What dreams may come

The average life expectancy for a person in the United States is 28,562 days. Considering the average person reading this column is roughly 7,300 days into his or her life, this is a relevant statistic. \nBefore you go into panic and breakdown, it is important to know another fact. Over the years, scientists have tried to calculate the odds of a specific person being born. It has been reported that the number could be as low as one in 4 million. What does that mean? It means we are very lucky people to even be alive. Our entire lives are essentially extra credit. It’s time to take some risk with this bonus.\nOur society places a high premium on safe behavior and following a safe track in life. This strategy might work well in terms of diversifying your portfolio, but in terms of living a life, it is a poor choice. By taking this safe strategy, you are guaranteeing yourself mediocrity. It is as if you have already bowed out of the game.\nWhen I talk to people in corporate America, they have a very bland, neutral look on their face. Oftentimes, I question whether they are even alive, or living for that matter. What is sad is that these people aren’t 50 or 60 years old. The fact is that some of these individuals are 25, 30 or 35. When did their dreams die and how did it happen?\nThese individuals are not irrational or conformists by choice. The reality is that, like you and me, these individuals are at the mercy of societal pressures. Parents often expect their children to become packaged, successful people: doctors, lawyers, bankers, etc. This happens in part because they want what is best for their kids, but also because they are at the mercy of societal pressure from their own parents and friends. Often these parents are in their careers for the same exact reasons. This pressure creates a perpetual cycle of conformity. It is time for us to break this cycle.\nThe issue is not what career choice you make, but whether you make true and authentic choices in your life. What happens if you want a career that doesn’t have a track? Well, the odds are stacked strongly against you. You have about the same odds I did, a person who came from a non-entrepreneurial, lower-middle class, English-as-a-second-language refugee family. But like me, you can reach the ranks of people that have overcome these hurdles.\nAt the end of the day, you need to ask yourself who you live your life for. I respect my family, but my life is mine and mine alone. I can do with it as I wish. I often take big risks both in my professional and personal life. People criticize my behavior as high risk; however, this same behavior has brought me all of my success. I have gone toe to toe with society, and I have kicked the crap out of it many times.\nEvery individual must weigh the pros and cons of being a maverick. Whether it is in business or any profession, it takes a unique person to challenge the status quo. Most who try will fail. Those who succeed will earn the ultimate prize: personal satisfaction. Fail or succeed, both groups will forever have my respect.\nThe idea that no one lives out their dreams is perpetuated by conformists who could never achieve their own. It is indeed false. I have held tightly to my dream for many years amidst constant criticism and being patronized. My sister used to ask me why I didn’t get a real job like “normal” people. Older and “more intelligent” people told me my dreams were unrealistic. Well, times have really changed.\nWork all day and night, always keep your head up and stick your middle fingers high in the air, and those dreams will surely come true.