I'm talking about the American Dream.
And I'm so upset about what it isn't that I just had to write about it. Not just what the American Dream is. But how to achieve it. What you have to do. Can it fall into your lap? I don't think so. Let me tell you why.
Bear with me a little bit. I'm in the international trade information business. I export my products and show newcomers to the global marketplace how to get started. And, yes, this does have something to do with international trade but it's bigger than that. It's about life. It's about the way you choose to live your life. And if you're not an American -- and many of my subscribers are not -- it applies equally well to you. But let me tell you what first ticked me off.
A couple of years back, a state lottery jackpot was approaching a quarter of a billion dollars as the payout. Forget about the fact that your odds of winning are about 10 times less than the chance of being killed by debris falling off an airplane. You have a better chance of being hit by lightning. Of drowning in your bathtub. And would you line up for that? Still, you say, somebody is going to win. Yeah, if you call that winning. Let me explain what I mean.
What snapped my chain was the comment of a guy who waited 4 ½ hours in line (!) to get a lottery ticket. He was asked by a reporter what he was going to do if he won. "I'll have the American Dream," he stated. As though the American Dream is something handed to you on a plate. As though the lottery is something more than the old numbers game that used to run in the seedier parts of town as a successful way of taking away poor peoples' money.
But I digress. This guy didn't realize -- or didn't want to realize -- that he had not a snowball's chance of winning. The point I'm making, however, is win or not, he is a loser. Even if standing in line for 4 ½ hours to get a one-in-a-zillion-chance ticket didn't make him loser enough. No, he's a loser because he doesn't want to achieve. He wants to be given. My friend, that's not the American Dream. That's a loser's lament.
The Inertia of Inaction
I've known rich people and I've known poor people and neither side has a monopoly on being a loser. A loser is someone who thinks fortune and success are owed to him (or her) because of breeding, inherited wealth, past wrongs, good looks, righteous indignation or need. Like a pauper king, they sit on their ragged throne expecting life's bounty to be delivered before them. They cannot and will not do anything. They are suffering from the inertia of inaction.
Okay, let's get back to cases. What's this have to do with you and with international trade? Simply this. Over the years I've sold thousands of export start up guides and books. Naturally, I think the buyers were pretty smart. They made a small investment in information, one of the best investments you can make. I know that if they follow the steps I outline, they will succeed. I'm not just talking about my products. There are lots of great information products out there that do the same thing. They will get you started in a business or franchise. You won't fail if you follow the steps.
I'll go even further. This information can be as valuable to you as a college degree in terms of reward, money, cash, the long green bills. And I've been selling this information for a long time. I've constantly updated, modified and corrected what I write with the idea in mind of giving new international trade entrepreneurs the best possible chance at success. But here's something I know that you may not.
Most of Them Will Never Even Try!
Shocking, isn't it? But it's true. It's the inertia of inaction. The fact is that the trading of products in the international marketplace works if you give it a chance -- if you give yourself a reason why it can work. This is the American Dream: having the confidence, the energy but mostly the will to make your own way. Not to sit in lines for 4 ½ hours hoping to buy a winning ticket for millions you've never earned.
When you complete your first trade, you will have a feeling of freedom, of power, that the lottery winner will never, ever have. Check out the stories of many of the big lottery winners. Years later many are broke or miserable or both (in fairness, some have done great things and set up charitable foundations and the like but do you think the man I quoted earlier is one of them? Nope.)
The truth is that our world is a world of great possibilities. Check out the potential of international trade. Explore the possibilities. Dare to succeed or fail but make the effort. I'm going to write that again so you know how important I think it is. Make the effort. If you find trade is not what you want, fine. Look elsewhere. But resolve to make the effort anyway. Today.
Because you are not a loser. You may not have triumphed yet but you can be successful. And when you are successful, you will know it in the very core of your being. And, my friends, success breeds success. The more successful you are, the more successful you will be. Conversely, the more you think you cannot succeed, the more likely you will fail.
So what if you haven't succeeded yet? The stories of great successes that were plagued by failure are legion. Walt Disney had to go to more than 150 banks before he found one who believed in him enough to loan him money. Elvis Presley was fired after just one show at the Grand Ole Opry and told "you ain't going nowhere, son." Malcolm Forbes who was editor of the wildly successful Forbes Magazine wasn't quite good enough to make the staff of his college newspaper. Heard enough?
Don't wait in line on life's lottery. Get out of line and work at carving your own niche. Don't wait for things to happen. Make things happen. And don't quit. That's the real American Dream.
About the author:
Dennis Hessler is the publisher of The Computer User's Guide to Running Your Own Exporting Company and numerous other books, video tapes, software packages and The International Trade Connection newsletter which is designed to show entrepreneurs new to exporting how to get involved in the booming global market.
Learn more about international trade at his website, http://www.spyglasspoint.com. You can also download a free sample copy of The International Trade Connection at the site. If you have questions about any of his products or international trade in general, e-mail Dennis at Dennis@spyglasspoint.com. Spyglass Point Productions, P.O. Box 13141, Pensacola, FL 32591 U.S.A.
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