 04:23 PM |
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Seaver
Game Denialist
Posts: 66
Joined: Aug 2013
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-20-2014 04:09 PM)Ice Wrote: (03-20-2014 02:12 AM)tbone46 Wrote: If you have a great business idea then go ahead, start a business, be the next mark zuckerberg, and you can spend all day bossing people around and being "alpha". But if not you generally have to pay your dues to learn a business from someone else. I currently have a job that is performance based, gives me location independence, and is very lucrative...but for the first 5-7 years of my career i was literally a bitch at work. But i was a bitch to very talented people, made decent money, and the experience was invaluable. If you are so obsessed with being "alpha" that you can never recognize someone else that is talented that you can learn from then you are cutting off most of the avenues in life to make money. Capitalism thrives on personal exchanges like this...ie i will add value for someone else at somewhat modest pay and in return get the chance to learn from them and make more money down the road. There is nothing "beta" about making mutually beneficial exchanges or respecting other people who are worthy of respect...and this whole obsession with the term alpha and beta is quite frankly absurd.
Yeah I'm in the process of starting a business. But Probably I will need to get a job first though in order to be able to get it off the ground for money reasons. Been working independently on and off for the last years. But I am just realising hat I have to change my offerings. So I am working on updating my skills.
I don't have a problem learning from other people. I know some people who are very accomplished and I definitely give them respect. It's mostly when you work with bimbos and losers when the problems start. Unfortunately I was such a situation in the past.
You know how it is, most people are depressed and insecure and feel stuck in their life - working with these people is toxic. Those are exactly the people who will try to cut you down and sabotage you. People who are talented and accomplished are rarely the problem.
But yeah, good for you that you have a job that is very lucrative and gives you location independence.
Have you considered that a true alpha would be a leader and help these people turn that around? Then you create disciples.
Sounds to me like maybe you have a higher opinion of yourself than the reality. I don't mean that as an insult either, just that people tend to be a bit egocentric and not realize it.
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| 03-20-2014 08:22 PM |
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Ice
Chubby Chaser
 
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-20-2014 08:22 PM)Seaver Wrote: (03-20-2014 04:09 PM)Ice Wrote: (03-20-2014 02:12 AM)tbone46 Wrote: If you have a great business idea then go ahead, start a business, be the next mark zuckerberg, and you can spend all day bossing people around and being "alpha". But if not you generally have to pay your dues to learn a business from someone else. I currently have a job that is performance based, gives me location independence, and is very lucrative...but for the first 5-7 years of my career i was literally a bitch at work. But i was a bitch to very talented people, made decent money, and the experience was invaluable. If you are so obsessed with being "alpha" that you can never recognize someone else that is talented that you can learn from then you are cutting off most of the avenues in life to make money. Capitalism thrives on personal exchanges like this...ie i will add value for someone else at somewhat modest pay and in return get the chance to learn from them and make more money down the road. There is nothing "beta" about making mutually beneficial exchanges or respecting other people who are worthy of respect...and this whole obsession with the term alpha and beta is quite frankly absurd.
Yeah I'm in the process of starting a business. But Probably I will need to get a job first though in order to be able to get it off the ground for money reasons. Been working independently on and off for the last years. But I am just realising hat I have to change my offerings. So I am working on updating my skills.
I don't have a problem learning from other people. I know some people who are very accomplished and I definitely give them respect. It's mostly when you work with bimbos and losers when the problems start. Unfortunately I was such a situation in the past.
You know how it is, most people are depressed and insecure and feel stuck in their life - working with these people is toxic. Those are exactly the people who will try to cut you down and sabotage you. People who are talented and accomplished are rarely the problem.
But yeah, good for you that you have a job that is very lucrative and gives you location independence.
Have you considered that a true alpha would be a leader and help these people turn that around? Then you create disciples.
Sounds to me like maybe you have a higher opinion of yourself than the reality. I don't mean that as an insult either, just that people tend to be a bit egocentric and not realize it.
