The Recipe For Success

The Recipe For Success

Last week, I came across a post on LinkedIn that read: 

“Rich People Do These 7 Things Every Day

1. Eat a full breakfast

2. Read for at least 30 minutes

3. Get outside and enjoy nature

4. Meditate

5. Have wealthy parents

6. Unplug for an hour

7. Get 8 hours of sleep”

This post was made by a CEO. So, you know, someone whose word carries some weight.

Something REALLY bothered me about #5 on his recipe to becoming rich - “Having wealthy parents”.

Think about that for a second - What message is that sending to the young kid growing up in the projects? Or to new immigrants who are coming to this country with nothing but a dream? Or the kid growing up in a single-parent household? Are these groups to believe that their life is condemned to always be one of struggle?

Absolutely not! This is a HORRIBLE message to send. People who say that the only way to get rich in this is by having wealthy parents are automatically relegating others to take on a victim's mentality. It is a point of view that gives those who hear it a sense of nihilism and an excuse to fall back on if their life hasn’t turned out the way they wish it would have.

For a person who wants to garner the attention of entitled Millennials and Gen-Z (I’m part of this generation by the way before you think I’m some boomer, get off my lawn type of guy), this is the way to do it - You appeal to the sense of hopelessness that many in these generations are dealing with and better yet, you give them someone to blame other than themselves. You have them blame “the rich and wealthy” or even more dangerous, a group of people classified by race or religion.

Having a victim's mindset is a dangerous way to live your life. The moment you take on this mindset, you lose control of your life and hand it over to the people who almost always take advantage of your helplessness. They tell you that you aren’t smart enough, they tell you that you can’t ever be wealthy because you don’t come from wealth. They tell you that they hold the answers to your problems if you would only listen to them. The worst part is, eventually you start to believe them and create a self-fulfilling prophecy for your life.

You don’t have to live this way. You don’t need wealthy parents or grandparents to be wealthy yourself. It’s why millions of people have come to chase that dream in this country.

I used Arnold Schwarzenneger as the headline image because he is a prime example of the American dream. He grew up in a working-class family and worked hard to find a way to come to America with a dream of becoming a bodybuilding champion and an actor. Once here, he fought against the critics that said his accent was laughable, that he couldn’t act, that all he was was a ball of muscle, and that he’d never make it. Not only would he prove those doubters wrong, but he did one better and married a Kennedy, and became the Republican Governor of California - seriously if you know anything about California, you’d realize how hard of a feat that is! He came to America with nothing and realized the American dream. He can say it better than I can, so hear it for yourself on YouTube.

“Ignore the naysayers, work like hell, trust yourself, break some rules, and don't be afraid to fail. You’ll run into naysayers at every turn that you make in life. Don't listen - visualize your goal and know exactly where you want to go and work like hell to get there.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger

No, you don’t need wealthy parents to be successful. A better list would be the following:

They Take Advantage of Opportunities

People who were born in the United States, no matter what situations they are born in, have an advantage over most of the world. Don’t believe me? Take a trip South of the border where the government isn’t there to provide a safety net for you or protect you from violence. Being born in America grants you the opportunity to have a shot at success. Sure, life doesn’t give everyone a great hand of cards. Some people have to work A LOT harder to reach the same place as another person and some people might have some advantages over you, real or perceived. But that’s still no excuse.

When you are in a hard situation and trust me, I’ve been there, it is of utmost importance that you remind yourself “this is going to be a hell of a story when it’s written”.

They Take Responsibility For Themselves

Whether you find yourself in a situation of your own making or when life has given you a stroke of bad luck - It’s your responsibility now, so own it. Before you cast blame on another for not getting that job or not getting that raise or not getting that internship or into that college, step back and ask yourself: What could I have done better? If you say “nothing”, then you have an ego problem and you should fix that first. Because we can ALL be better at something. This leads to my next point.

They Never Get Complacent

At some point in their lives, most people settle. They settle for the job that allows them to live a life that gets them by, they settle for that spouse, they settle with being treated wrong by their coworkers, they settle with being overweight because some shit doctor gave them an excuse to fall back on… The moment you settle for the life you have is the moment you die. Not physically, but spiritually and mentally - You die. 

If you aren’t moving forward, then you will descend into a shell of the man or woman you could have been. Even worse, when you actually die, you will meet the man or woman that you could have been and you won’t recognize them because you didn’t live up to it. I personally couldn’t imagine a worse hell than that.

Never be complacent and never put your life on cruise control. Always push yourself to achieve, to build, and to grow.

They Think For Themselves

You cannot allow other people to think for you and fill your mind with doubt and nonsense. Do not allow people to tell you that you can’t do something because of your skin color, your race, or your gender. People who tell you these things are mentally fragile and weak.

You don’t need wealthy parents to be wealthy yourself. The only people who actually believe that have already given up on their dreams. Misery loves company - and they would love to see you among their ranks.


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Tarun Bhasin

Leader | P&L Owner | Strategy & Operations | Startup & Enterprise Experience

3y

So good Sebastian Bernal!

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Patrick Dahling

Sales Dev; the long-term solution to an indefinite problem.

3y

I "celebrate" this article even more than I did your comment on the post you mention. As the old cliche goes, luck is when opportunity meets preparation. Between LinkedIn, articles I've read and recent conversations, success has been a common topic. A friend of mine told me something then other day that I haven't been able to get out of my head... "Shoot for the moon. You might not make it, but you'll end up among the stars. Remember that." You want to be successful? Then take that first step.

Wow!!! Very impressed!! You are definitely an amazing writer. How you communicate to inspire and teach is admirable. Great job!! #borntobegreat #leadernow #sisepuede

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Madison Schott

I help data professionals learn analytics engineering skills to apply to their everyday work

3y

So true!!

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