Hard work pays off

[JohnCapital]

Folks I think many of you are missing the point of my OP.

There's much debate about exactly how someone succeeded, or putting someone down because they were "lucky", "in the right place at the right time", "rich", or whatever.

Some think that by putting down 1 or 2 of the examples, it proves they can't win.

The fact remains that there is tons of proof that if you work hard and smart, then you can overcome whatever obstacle is in your way.

I say you can succeed. I'm not saying you will. That's your choice.

Yes, being lucky helps. However, notice that Pham, Merc, Stormer, Skalman, Dub, Buzz Lightyear, Akoz, Pinky, Sorg, etc. etc., all found completely different ways to profit in this same game we are playing.

And yes, there are success stories coming out of newer players as well, who didn't play back in the "good old days".

Every situation provides some opportunity for success. Your job is to figure it out better than the guy next to you.

[Xen]

Originally Posted by Stormer

no you are wrong, i bought imkII yes ofc its the best hunting gun and the best investment for a hunter, but not even close to 2 of them...and to be honest, a lot of players looted more than just that and played top 10% of the time, and what about those who bought modfap for 100ped? or imkII 500ped dont you think there wasent 500ped loots back in the days? but thats really not the issue here, i just laugh at ppl who says that this game is a casino and luck is the only factor. But i just let them belive that and i know that you arent the ones of those Xen

Lol, i didn't mean to imply that you actually bought *2* imp mk II's. I was just pointing out the magnitude of your HOF back then. And yes, other people were also fortunate to start playing a long time ago. I'm just trying to point out that you can't really do now what you or Pham or some others have done. Now it's going to take some hefty deposits or a lot more time.

But yes, the game is not just a casino, and what some see as luck is really knowing what to hunt and when, and hunting it a lot to increase your chances. Mining, aside from the big HOF's, is not just luck either.

[Xerces]

Thanks for the encouragment. But lets put this in perspective...

Originally Posted by JohnCapital

As a way to start off 2008 right, I'd like to prove to you that hard work can create success, both in RL and in EU.

Here are some well known rags to riches stories both IRL and in EU

• Albert Einstein - Sucked in math class. Go figure.
• Ayn Rand - Escaped communist Russia to become famous writer.
• J.K. Rowling - On welfare while writing Harry Potter. No longer worried about the bills.
• Jackie Chan - Sold to the opera as a child, became rich martial artist/entertainer.
• Jenna Star Mercury - MMOWC contender, highly skilled, with almost 0 deposits. Joined EF: 06-04-2005 presumeably been playing since then or eariler
• Li Ka-Shing - Richest man in Asia started off broke.
• Michael Jordon - Made basketball as popular as it is through sheer hard work.
• Oprah Winfrey - Rags to riches entertainer.
• Patrik Stormer Deluxe - 3 ATHs, Merry Mayhem winner, 1 of highest skilled avas, etc. all without any deposits. Joined EF: 07-20-2005 presumeably been playing since then or eariler
• Pham Pham Newen - Depo'd $400, withdrew MUCH more than that. Joined EF: 02-23-2005 presumeably been playing since then or eariler
• Sam Walton - Created Wal-mart, and was successful despite K-Mart being the retail leader at the time.
• Steve Jobs - Created Apple computers. Rebuilt his fortune despite Microsoft.
• Sylvester Stallone - Movie star. Rocky screenplay was turned down by most movie companies twice.

Everyone single one of these folks (and many others like them) had to hear people tell them "don't bother." "You'll never make it." "There's too much competition." "The rules won't allow you to win." Yet they worked hard and became very successful in their field.

Yes, I can include Neverdie, Skalman, Neomaven, Nicole, Dub, Buzz Lightyear, Sorg, and many others in the list of success stories in Entropia. They put their money and hard work where their mouth was and won. Hopefully you can be one of those stories in 2008.

Interesting quote from Forbes magazine article

So, work hard folks. Money isn't the deciding factor. Yes it helps, but working hard and smart is the great equalizer.

Happy New Year, and happy hoffing.

While I am not here to be a naysayer. But if we are going to be giving information out we might as well provide all the information for those who are uninformed.

• Is it possible to make money in EU without depositing? YES
• Does the average player make money and become one of the best even in 2-3 years playing? TYPICALLY NO
• Have the majority of players that are successful in EU and began playing within the past year, deposited larger sums of money to "get them over the hump." YES
• Can one be very fortunate in the deals they make and "get in the game at the right time." YES
• Is the right time now? Too Early to tell, however the chances are IMO far less compared to 2-3 years ago, strictly due to the inflation rate alone.

Good luck to all those new players. By my estimates we are all going to need the luck or big bucks.

Discalimer:
This post is in no way meant to entice a flame war. I am simply attempting to consolidate public information and personal opinion. Some people take some of this information personal and get ,IMO, way too excited when anyone points out flaws in the games economic system.

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Xen

Lol, i didn't mean to imply that you actually bought *2* imp mk II's. I was just pointing out the magnitude of your HOF back then. And yes, other people were also fortunate to start playing a long time ago. I'm just trying to point out that you can't really do now what you or Pham or some others have done. Now it's going to take some hefty deposits or a lot more time.

