So the other day I was talking to a relative, and she told me she was proud of me for finally finding “success” in my life. She was talking about the big suburban house and fancy car that I bought because I'm a fucking idiot. This spawned a long discussion about the meaning of success, and probably a nice long break from having to talk to that relative for awhile. The gist was relevant so I'm bringing it here.
Ok, for those still stuck with corporate propaganda, having a big house and fancy car is NOT succeeding at life. I realize that for those struggling to pay rent in a ghetto apartment with holes in the walls and a bedroom window that's been broken for over a decade, it really sounds like success. But it's not. Buying a big fancy house and car on credit, is giving thicker stronger chains to your employer. Now you HAVE to keep working hard to maintain.
I didn't used to know this, which is how I ended up screwing myself. I believed as my relative did that these status symbols meant that I finally “made it”. Then I had a long conversation with a friend who showed me exactly what REAL success looks like.
This dude put away all his money from the moment he got his first job. He lived in his van in his work parking lot for 8 years, stuffing every cent he possibly could into Vanguard Index Funds, and keeping none. He retired at 26 years old, with enough money to get a nice house (paid upfront, no interest) nice car (paid upfront no interest), live off the interest of his index funds, and support his family. Now, 10 years later he homeschools his two kids with his wife, putting more hours into that than a full time job, and his family is happy, well off, ridiculously intelligent and kind, and does what they want when they want 100% of the time.
THAT is a fucking successful life. Meanwhile, I work crazy overtime ruining my body at a factory to pay off my expensive crap plus interest so that I can be used to show people what “success” looks like even though I don't have time or energy to actually enjoy the nice shit that is chaining me to my job. This is failure. I failed at life. Luckily, I'm not dead yet so I can slowly work towards success one day, but I'll have a LOT less time to enjoy that success since I started so late.
We need to show people what real success looks like and stop brainwashing them into debt, so they have a shot at achieving it while they're young enough to enjoy it.