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In
every past generation people chased the frequently elusive but
prosperous American Dream. Now in the 21st century we find ourselves
chasing the same fantasy: a dream of riches, expensive cars and
cool toys. How does one capture the dream and have a pocket full
of riches?
Admittedly
there are those select men and women who make it on the list of
the 400 richest people in America, but generally how many people
do you know who have made their millions and transformed that American
Dream into reality? Not many, I imagine. Most of us struggle to
achieve mediocre success.
We're
trapped in the bitter web of irony. "You can achieve the American
Dream but we won't teach you how to get it." Get that job and work
hard and maybe if you're lucky success may tap you on the shoulder
and offer you a life of luxury, but chances are that won't happen.
One must escape the vicious cycle of working harder and harder and
each time around discovering that success is always more than one
step ahead.
You
work your entire life so your boss can benefit from your time and
labor. All of your time and effort at the office pays for your boss
to have a newer car, a bigger house and more expensive clothes.
Why work for someone else's dream when you can have your own?
Ah,
there is the ticket. Behold the ticket to freedom. It all starts
with an idea. A simple idea can lead to the most promising enterprises.
An idea can be the seed of wealth; if planted properly it can grow
beyond any conceivable American Dream. I need only mention that
Coca-Cola, Ford, Microsoft, and even *spark-online all began as
ideas.
Witness
to the struggling masses, some generous wealthy people offered their
services and wisdom so we can build our own dream catchers. Napoleon
Hill, for instance, tells us how to reach success through his book
Think and Grow Rich. Written decades before most of us were
born, he speaks to any generation. Your dreams are closer than you
think, and that is essentially the problem: we think about them
instead of acting on them. How many times have you said, “If
only…”?
One
must think outside of the conventional definition, of a new concept
of the Dream. As young children we were told to get a good job working
for a great company and therefore came to believe that by following
that path we would reach our goals. My dream is different.
The
thought of working for someone else's dreams of an ocean front house
or a new Audi makes me feel claustrophobic, like I'm trapped in
a box with my dreams on the outside. I want the house on the beach
and the Audi. And maybe a Landcruiser. I have no reservations about
working for someone else, provided they pay me what I am worth in
effort, knowledge and skill. To anyone in the workforce that concept
seems like water for a thirsty man in the desert.
To be
paid your worth is what I call the American Dream. In theory, if
every man and woman received pay for their worth we would all be
rich, very rich.
That's
why it's called a dream. The reality is that we get paid what our
job is worth. Higher demand calls for higher pay. For example, doctors
and NHL hockey players get paid more then secretaries and waiters.
Demand is simply higher for specialized services and talents. It
certainly makes you question the worth of your job.
Wallace
D. Wattles wrote in his book, The Science of Getting Rich:
“a person's right to life means his right to have the free and unrestricted
use of all the things which may be necessary to his fullest mental,
spiritual and physical unfolding--in other words, his right to be
rich."
Find
your idea. Capture your dream. Buy your own expensive cars, luxurious
houses and tech toys. Every individual has the right to be rich.
Copyright
© 2000 Juli Strader. All Rights Reserved.
Juli Strader is a writer living in Ottawa, Ontario.
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