Well maybe I am egocentric - I don' know - but probably not more than most people. I don't even have that high of an option of myself though, I just take action to change things in my life that I am not happy with.
You know how it is, most people complain and complain, but won't take action. You can try to help them, but at the end of the day, in order to succeed, one has to have the will and initiative to change out of one's own volition.
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| 03-21-2014 09:11 AM |
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Seaver
Game Denialist
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-21-2014 09:11 AM)Ice Wrote: (03-20-2014 08:22 PM)Seaver Wrote: (03-20-2014 04:09 PM)Ice Wrote: (03-20-2014 02:12 AM)tbone46 Wrote: If you have a great business idea then go ahead, start a business, be the next mark zuckerberg, and you can spend all day bossing people around and being "alpha". But if not you generally have to pay your dues to learn a business from someone else. I currently have a job that is performance based, gives me location independence, and is very lucrative...but for the first 5-7 years of my career i was literally a bitch at work. But i was a bitch to very talented people, made decent money, and the experience was invaluable. If you are so obsessed with being "alpha" that you can never recognize someone else that is talented that you can learn from then you are cutting off most of the avenues in life to make money. Capitalism thrives on personal exchanges like this...ie i will add value for someone else at somewhat modest pay and in return get the chance to learn from them and make more money down the road. There is nothing "beta" about making mutually beneficial exchanges or respecting other people who are worthy of respect...and this whole obsession with the term alpha and beta is quite frankly absurd.
Yeah I'm in the process of starting a business. But Probably I will need to get a job first though in order to be able to get it off the ground for money reasons. Been working independently on and off for the last years. But I am just realising hat I have to change my offerings. So I am working on updating my skills.
I don't have a problem learning from other people. I know some people who are very accomplished and I definitely give them respect. It's mostly when you work with bimbos and losers when the problems start. Unfortunately I was such a situation in the past.
You know how it is, most people are depressed and insecure and feel stuck in their life - working with these people is toxic. Those are exactly the people who will try to cut you down and sabotage you. People who are talented and accomplished are rarely the problem.
But yeah, good for you that you have a job that is very lucrative and gives you location independence.
Have you considered that a true alpha would be a leader and help these people turn that around? Then you create disciples.
Sounds to me like maybe you have a higher opinion of yourself than the reality. I don't mean that as an insult either, just that people tend to be a bit egocentric and not realize it.
Well maybe I am egocentric - I don' know - but probably not more than most people. I don't even have that high of an option of myself though, I just take action to change things in my life that I am not happy with.
You know how it is, most people complain and complain, but won't take action. You can try to help them, but at the end of the day, in order to succeed, one has to have the will and initiative to change out of one's own volition.
correct, and a true alpha can motivate those people to do that.
That is a big part of success in the corporate world, so if you can't succeed there, you most likely aren't alpha.
I would say that not only can an alpha succeed in the corporate world, they are more likely to do so.
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| 03-21-2014 10:09 AM |
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Ice
Chubby Chaser
 
Posts: 423
Joined: Aug 2013
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-21-2014 10:09 AM)Seaver Wrote: (03-21-2014 09:11 AM)Ice Wrote: (03-20-2014 08:22 PM)Seaver Wrote: (03-20-2014 04:09 PM)Ice Wrote: [quote='tbone46' pid='682481' dateline='1395299557']
You know how it is, most people are depressed and insecure and feel stuck in their life - working with these people is toxic. Those are exactly the people who will try to cut you down and sabotage you. People who are talented and accomplished are rarely the problem.
But yeah, good for you that you have a job that is very lucrative and gives you location independence.
Have you considered that a true alpha would be a leader and help these people turn that around? Then you create disciples.
Sounds to me like maybe you have a higher opinion of yourself than the reality. I don't mean that as an insult either, just that people tend to be a bit egocentric and not realize it.
Well maybe I am egocentric - I don' know - but probably not more than most people. I don't even have that high of an option of myself though, I just take action to change things in my life that I am not happy with.
