Break the Cycle of Financial Bondage

April 1, 2008

Earlier, I placed some blame for our (and your) financial problems, but I also mentioned one important thing at the end of the article: Break out of that cycle of debt by learning the proper way to budget and research, and then growing your knowledge with continual education.

Some people think that since they grew up poor (or even middle-class) that they’re destined to be poor or in debt. They don’t think they can get ahead or better their situation. They can only see what their parents or their friends have done with their lives and think that’s all they can do as well.

I’m not the first person in my family to get a college degree, but I might be the first to get a graduate degree. In Stacie’s family, neither of her parents have college educations, and Stacie is the first with a masters (her sister beat her to the undergrad). But neither of us just accepted our place in life to be a truck driver, carpenter or office clerk. In fact, our parents promoted our efforts to get higher education and more stable work. They wanted more for us than they had, and so far their dream is coming true.

Not all parents are so supportive though. I have many friends whose parents were fearful or envious of their children wanting social or financial advancement. Some parents fear that their kids will earn enough to move out and never want to come back. Then the parents are stuck at home with no help as they age (maybe because they weren’t so wise with their own finances), among other reasons. But if you’re one of those kids whose parents won’t/wouldn’t help them to succeed, you need to rely on yourself to break the cycle of your circumstances!

There’s no such thing as being fated into a life of poverty, financial servitude or limited means. You can achieve great things no matter how you were born or raised. Do you know how many singers, models and actors were homeless either in childhood or adulthood and still made it big? Don’t think your story is any different than some of theirs because then you start making excuses. Don’t blame others for your station in life, because you have all the tools at your disposal to succeed.

Getting on the Road to Success

If you want to succeed financially or socially, all you need to start is a network. You need to talk to others to learn. If you want to start a business, you have to ask the right questions of the right people. If you want to go to college, you need to work with your school’s advisers to figure out what you need to round out your education and background. Once you’re in the working environment, continually expand your network so you can gain even more knowledge and open up more opportunities.

Honestly, I often think that the people that succeed often do so through the people they know than by pure “technical” knowledge. Seriously, do you know how many decades it’s been since Bill Gates wrote a line of code? I’ve worked with seemingly incompetent people in fairly high positions and can only assume they got there by knowing the right person.

However, I don’t want to discount the technical knowledge half. You can’t really run a successful trucking company without ever driving a rig or at least riding along in one. You need to understand how your product or service works if you’re going to market yourself as knowledgeable or proficient in it. But, to move upwards in your company or branch out and create your own, you need to start talking to the right people, both managers and prospective clients. You can be a genius but no one will know it unless you interact with them.

So get out of your rut and realize that you’re not destined to scrub toilets in a motel for the rest of your life. Sure, someone has to do it, but think of that job as a stepping stone to something greater. Perhaps you can use your experience to launch a maid service, or perhaps invent a scrubless toilet!

You really do have all the resources you need right in front of you, but all it takes is a voice to ask for it.