Everyone falls in love with an idea. The idea of being fit. The idea of having a loving and joy filled marriage. The idea of raising responsible and capitalistic children. The idea of having an abundant financial life. But only 10% of America will pay the price for those things.
90% of America wants to play it safe…to play in the middle. They prefer the Walmart box of pre-cooked food rather than fresh food. They prefer the $59 set of workout videos rather than the $3,000 fitness coach. Of course, they prefer these things even while they routinely go out and drop $100 on a bar tab with their friends…
I’m a Capitalist. 100% through and through. The market dictates the value of anything if you are in an actual free market. The fresh food is only worth the money if people will pay it. Same with the trainer. Same with anything. That’s not my problem. My problem and the reason that 90% of America is lost is that we now see clearly what the market has been screaming: American’s aren’t looking for quality as much as they are looking for cheap and easy.
So What?
So, big deal. If the market wants videos and online fitness courses instead of personal coaching then that’s what we should give them! If they want Walmart cookies instead of gourmet cookies, then give the people what they want! If they want robo advisors instead of financial advisors, if they want counseling apps instead of family therapists, if they want boxed food services instead of learning to cook THEN JUST GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT!
Fine. But where does that get us as a whole? Here are some sobering statistics for you:
According to a 2012 study by Runners World, one half of 1% of the U.S. population has run a marathon.
One third (36.5%) of U.S. adults are obese. [Read CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data brief
Somewhere between 1/3 and ½ of all 1st marriages end in divorce. (CDC National Statistics Health Report Number 49, March 22, 2012)
Americans owe over $779 Billion on credit cards, $1.16 TRILLION on car loans, and $1.31 TRILLION on student loans. (Q4 2016 Federal Reserve)
69% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and only 26% of Americans have more than $1,000 in savings. (2017 The Living Balance Sheet, Guardian Life Insurance Company)
40% of young adults are living with their parents, a 75 YEAR HIGH. (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/percentage-of-young-americans-living-with-their-parents-is-40-percent-a-75-year-high/)
I only stopped at 6 because I was getting nauseous. I’m getting sick because the bad behavior of the masses of Americans isn’t compartmentalized! Bad behavior of the majority affects us all. You can’t compartmentalize bad behavior forever. Eventually the statistics above affect everyone. The fall of society in the areas of finance, family, health, etc. do, in fact, impact me and my family in the form of higher taxes, more crime, higher health insurance premiums and so forth. It’s one of the reasons why I can’t just bury my head in the sand and say. “oh well”.
90% of Americans, of your friends, of your neighbors, of your co-workers just don’t care enough to do anything about the stats. They really don’t. At no other point in history has it been easier for people to live comfortably through little of their own effort. THINK ABOUT THAT. It’s 100% accurate. So that leaves the 10% crowd. Those who are willing to pay the price. What is the price? It comes in several forms, here are a few:
The price tag of a personal fitness coach.
The price tag of a nutrition coach.
The price tag of a financial coach.
The price tag of a relationship coach.
The price tag of fresh, real food.
The price tag of physical training equipment.
The price tag of high personal savings rates.
The price tag of sweaty and sore muscles.
The price tag of getting out of bed at 4:30am
These are just a few, but notice I’m not using the word “cost”, but rather, price tag. A cost is something that infers a loss. A price tag is just the accounting function. I’d gladly pay the price of $100,000 on a piece of machinery that will generate $500,000 in revenue. The price tag is $100k, but there is NO COST.
Everyone wants the “Instagram picture life”. They want the result. They want the fortune, the vacations, the body, the marriage…but those things must be PAID FOR.
“I’m in…wait…it costs $3,000??? I’m out”. Don’t let that be you anymore. Not if you want to be in the 10% or the 1% of Americans. You should search for the difficult. For the high price tag. For the “hard”. Start there. START THERE. Stop looking for it where 90% of Americans look for it. Because if you continue to do so you will end up in the statistics of failure. And if you end up there, where do your children end up? And their children? And our country??
Legacy
Legacy starts with YOU. You, right now must determine that you will be unselfish. That you will put in the work, the effort, the money and the time to build a life worth passing to your heirs. And I’m not only referring to financial, in fact, I’m least of all referring to the financial. I’m referring to the behavior. If you really want to leave a legacy, leave a behavioral legacy that your children can pass down to their children. When did America lose its way? I’m not sure. I don’t even care. I’m only interested in where we go from here.