But yes, the game is not just a casino, and what some see as luck is really knowing what to hunt and when, and hunting it a lot to increase your chances. Mining, aside from the big HOF's, is not just luck either.

jeh i agree with you, the path is longer these days but more ways to choose

[Optima]

Originally Posted by Xen

That said, Pham did say himself that a lot of his profit came from massive inflation of certain items and accumulating A LOT of skills before the skill nerfs, which basically increased the amount of skills he had to sell by 2-3x. Also, the loot return level relative to the efficiency of an imp mk II or other high efficiency gun (+ high skilled hunter) was a lot better 2+ years ago.

From his total withdrawals yes, alot came from inflated value on the equipment he bought, and because the skillnerf made the 7k+ skills take up that much more "ESI-tt".
Thats not the point though, whether his withdrawal was 300k or 900k, the point was that regardless how much his gear went up in price he still made a steady profit every day more or less.
And yes you got more loot back on tt alone way back, but as i said there was also pretty much no tt+ loots in an average hunt.
Thats the change MA did to continue to grow as a company as im sure youll agree, to introduce more tt+ stuff so average loot can be lowered. Still means that if you play smart you can profit, if you dont youre likely to loose your ass off, no different from 4 years ago.

[Frigid]

What your post lacks is the lists and lists of people who FAILED, who didn't get a lucky break. Sure, hard work is part of it, but opportunity has a HUGE factor in it. Farmers work damn hard and I don't recall seeing many of them in the Fortune500 list.

For every "success" there are a thousand failures...and not because they don't work hard.

"All mean are created equal" and "hard work will always lead to success" are great on motivational posters, but don't really hold true in RL. If you need a little kitten to tell you to "hang in there, baby!" you aren't going anywhere.

I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistsic. False hope is a cruel path and encouraging people down it without pausing to look at the risks is just sending them to their folly.

A lot of "successful" people in PE are that because they have either been in a long time and got uber items before the markups or had the capital to invest and pump their skills and gear to the point where they can seem self-sufficient and successful. Or...they have been very lucky. Not sour-grapes from me, just, again, being real. A few have worked very hard to build business and a some of those haven't skirted the rules to become successful at it. That is a level I ignore and don't aspire to. I hunt for recreation, and if I ATH, I'm just going to withdraw it because I couldn't hang at the "next level" of play anyway.

People who start NOW can only watch the success of others unless they have a big bankroll or are very lucky. HARD WORK IS NO GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS.

You are NOT going to pay rent from your profits every month...don't buy the hype!

John, you are from Vegas. Look down the strip. For every senior-citizen you see laying on a pile of money on a billboard there are thousands who go home without any of the money they came with. Those billion-dollar casinos were not built on the premise that every joe can be successful, were they?

The likelihood of failure is proportional to how high you set your goals. Aim low, be happy.

[Frigid]

Originally Posted by JohnCapital

Every situation provides some opportunity for success. Your job is to figure it out better than the guy next to you.

Sentimental Hogwash!

Sometimes things just cannot be changed no matter how hard you try. People throw out these statmenst and never have to back them up with real examples.


If this is true, and you believe it, why didn't you win the Merry Mayhem? There was a huge oportunity for success. Or...do you admit there are REAL limitiation s to even the best wishes? Why didn't the merry mayhem and in a 50-way tie?

Look, I'm not trying to rain on your parade, just pointing out that there are REAL limitiations to effort and outcome in this world and there is nothing we can do to change that. I get a little annoyed when people throw out this positive thinking and effort = success stuff and tell people that anyoen can be anything.

All this does is instill an overabundance of hope and increase the likelyhood of disappaointment. I'm all for effort and working towards goals, but reachable goals, well thought-out goals, and goals that don't require luck or vast bankrolls to acheive....and sustain....

[JohnCapital]

I understand how you feel, Frigid, however:

Please reread my post #31. I did mention the fact that yes, luck helps and that success is not guaranteed.

However, the fact is that having a ton of folks "dragging you down" and "raining on your parade" doesn't exactly increase the chances for success either.

I never said everyone can be a winner. I'm simply saying that some folks can. Why not you?

Oh, and

Originally Posted by Frigid

"All mean are created equal" and "hard work will always lead to success" are great on motivational posters, but don't really hold true in RL.

I completely agree that those 2 statements are utter hogwash. We are not created equal, some are created better. Others have everything going against them and still find a way to succeed. However, not everyone gets to win the race. Yes someone has to finish dead last, and yes many don't even bother trying.

Sure, it sounds like a bunch of "rah rah go team" bullsh!t. And maybe it is. However, I decided there's enough negative crap in this forum and decided to swing the other way a bit.

Hope that doesn't bother you.

[Djarro Morgari]

only thing proven is that pregold need no deposits !!

[Thriller]

Originally Posted by JohnCapital

Sure, it sounds like a bunch of "rah rah go team" bullsh!t. And maybe it is. However, I decided there's enough negative crap in this forum and decided to swing the other way a bit.

Hope that doesn't bother you.

So you go both ways?