Achieving the American Dream

What are Goals and Dreams? Most people with seniority in their job no longer remember.

Put simply, goals and dreams are what you had before you found yourself in a dead end job.

Yes, you earn a nice living from your job.

And sure, you get an annual raise. But your annual raise in not entirely in your control. Maybe your entire business unit is going to get an average of a 3% raise. Your share of that increase may be 2% or 4%, based on your individual performance.

But it's impossible to get a 40% or 50% increase in a year -- even if your work really hard. You might get a 3 or 4% raise and a nice bonus. But as far as really making a significant change in your income, that's out of the question.

For you, the American dream of financial indepencence and personal freedom is dead.

You imagined yourself becoming a doctor, computer analyst, web developer, accountant, or fireman. And you achieved your dream.

But, you had other dreams, too.

When you were young you looked at all the nice cars. You looked at the Mercedes. You looked at the Corvettes. You looked at the Lincolns. You looked at those bright sports cars. And you said "I'm going to drive one of those."

When you were first married you traveled together and saw the fine homes. You saw the vacation homes on the ocean. You looked over the large mansions in the finer neighborhoods. And you knew you had a good job. You said to each other that one day we're going to have a home like that.

You've been conditioned to believe that your success depends on getting a quality education, finding a good job, and working hard. You're going to be happy because you'll be able to move up and achieve and do thing that are worthwhile in life.

Now, after five or ten years of working, you've got a mortgage, car payments, a couple of kids and both of you are working. You put your kids in daycare until you can pick them up. After you get home you cook dinner, clean up the house, mow the grass, and open the bills. You're practically exhausted and plop down in your favorite chair and watch TV for a couple of hours.

A strain has developed in your family relationship. Your life is regimented by the demands of your job. You've lost your personal freedom. Every waking moment sometimes seems as if it's controlled by someone else.

You no longer talk about having a summer home on the ocean. You no longer think about what type of Mercedes you're going to get. You're more concerned with the next mortgage payment and the washing machine repair bill. You've lost your financial freedom.

You've stopped dreaming about the future because you know you can't get those things. You realize that you are not financially independent.

You are financially dependent.

You could literally go crazy still thinking about your dream home, but knowing you could never afford it. So you stopped thinking about it. Your personal dreams died a slow, lingering death.

Over time you began to settle for less.

When you work for someone else, you are engaged in fulfilling their goals or dreams. Not your own.

Yes, you have quarterly goals and annual goals to fulfill. But they are tied to someone else's business. They are not your personal goals and dreams.

You can strike a spark that can ignite your dreams again. You can work toward becoming financially independent and gaining your personal freedom.

If you believe you can earn the money it takes to get the finer things in life, you'll start dreaming again. You'll be able to look forward to getting a nicer home, a classy car, taking that extended vacation, putting your children through college, and more.

But, I won't fool you...

You'll need to spend some time outside of your normal job to develop your own, independent, sources of income. You'll need to build your own business.

No, this will not be quick like winning the multi-million dollar lottery. Building your own business takes time and effort. There will be trials and errors. But with determination you can see success.

Only with your own business, providing an independent source of income, can you truly work toward your own personal dreams.