The American dream is not dead.

I recently watched a documentary that has been on my list for a while. It’s called Minimalism. Its directed by Matt D’Avella, a well known youtuber and film maker. I have watched Matt’s stuff for a while now, and he is a very interesting guy. I encourage anyone reading this to check him out and the documentary. He has a lot of great stuff on his channel and the documentary has a lot of great stuff in it and I will only be talking about a brief part of the film.

I have always believed that when people say the American dream is dead, they are full of crap. I have never found a good way of putting into words how I feel. I have recently been trying to find a path for my life to follow, so I have had the whole idea of the American dream on my mind for a while now. In the film one of the people interviewed mentioned that the American dream of being wealthy and having a mansion and fancy cars is only one template for the American dream.

This was huge for me. I even had to pause the film to let that sink in.

The American dream has morphed over the years into being one of fame and fortune. When the American dream was first born it was only one of opportunity. This dream is still alive.

Myself and probably anyone reading this will never be famous, or be able to have 5 fancy cars in the garage of their second mansion. This was never meant to be the dream. The dream of being able to find a good job, and be able to support yourself, have good food, and a roof over your head is still alive. It only takes a WiFi connection and a computer to start an online business. Many people without even a car, have a cell phone that could do this. A cellphone that has a camera good enough for making YouTube videos, or starting a photography Instagram.

I also understand that Instagram, and YouTube are very difficult to break into, but the potions are there. The point I am making is that there are a million different ways to make a living off the internet alone, no to mention all of the decent 9 to 5 jobs out there.

People everyday are starting online businesses that will make them good money. The problem is not with opportunity, the problem is with distractions from social media and advertising. People don’t ask themselves what they can afford when buying a car or a TV, they ask how much of a payment can they afford.

You can’t become rich by taking on more and more monthly payments to try and live a life that appears rich. You will become rich by living within your means and working hard towards things you believe in. Being rich does not mean having your own jet, or boat. Rich should be having a reliable car, a reasonable sized house, and money left over to put into savings.

Some people reading this will have already achieved what I mentioned above, but will still be the ones saying the American dream is dead. While I don’t think minimalism is the fix all that some portray it as, I think it is something e should all adopt in some capacity.

This post is getting long enough so I will finish off with this, happiness comes from within, and the American dream is about reaching a level of wealth and stability we can be happy at. So, set your goal, set your reasonable American dream, and when you reach it realize you are there, and be happy.

Images:
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