I get cracked on about living in Brentwood. My home is nothing special. Where I grew up in Memphis was and is a rough area at hickory hill and mt moriah. I worked 2 jobs and gave plasma to pay to live in a dining room behind a curtain and go to UT. I've been maxed out on credit cards and owed money to people outside of banks, as my bank would only give me a small amount, to try and start businesses. Nobody gave me shit, except for my parents providing me a home and my dad not allowing me to quit a damn thing as i was growing up. If I can do it, anybody can. Most people are just too scared to try. I havent had a guaranteed salary or benefits in 30 years. So, when people want free shit with no effort and tell me I'm the problem and priveleged, I usually skip the topic.
2) If you truly believe this, you should start a seminar. 3) A lot of it is right time, right place. And by "time," I mean right decade. Who knows, I may yet find myself in the right time and place. There are also softer factors that put me in the position I am in and others who are absolutely just as qualified in another making less than I do. A market is only as fair as the information of all components of it are perfect. No one has perfect knowledge.
Would you say there was serious risk of you failing for any number of reasons? If so, what would have happened to you if you did? Had you taken the risks and things didn't pan out, and you are massively in debt with no retirement, no savings, etc etc... what happens? Folks want to talk about the risk being what earned the reward, but nobody wants to quantify or talk about what "risk" is and what that means for the majority of people who walk that path. Where they are.
Has nothing to do with this conversation but I will play. The number of people willing to do what it takes to be the CEO is far fewer than the number of people who will do what it takes to be the secretary. Therefore the secretary will make less money. This is true weather he/she works for company ABC, XYZ, 123, or ACME.
Take a look at the backgrounds of most wealthy. I suspect that you find most failed multiple times before succeeding. Life is not linear. There are peaks and valleys for everyone along the way.
Yes major risk. Ive failed plenty. If I failed again, we go to family envelopes, eat noodles and I will figure it out before ir gets dire. Its not for everyone. It takes some guts and a little stupidity at times, thats for you tenny, to risk it all. But its on me and I trust myself. Truly, as JG and others will attest, with a good family surrounding you, you figure it out. There really isnt another option.
I’m basically a silent partner since I have another job to worry about. There’s three of us in the franchise group. 19 Sonics and 8 Dairy Queen’s. Probably going to add a lot more Dairy Queen’s in the next 2-3 years.
What about in the lives of the not wealthy? Is there real risk, or is there not? That's the crux of this "everybody can be a millionaire" farce. Where in the classifieds are they advertising for the CEO spot that no one will fill? Do you really believe this nonsense, or is it just some sort of argumentative device?
There are about 320 million Americans. For each to have 1 million dollars, it would require 320 trillion dollars. There is an estimated 80 trillion dollars worth of liquid currency in the world. I don't see how one can truly believe it is possible for everyone to be a millionaire, in the current sense of what 1 million dollars is valued at. It truly just isn't possible. If it is to mean, "anyone, but not everyone," then we are at the "buy a lottery ticket," but with admittedly better odds, level of "anyone."
You think you have to be a CEO to become a millionaire? I think you'd be surprised how many average joes there are out there that have amassed over a million working unremarkable jobs.
No. I was responding to what Voldad said. I do not think nor have I even remotely, ever, at all, insinuated, suggested, or hinted that I thought anyone has to be a CEO to become a millionaire. That is a bullshit reply. Replying to:
I said it was with better odds. It's right there. In what you quoted, it says "but with admittedly better odds." I did not boil it down to lottery ticket odds. I compared saying "anyone can do it" to the same argument of, "anyone can win."
There is essentially nothing you can do to appreciably improve your odds of winning the lottery. There's about a zillion ways you can change your lot in life and make a good living. Not everyone will succeed to level of millionaire and not everyone should. That certainly isn't necessary to enjoy a very comfortable life. At any rate, there are pretty predictable ways to save and invest to get to 1 million if you've got the time and that's really your aim. I know a couple that started off as a gas station attendant and a bank teller that got there. Took them decades, but they did it.
"Change your lot and make a good living" is worlds apart from saying everyone can be a millionaire. I can agree that it is possible for most Americans to live a very comfortable life, but there are some things beyond their control that can prevent that.
1) They were not always wealthy. They failed and failed and failed again until they didn't. 2) Your question identifies the problem. People expect to look into the paper and find the job advertisement for the CEO. They could just apply without putting forth the years and work and Boom; instant wealth. I really feel sorry for your cynicism. It must feel like an anchor around your neck.