All the readers of this blog and books, plus the students and the consultancy clients know that I take my privacy (and yours) very seriously. Therefore I dont reveal too much about myself. That can be a great advantage in cyberspace and in industry because it allows one to speak ones mind without fear of professional recrimination.
The important point here is that a good blog needs to respect the reader because most readers can spot a fake when they see (read it). Hopefully you guys realise that this blog is my attempt to explain the mysterious world of shipping from my perspective. One gained over 20 years.
One of the close friends of the blog recently asked me "VS whats your secret to success?" Its a great question but ultimately a little flawed because the assumption is that I AM successful....when at the end of the day I am an anonymous blogger supposedly from a the landlocked himalayan nation of Bhutan!
The truth is that I have had some success. But success is always relative and subjective. I have earnt (as a salary) over 6 figures since my mid 20's, and at some point in my mid late 30's I had saved and invested well enough to reach a small milestone that many people would consider as being rich.
These days this initself is not unusual and many people in shipping are worth far more than me, and they have the trappings of wealth to show it.
There is an old adage that you dont become wealthy through a salary alone. And from my perspective this is very true. If you think that by earning big money that you are automatically going to end up wealthy then think again. I have known many high salaried people who are every asset poor. They live paycheque to paycheque and thus need to work longer and harder just to stay afloat. I also know many people on low incomes who retire rich through clever planning and understanding investment concepts like, leverage, compounding interest, cashflow vs capital gains and the simple idea of spending less then you earn.
The moral here is that although a career in shipbroking and chartering dangles the promise of a high salary and great benefits, this doesnt always translate into success - whatever that may mean....
I have partied on yachts in the mediterranean, played hundreds of rounds of golf, watched the Hong Kong Sevens and skied in Switzerland - all on company time
BUT
I like the idea of sustainable financial success that doesnt soley rely on the whims of the market. Good shipowners know that secret too.
Is it too early for a whisky?
VS
Hi VS,
ReplyDeleteaah the secret to being happy! Been there, done that and got plenty of teeshirts to prove it. LOL. Maybe one thing you're overlooking is how do you define being wealthy? Being rich might be viewed from a total different perspective by you and by every other individual. If being rich means you play hundereds of rounds of Gulf and watching Dubai sevens(in my case), or driving the latest new 911 (I plea guilty) but wealth is also about love, family and enjoying simple things (I know you twenety year olds will think I am silly old fart) things that are equally important and above all doing what you love to do! Since I rounded the cape of the big four O I decided I only wanted to do the things I love and I can highly recommend it to anyone. Hey enough Zen and philosobabble from me, get back to work, fix,fix fix! :-)
Here Here JP!
ReplyDeleteHI VS,
ReplyDeleteIs there any truth to the legendary tale of a broker in Nepal who is a dairy farmer but does broking as a side business. supposedly all he has is a mobile and a fax and does not know what a ship looks like nor has he ever stepped out of nepal.
have you heard this one before?
Me?
ReplyDelete