Have you ever woke up in the morning, dreading that you have to get up and endure another day’s grind? You’ll follow the same routine: coffee, shave, shower, traffic, cubicle, stare at computer screen, office bullshit, fill ‘er up, over-priced gas, over-priced bland lunch, back to cubicle, punch in, punch out, traffic, home, pile of bills, empty wallet, veg out in front of tv, restless sleep, then do it again.
At some point you stop and ask, “Is THIS the “American Dream?”….Really?
Don’t get me wrong. What you do every day is probably really important. And, you probably endure it all with a smile and a brave sense of “duty” or something.
But deep down, you know that this isn’t all there is, right?
Deep down, you yearn for the freedom of being 10 years old again, before the world became so “adult” and “responsible” and “practical” and limiting. You want to be able to dream unlimited dreams that have no boundaries. When you were 10 years old, you dreamed, and actually believed, that you could do anything you wanted to do: be an astronaut, a pilot, a belly dancer, a princess, a deep sea diver, an Olympic champion, a pro-football player, a rock star.
But somewhere along the way, someone said you couldn’t…and you believed them.
Maybe it was a teacher, a parent, or someone else trying to protect you from disappointment. But then again…maybe that “someone” was you?
If you are not living the life you want to live; if you are not fully energized by all the possibilities that surround you in this world of Abundance…then you are NOT living the American Dream.
What is blocking your view? What’s in the way between where you are now and where you really want to be?
And more importantly…what are you willing to do to kick down that obstruction?
What is the American Dream? “They” say that we should get a good education, get a good job, buy a home, save some money, and so on. Be safe. Be responsible.
But who are “they”? And why do “they” get to determine what your dreams are?
And when did trading your time for dollars and carrying a hefty mortgage, buying a new car, paying a pretty penny for fuel to get to your job, both of which further encourage you to put in more time for dollars to afford it become a dream? For many, this seems more like a nightmare!
And these “things” can be taken away at any moment.
It’s almost as if you don’t follow their version of the American Dream, then you are somehow less responsible or what you do is less respectable.
Really?
How many successful entrepreneurs today, the ones that are now forging the way into our future of Abundance, started the journey of their own American Dream among protests and criticism from people around them…and yet they still moved forward.
They kicked down that obstruction from where they were to where they wanted to be. Who told them they could do that? Who gave them permission? Was it a teacher, a parent, a mentor?
Or, was it the spirit of the 10-year old still alive and kicking deep within their being that whispered…”You Can”
This little rant is in honor of the Fourth of July – a marker of Independence for America. I know, freedom don’t come free. But that doesn’t mean that you have to sell your soul to a job, or a life, that brings you no joy or happiness.
Because really – you are not fully contributing to this life, or to society as a whole, until you embrace what your true passion and purpose in life really are.
The American Dream = Freedom.
You get to decide what the dream is. You get to decide what your own freedom means.
Here is what I want you to do. Think of someone in your world right now (friend, spouse, son, daughter, parent, yourself) who you can encourage to follow their dreams, their passions, their ideal life.
Sometimes it only takes one person to believe in a dream to make it a reality. Will that be you?
