Growing
Up
Growing up, my parents, grandparents, aunts and
uncles all told me “when you grow up you can be whatever you want to be”.
I believed what they told me and for the most
part it has come true for me but, I know it has not come true for others.
Growing up, only my imagination limited my
scope of what I dreamed of growing up to be.
I never considered my economic status let
alone know what economic status was; it was not until many years later as a
young adult did I understand the impact of economic status.
I, just as many of you, was taught to believe
that if I worked hard, no matter what obstacles got in my way; with hard work I
would achieve my dreams.
To understand
the idea of work and economics you must begin by examining your own reality –
poor or privileged.
You must realize that
your economic status in society is not solely determined by how hard you work but
also by social and economic factors such as equal opportunity, education,
emotional disposition and your physical health – most importantly it can be
determined by your level of determination to be successful.
Big
Players
The growth of the Information Age and advances
in communication technologies has changed the way people learn, work, live and
play.
Many senior individuals have been
left behind because of the explosive growth in technology.
The truth of the matter is that many people
work very hard but are underpaid for their effort.
In reality, it’s the large corporations and
world governments that set the terms of trade locally and globally. Many
factory workers and field laborers are exploited producing products that sell
for large profits while they are paid minimum wage.
Large corporations and nations make the money,
and the worker struggles to get by.
This
seems to hold true for those in the lower stratification of society.
Once stuck in a job it becomes almost like a
drug.
You need to keep working even for
minimum wage to get the essentials you need, to buy the things that are nice to
have, and to pay your bills.
Hard Work
and Roadblocks
Speaking from personal experience hard work does
pay.
It also takes the right
opportunities and the ability to take advantage of the situations as they come
your way.
Certainly it helps to be
educated, but education is not a prerequisite to achieve great success.
In the early 1970’s Bill Gates dropped out of
Harvard, was unemployed talking to everyone and anyone he could asking for
money for his idea for a new business.
The
rest is history.
Nothing that is worth something comes easy – it
takes determination and hard work to be successful.
However, even though everything is done
correctly, with determination and hard work there will be failures that come as
a result of outside economic factors.
Consider
the rise in the cost of petroleum based fuels.
With the rise in fuel costs virtually every
business and every individual in the world has been affected.
Many workers are suffering from the high cost
of essentials while remaining unemployed as a result of the 2008 economic
meltdown while other workers still face the possibility of layoffs due to continued
downturns in sales.
The automobile
industry has been brought to its knees unable to sell the products that just a
few years ago were their best sellers requiring the industry to redefine
itself.
As a result workers lost their
jobs and many remain unemployed or underemployed.
Cards You
Are Dealt
Take what you are dealt in life and make
the best of it.
You have choices, and
it’s what you make of your choices that count most.
I have worked since I was 10 years old. In 46
years I have never been unemployed.
Have
I been lucky – maybe?
True, I work to
pay bills and buy the things I want but, I also work because it gives me great
satisfaction.
I like the feeling of
accomplishment and being a part of something bigger than me.
Today, I work at the things that interest me
with my family always coming first and then the success of the company.
Even when you own your own company you must
strive for a balance between achieving success, your personal life and your company’s
success.
Don’t use economic status, education, or the lack of luck as excuses for not
achieving success.
Everyone and anyone
can realize success – it all depends on how hard you want to work for it and
your level of determination to make it happen.
Take the first step by deciding you deserve better; then let nothing
stand in your way to make it happen.
