How poverty changes your mindset
I&#x27;m sure how people deal with stress and difficult situations varies from person to person.  My personal story and 2-cents:<p>When I was 17 I went through a period of near destitute. I was living on my own, my father had passed away, and I had dropped out of school. Yet, I found myself with some very good jobs, such as GE Capital, a big Oil and Gas companies IT department, etc.<p>Regardless of the opportunity, my arrogance, ambivalence, or immaturity (take your pick)  cost me a series of good jobs in short order. The result was I had no money, no electricity, no gas for my car, and not much to do. Eating cold beans out of a can in the dark tends to force you to re-think your priorities.<p>In my case, I got very motivated very quickly and dug myself out of that hole after a few months. I think that&#x27;s the point Orrin Hatch was trying to make. If I had a fallback, I would have, without a doubt, kept coasting along from job to job. I&#x27;ve never looked at work or money the same way since as I never want to find myself there again.<p>So long story short, being poor (by my own doing) didn&#x27;t necessarily motivate me, but looking into oblivion sure as hell did.