I'm here to talk about my perspective of the American Dream, and why we should let go the concept of the American Dream, and start thinking about living our own dream! One thing we can all relate to is being told, "I want you to graduate high school, go to college, get a degree, and find a job that pays well", right? As if a degree will assure us that a company will look at us any differently than their other applicants that carry the same paper. That's what they want us to believe. Look kids, if you go to college, pay a lot of money that you don't have, strive hard for your degree, you will put yourself in good standings to work for Corporate America.…
Don't get me wrong, college is very helpful, and is a great experience that prepares many people for life. I would never take away my college days. There are many things campuses offer to help students find their passion. For others, college is nothing more than a tool for networking...
Corporate America… The American Dream, or shall I say, America's Dream, and an American's Nightmare. Let's now put things in perspective. When you apply to one of these jobs, you try to make yourself look your best on paper. Say, you get called in for an interview, then you try to dress your best to impress them. The interview process is where it starts. That's when they gain power over you. That's when you give them the power to say you're not good enough, this person is better than you, etc. They say all of this by simply not hiring you (they will usually say something like, you're not what we are looking for right now). If they do hire you, you give them even more power over you. That's when they tell you to fix your life according to the schedule they give you. I am going to use 9am-5pm as an example. That is your new schedule. You now have to revolve your whole life around that time. They now control you, and you feel the need to stay for financial security. Answer me this question.. How is working for someone else financial security? when if anything goes wrong, they can fire you, or lay you off at any given time. You have to work hard in hopes of a promotion, or pay raise. What I am trying to say is.. How far you go is not up to you. Your growth within a company simply rely on how far they (corporate) want you to go! There is an input=output method that applies to life.
Example:
Input= 40 hours a week, $16 per hour.
Output= $640/weekly before taxes
Now unless they let you work overtime, your output will never surpass $640 because they control your input and output. You will find yourself not wanting to take time off because it will take away from your output. That's the American Dream in a nutshell.
I wish I would have known that 8 years ago. I wish someone would have told me to forget the American Dream, and follow your own dream. The best way to do this is to work for yourself. All that time and energy you put in to someone else's establishment can be geared towards creating your own, where your output has no limit, and your input is how much you want to work.
Ways to gain control over your life..
1. Invest in yourself
There is no limit to how much time, money, and effort you should invest in yourself. You will be the only thing holding you back.
2. Turn your passion in to a paycheck
Once you find what you love to do, try to find a way to make an income from it.
3. Gather knowledge
There are endless learning opportunities in this world. You just have to step out and go get it
4. Find like minded people
I say this because you will feed off the minds you surround yourself with.
5. Believe in yourself
This is the most important one. Life is driven by one of two things, fear or faith. The fear of the unknown, or having faith in the unknown. Not knowing will cause you to fear, or have faith… so which one do you choose?
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