What is YOUR American Dream?
Notice I said YOUR, not THE.
What do you want your dream life to be?
I grew up in a world that said THE American Dream was to get good grades in school so I could get into a good college so I could get good grades again so I could get a good job, and then I would be happy.
I heard this message from my parents, from my educators, from people who achieved success in life.
A person who pursues an education gives themselves a leg up in life.
As high as the price of an education is, the price of not receiving an education is much higher.
So we have this path to THE American Dream, but we often hear of people who are unsatisfied with their jobs.
If you are unhappy in your job, the biggest reason why you are unhappy in your job is that you are pursuing THE American Dream instead of pursuing YOUR American Dream.
So ask yourself a question now, if I could do anything for a job, what would I do?
I know this is a big question.
If you don’t know the answer to this question, then you will never be fulling your American Dream.
Think back to what made American the great melting pot of the world.
People left their homelands to travel thousands of miles to start their lives over in the strange land of America.
They had a dream that pushed them through the roadblocks, indignities, trials, and struggles that come with any pioneer that seeks a better life.
What is the dream of most parents?
They want their children to have a better life than they had.
My mother was a single mother who worked multiple jobs, and yet she still had to swallow her pride to go on welfare so her four children wouldn’t starve.
I’ve thrown everything out there to build a business so my children wouldn’t have to experience the indignities of poverty that I carried on my shoulders for so many years.
Now I have a question that keeps me up at night.
In my effort to provide a better life for my children, am I robbing them of the one ingredient that pushed me to build a better life?
Waking up at 2 am in the morning with my mother and sister to throw newspapers to earn money to help pay for our bills.
There was a pain in the struggle of my teenage years that became a crucible for my life.
I made a solemn vow to myself.
Never again would I allow myself to suffer the indignities of poverty.
I would do whatever it took to make my life a success.
That pain of my youth still drives me today.
And here I am with this beautiful gift of pain that I earned during that crucible of my life.
That pain drives me to become more and to grasp each day with vigor.
Am I robbing my children by making it too easy for them?
I’ve always believed I had a sacred duty to prepare my children for life.
My success as a parent will be determined by the lives my children build for themselves.
Last October, I spoke with my wife and realized I was shirking my responsibility.
I was not giving my children the keys to success in life that I struggled for decades to earn.
I’ve made two critical decisions in my life that have given me abundance.
The first critical decision I made was to ask a young lady named Angel to be my wife.
The love, support, and devotion she pours into my life is a wellspring of joy that brings tears to my eyes.
The second critical decision I made was to become a business owner.
I was 21 when I started my first business. I struggled for three years building that business and lost over $20,000 in that business venture.
The pain of that failure rocked my world.
As painful as that journey had been, my soul was opened to a new world.
I knew in my heart that I had to be a successful business owner.
I knew that if I put on the robes of an employee in someone else’s business, I would live the life of an imposter.
I knew that I needed the freedom, wealth, abundance, and fulfillment that was only achievable by building a successful, profitable business.
During my failed business, I filled my lungs with the breath of entrepreneurship.
As difficult and painful as my first business venture was, I become intoxicated with the life of a business owner.
When I left the world of entrepreneurship, I lived a life of quiet desperation suffocating for lack of air.
So here I am more than two decades into my journey of entrepreneurship, and I almost missed the boat.
My two oldest daughters are teenagers now.
Norah is 14, and Claire is 13.
In a few short years, they will be spreading their wings and beginning a new journey.
I realized last October that I was negligent on teaching my children the most important skill they need to build happy lives.
I was not teaching them to build a business.
I’ve given my blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, and life to earn the freedom that comes with business ownership.
I’ve learned from people who have had spectacular business success.
I’ve learned from people who have lost everything in their business failures.
I recognized that I had a divine duty to impart my knowledge of business to my children.
It wouldn’t be enough for me to help my clients with their businesses.
If I failed to instruct my children in the path of entrepreneurship, no success in life would compensate for this failure.
In October 2019, I formally accepted the mantle of my responsibility to pass the most important skill to my children.
Once my children have developed the skill of building a successful business, they will have the critical skill that will give them an abundant life.
One last thing before I end this article if you’re looking to grow your business profits and having more cash in the bank, send me an email at damon@idealmoneylife.com with “PROFIT” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
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