I came across this photo the other day. I must admit that I 100% agree with this persons take on the whole “Occupy Wall Street” movement. I know this is something people are very passionate about and of course, on the surface, what it looks like is a very noble cause. The problem is simple, however; this isn’t and never has been about greed.  It has always been about one simple issue: Entitlement

Entitlement, honestly, I think is the biggest disease/threat this country faces. It’s the reason behind the situation we find ourselves in as individuals, and largely as a country.

It’s quite simple really. We’ve ALL made a mess of things. We all took out loans on homes we couldn’t afford. We all opted for credit cards with 20k limits when 5k would have been enough. We bought into this notion that we “deserve” whatever we want. That we don’t have to be patient for good things.  

Am I saying that they’re aren’t any crooks out there? Absolutely not. There are definitely some people out there who are doing things criminally with their businesses and they should be held legally responsible. Are they the reason for this chaos, however? Sure, but only partially. They merely offered us the opportunity to dance, and we took their hand. We didn’t have to over-extend ourselves the way we did.

Now before you start whining and saying, “well I didn’t know” or “they made me do it”- that’s a lie. No one forced you to take out that loan you couldn’t afford. Just because your friend moved into a bigger house didn’t mean you had to as well (the old “friend jumping off of a bridge” routine). Of course, bad things happen. We take a risk, we start a business, we try something new and it fails. leaving us in a hard place. The solution is not to point fingers at what let you down because, in all honesty, it was you. You tried to maintain a life that was never sustainable. Instead of being content with small things, you had to get bigger and better. We are all guilty of this…

I find it sickening that we love it when America is a fat cow providing for everyone, but as soon as the milk runs out, we want to kill the cow.  

I wonder if the people who put so much time into organizing a “It’s not fair movement” could use that time spent sitting in a park to be out busting their hump to find a new job or even create one! I know that maybe you “dream job” doesn’t exist but then again any dream takes time to get to. Again, your entitlement keeps you broke. Occupy Wall Street is nothing more than a little brother who complains his big brother got more ice cream.

I live in NYC and I see job opportunities all the time. I myself just got let go from a job and it was totally unjustified. What did I do? I went out and found a new one! This one is awesome and it pays MORE MONEY! Who would have guessed? I went to a college that was expensive, but created A BUDGET to pay off my few loans. I TOOK OWNERSHIP…

I apologize if this seems harsh. It is definitely a rant. We have to admit that the enemy isn’t in some big Wall Street person- it’s right inside you and me. It’s the thing inside of us that’s fallen and broken that says, “I can have that! I deserve it!” We don’t like being told “no” that we “can’t have it now” and now we are paying for it. 

I’M NOT THE 99%

I refuse to be the 99% that points fingers. I refuse to be the 99% that points at problems without offering solutions. I refuse to be the 99% that is afraid of a hard days’ work. What’s funny about the 99% is that we’re looking at it from the wrong angle. It has nothing to do with greed and being poor; it does have everything to do with entitlement. 99% of us think we deserve it all, that we shouldn’t be held accountable for our mistakes. We think our president should fix them, or whoever else. The real 99% blames everyone but themselves.

I’M THE 1%

I think it’s more important to be the 1% who owns their mistakes. Who know real freedom comes in being able to say and hear “no” as form of freedom; instead seeing freedom as “Well, I can do what I want!” To be an adult that knows that living beyond my means is unhealthy. That just because I’m in NYC doesn’t mean I need to run the rat race like everyone else. This is a small call to action, the action of doing the heart-journey of self. Will you be apart of the 1% ??

Grace and Peace,

Chad

P.S. That photo is not of me, although I wish I had thought of this. Whoever you are, thanks for inspiring something truly tangible. Something that really could change the direction of America.