Dog Pile

So, I was thinking the other day, what's the difference in wasting my money on a "Get Rich Now" scam or the promise of a middle class life after education? I'll tell you, the first one is less expensive.

Obviously, both have their success stories, or they wouldn't have any substantial claim. But, when it comes down to it all you are doing is picking a dog pile to invest your time and money into, with the hopes that if you can just get the football (success) you'll be happy and content.

Is the "football" what we are really after? In the "Get Rich Now" scenario, there is a chance for anything from total lose to mediocre gain to absolute success. Many of these in the past have been based on buying and selling real-estate, so let's run with that. There was a giant heap of people (or dog pile) trying their hand at real-estate during it's peak. The competition was high, and the rewards were even higher for those who made it to the football.

Now let's look at the standard college education. I'm a Mechanical Engineering Major, so I'll go with that. Getting an engineering degree is not as easy as reading a 90 page book on buying and selling property, the investment is higher, and the reward is lower. It should be clear that the competition will not be as great in this scenario.

I've watched countless people sell themselves to the slavery that if they work hard enough they will eventually make it to the bottom of the dog pile and find their success. And, so, they work countless hours for little or no advancement, and that is what's expected of them.

But, how great is it to really make it to the bottom of the of the dog pile? Think about it. You now have the weight of everyone else on top of you with your back exposed. You've gotten your success, but you can't do anything with it down there; you can't even move. Not to mention you now have a giant target on your back, and everyone has easy access to it. A man can only survive so long with that sort of punishment.

When I was in ROTC we played rugby once after class. It quickly turned into a game where the pile would just inch one way or the other toward the end zone much like an evenly matched game of tug-of-war. It became apparent to me that if I just waited outside of the dog pile the ball would inevitable pop out in the ensuing struggle, at which point I would pick it up and score.

Similarly, I feel like everyone feels that the only way to get the ball is to be king of the pile. I'd just like to wait outside and see if I can't pick up the ball when it pops out. People always talk about never having their "lucky break," but the problem is that they never wait for it.

Live freely, even if you must live modestly you are still living richer than those fools piling on each other. None of them can enjoy what ever they have managed to grab from the pile, because they always have someone else's knee in their back.

Earlier I questioned if anyone knew what they were really after at the bottom of the dog pile. The answer is the means to be free. It's not the money, the power, or authority, but it's the illusion that with all of those they will finally be able to control their environment. (I'll talk about that more in another blog.)

"In the long run men hit only what they aim at" - Henry David Thoreau