You know how it is, most people complain and complain, but won't take action. You can try to help them, but at the end of the day, in order to succeed, one has to have the will and initiative to change out of one's own volition.
correct, and a true alpha can motivate those people to do that.
That is a big part of success in the corporate world, so if you can't succeed there, you most likely aren't alpha.
I would say that not only can an alpha succeed in the corporate world, they are more likely to do so.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily define success in the corporate world as the litmus test for being alpha ..
But again, I think it depends on the specific environment. I have been in professional environments where it was pretty obvious that the guys(s) running the company just tried to gather weak-willed individuals around themselves so that they can feel superior and powerful. But needless to say that companies like that tend to not be very successful.
But not all companies are like that, of course.
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| 03-21-2014 11:18 AM |
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jamaicabound
True Player
    
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
I think the answer to this question depends upon how you define alpha. Some people seem to think it's the toughest, strongest biggest most badass guy in the room, others think its the guy with confidence who doen't give a fuck about anything. I read an interesting blog the other week, wish I could find it, I believe it was written by some guy who writes a blog about teaching in Cambodia if I remember correctly.
Anyhow he kinda discussed the whole alpha thing. I don't necessarily think he's right but was a diff perspective. Also, I guess it depends on whether you wanna use alpha as an anlogy or really compare literally to how it is in the wild.
Anyhow, he talks about how in the wild the Alpha is the King so to speak, the beta is actually second in line to the alpha, should he die beta becomes alpha, the omeggas are the followers so where as we often say alpha is cool behavior beta is pussy shit, its actually omegas which are the pussy shit, Betas aren't the top dog but are next in line to the throne.
Anyhow, he also goes on to say in the primate world the alpha isn't always the biggest or strongest but teh most manipulative, the one who can play politics and get the big guys on his side to enforce his rule. Thought that was an interesting take on the whole alpha thing.
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| 03-21-2014 12:00 PM |
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Ice
Chubby Chaser
 
Posts: 423
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RE: Being alpha and having a career
(03-21-2014 12:00 PM)jamaicabound Wrote: I think the answer to this question depends upon how you define alpha. Some people seem to think it's the toughest, strongest biggest most badass guy in the room, others think its the guy with confidence who doen't give a fuck about anything. I read an interesting blog the other week, wish I could find it, I believe it was written by some guy who writes a blog about teaching in Cambodia if I remember correctly.
Anyhow he kinda discussed the whole alpha thing. I don't necessarily think he's right but was a diff perspective. Also, I guess it depends on whether you wanna use alpha as an anlogy or really compare literally to how it is in the wild.
Anyhow, he talks about how in the wild the Alpha is the King so to speak, the beta is actually second in line to the alpha, should he die beta becomes alpha, the omeggas are the followers so where as we often say alpha is cool behavior beta is pussy shit, its actually omegas which are the pussy shit, Betas aren't the top dog but are next in line to the throne.
Anyhow, he also goes on to say in the primate world the alpha isn't always the biggest or strongest but teh most manipulative, the one who can play politics and get the big guys on his side to enforce his rule. Thought that was an interesting take on the whole alpha thing.
Yeah, definitely, that's how I see it too - alpha is not necessarily the biggest or strongest, but the most manipulative. The one who can live life on his own terms, who is independent, and achieves to manipulate others to help him reach his goals.
Oftentimes when people think of alphas they think of tough marines or the like, but I don't see it that way - at the end, marines are puppets following orders and will die for someone else's cause - that cannot be alpha I think.
But as was mentioned above, alpha is a matter of gradation, so it's not black and white.
Alpha also means a certain personality trait - being able to dominate social situations just on the strength of one's frame and intellect, without relying on status markers such as muscles or money or a big car etc. But that also falls under the umbrella of manipulation.
(This post was last modified: 03-22-2014 08:13 AM by Ice.)
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| 03-22-2014 08:08 AM |
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