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**Peterli** · 09-03-2007, 03:36 PM

Most people, i. e. the middle class in the US, do work like hell, because they don't put themselves in a position to better their situation.

And the only way to better your (financial) standing in life is to become a succesful entrepreneur, and that means taking a risk.

The reason that most Americans don't become enterpreneurs is because they're tremendously risk averse. People that don't get very far financially do not understand the concept of calculated risk. To them, risk is just bad.

The American model of life is. . .be born, go to school, then do one of 5 things. . .

1) Go to college, then get a college level job
2) Join the Armed Forces, then stay there
3) Work a menial job (i. e. McDonald's, dept. store) then work your way up to manager
4) Get a government job thru connections, then keep working at it and retire with a nice pension
5) Become nurse, med secretary, or some other health care assistant

Note that none of the above 5 involve any financial risk (#2, obviously, involves a risk to your life, nevertheless).

What I believe--and this is strictly my opinion so don't yell at me--is that kids should take risks, i. e. chase their dreams, when they are young.

Don't believe me. Here are some names. . .

Michael Dell
Bill Gates
Justin Frankel
Marshal Mathers
Britney Spears
Marc Andreessen

Chasing one's dreams does not entail jumping in the pool unprepared. Hard work and intense preparation is certainly needed.

However, most kids never try to fulfill their childhood dreams because they defeat themselves mentally early on and/or succomb to the low risk path their parents want them to follow (presumably because that's how their parents made it), and consequently, opt for a line of work where they can predictably stay employed (so long as they don't do anything tremendously stupid) and predictably advance.

First of all, becoming a successful entrepreneur is not a matter of "following your dreams" - it's a matter of extremely hard work, risk, luck, and charisma. Most people don't try it, and most who try it fail. And, those who succeed, to a person work much, much harder than some guy who turns the fry-basket at McDonald's forty hours per week.

Encouraging kids to follow their dreams and encouraging them to be entrepreneurs are two very different things. Some children dream of practicing medicine, going into space, or playing sports - none of those goals requires entrepreneurship.

Secondly, you disagreed with my contention that most people don't work their asses off. Simply showing up for a job that sucks and wishing you were doing something else does not constitute "working hard". Unless you're subjecting yourself to apparent bodily harm, any job where you work a 40 hour week is not "hard work", IMO (even something that requires manual labor because your body becomes used to it.

"Hard Work" is a young lawyer, or stock broker putting in 90 hours per week at the firm to get ahead. Hard work is done by someone who flips burgers all day and spends his nights earning an associate's degree to get ahead. Hard work is working two different jobs totaling 80 hours per week.

Most people don't do this. Most people regard their jobs as "hard work" because they don't like them, and they consider it an imposition. But hating one's job does not mean that one is working hard.

Incidentally, it's entirely possible to live a very swanky lifestyle without ever being an entrepreneur. In fact, it happens all the time (read: big name CEO's)

09-03-2007, 03:36 PM	#40
Peterli Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 458 Senior Member	Most people, i. e. the middle class in the US, do work like hell, because they don't put themselves in a position to better their situation. And the only way to better your (financial) standing in life is to become a succesful entrepreneur, and that means taking a risk. The reason that most Americans don't become enterpreneurs is because they're tremendously risk averse. People that don't get very far financially do not understand the concept of calculated risk. To them, risk is just bad. The American model of life is. . .be born, go to school, then do one of 5 things. . . 1) Go to college, then get a college level job 2) Join the Armed Forces, then stay there 3) Work a menial job (i. e. McDonald's, dept. store) then work your way up to manager 4) Get a government job thru connections, then keep working at it and retire with a nice pension 5) Become nurse, med secretary, or some other health care assistant Note that none of the above 5 involve any financial risk (#2, obviously, involves a risk to your life, nevertheless). What I believe--and this is strictly my opinion so don't yell at me--is that kids should take risks, i. e. chase their dreams, when they are young. Don't believe me. Here are some names. . . Michael Dell Bill Gates Justin Frankel Marshal Mathers Britney Spears Marc Andreessen Chasing one's dreams does not entail jumping in the pool unprepared. Hard work and intense preparation is certainly needed. However, most kids never try to fulfill their childhood dreams because they defeat themselves mentally early on and/or succomb to the low risk path their parents want them to follow (presumably because that's how their parents made it), and consequently, opt for a line of work where they can predictably stay employed (so long as they don't do anything tremendously stupid) and predictably advance. First of all, becoming a successful entrepreneur is not a matter of "following your dreams" - it's a matter of extremely hard work, risk, luck, and charisma. Most people don't try it, and most who try it fail. And, those who succeed, to a person work much, much harder than some guy who turns the fry-basket at McDonald's forty hours per week. Encouraging kids to follow their dreams and encouraging them to be entrepreneurs are two very different things. Some children dream of practicing medicine, going into space, or playing sports - none of those goals requires entrepreneurship. Secondly, you disagreed with my contention that most people don't work their asses off. Simply showing up for a job that sucks and wishing you were doing something else does not constitute "working hard". Unless you're subjecting yourself to apparent bodily harm, any job where you work a 40 hour week is not "hard work", IMO (even something that requires manual labor because your body becomes used to it. "Hard Work" is a young lawyer, or stock broker putting in 90 hours per week at the firm to get ahead. Hard work is done by someone who flips burgers all day and spends his nights earning an associate's degree to get ahead. Hard work is working two different jobs totaling 80 hours per week. Most people don't do this. Most people regard their jobs as "hard work" because they don't like them, and they consider it an imposition. But hating one's job does not mean that one is working hard. Incidentally, it's entirely possible to live a very swanky lifestyle without ever being an entrepreneur. In fact, it happens all the time (read: big name CEO's)
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