Before looking at the second part of my question, I thought I'd check out the phrase "the rat race" Google and when I did I found the following definitions:
* "A rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. It conjures up the image of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape whilst running around a maze or in a wheel."
* "A mad scramble or intense competitive struggle, such as in the business world."
* "An exhausting routine that leaves no time for relaxation."
For me the first definition is the best; the rat race is an "endless, self defeating pursuit," like a rat in a wheel. This definition of "the rat race" pretty succinctly describes what having an ordinary job while trying to gain some financial freedom is all about - running like crazy and "getting nowhere fast."
As an employee you will be paid a monthly salary and in most cases the amount you are paid is set by the employer and not by you. It is a simple trade: you sell your time on a daily basis in return for money so as to obtain life's necessities and, if you are lucky, a few of the luxuries as well. If you want to increase your income, "all" you have to do is increase the number of hours you work.
The fact is that if you increase you working hours then you tend to have less free time for yourself and your family because following an exhausting routine that leaves no time for relaxation. Over the long term it is just not a sustainable nor an effective strategy. It leads to burnout, or a fate worse than burnout; anybody who has lived in Japan for any length of time, as I have, will be familiar with the Japanese word "Karoshi," which translates as "death from overwork."
Ouch!
Another way to increase your income in the job market could be to improve your productivity within your regular working hours. In other words you could seek to become more efficient, learn new skills and improve your ability to do your job, in short, to do more work in less time. But while such a strategy may secure a salary raise, what also tends to happen is that you will land yourself more work, additional responsibilities, or both.
You may indeed be promoted, and get an increase in salary, but then the process begins again and you may wonder whether you have really made progress or simply jumped inside a bigger wheel? Because your boss considers you to be an effective and reliable employee she might expect you to work longer and harder than ever, which is good from the point of view of earning some extra cash (unless your overtime is "voluntary work" as it often is in Japan); however, working harder and longer is far from good for your health, family and free time activities...
Actually, in my experience of corporate life here in Japan, where I have often had an opportunity to glimpse behind the corporate facade in my erstwhile capacity as a freelance English instructor, longer hours and higher productivity don't tend to go together... What happens is that many employees tend to work "long and slow" - going through the motions of work to keep up appearances, but freewheeling as much as possible to get through yet another long, tedious day...
So what is the answer I hear you ask? Well in my experience, the answer has to be that you take control of your future by breaking out of the rat race and getting off the wheel. Step one and step two on the road to financial freedom are: 1. make a serious plan to get out of the rat race, and 2. put step one into action.
It may seem difficult, but it is not impossible if you seek to leverage your time so as to create income streams that are not limited by your employer or by the amount of time available to you in a single day.
The best way to learn how to do this is to immediately begin recreating yourself in the image of those people who have successfully achieved this very step and gone on to create true wealth for themselves and their families in every area of their lives.
The phrase we use to describe such people is "success mentors.They are men and women of character who have experienced difficulties similar to, or most likely worse than, your own and who have prevailed and are now happy and eager to show you how you too can achieve success on your own terms.
Any mentor worth his or her salt will tell you,
"if I can do it, so can you,"
and then give you the proof that will serve to feed your self-belief and build up your self-confidence so that you too can set out on the path to realize your dreams.
The reason is that the best mentors are "they that have come through much tribulation." Their testimony is that they have been tested and not found wanting. The tests they have undergone to achieve their successes are unique to each of them and give each of them a powerful facility to inspire.
Moreover, every one who is a mentor today was once mentored; truly, if you want to succeed you must find a mentor.
Do not underestimate the power of being mentored. My favourite example of outstanding success through excellent mentoring is Tiger Woods.
Success mentoring is therefore the most powerful single process to help and encourage or empower someone who has a dream, or who at least is seeking an alternative to the rat race, to get off the wheel of "just getting by" and begin to live life at an entirely higher level.
So if you haven't got at least one success mentor, go and find one today as you take your first steps off the never-ending wheel that is the rat race.
Rat Race Board Game
Who does not want to be wealthy? The pursuit of wealth is a passion that drives many people. This is why many people in the corporate world burn themselves out as they run the rat race and climb the corporate ladder. This is why people with the most mediocre of talents would endure embarrassment just to make it big in show business. This is why people gamble at casinos or buy lottery tickets. These are the conventional paths that people take in order to strike at wealth.
There is no shortcut to being wealthy - or so the sages say. If you want to be wealthy, you have to work hard. But what if we prove the sages wrong and say that there is a shortcut to attaining riches? There is a proven way of earning money in such a way that you get to do the work only once. After you have done the work, all you need to do is to sit back and watch your earnings grow exponentially.
If you want to find out how this shortcut works, then you have to enroll in a wealth creation academy.
Why Enroll in a Wealth Creation Academy?
Why should you enroll in a wealth creation academy like 21st Century Academy? Conventional wisdom teaches us that right after we graduate from school, we have to strive to get a good job that pays really well. Once we scored this job, we have to work hard to keep this job and to get promoted to a higher level until we reach the top level on the corporate ladder. After we retire from the careers we have built for ourselves, we can enjoy the fruits of our labor.
But why wait until we are 65 years old to enjoy life when we can do it much, much earlier? Life is a journey that must be done slowly and leisurely, or else we will miss out on the beautiful moments we could have savored along the way. Do we have to wait until we are 65 years old to be able to travel the world? Do we have to wait until retirement to be able to bask in the warmth of our families, to read the books that we want to read when we want to read them, to live our lives the way we had always wanted but could not because we are so busy with our jobs?
Life does not have to be the rat race. When you enroll in the 21st Century Academy, you will find out the ways you can stop running the rat race and stroll along the path of life without having to worry about money.
Learn to Create Passive Income at a Wealth Creation Academy
There are many things you will learn when you get into the 21st Century Academy, but the key idea is that you can be wealthy now and live the life you think you are supposed to live by developing passive income. Passive income is the fruit of work you will only do once and then enjoy for the rest of your life.
Both David Hurley & Steven Miller are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
David Hurley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Business Loans, Email Advertising and Internet Marketing. David Hurley is an Internet marketer who is based in Japan and is the owner of grasp-the-nettle.com, which focuses on. David Hurley's top article generates over 27100 views. Bookmark David Hurley to your Favourites.
Steven Miller has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Finances and Depression Cure. Steven Miller is passionate about learning wealth creation strategies and fin. Steven Miller's top article generates over 18100 views. Bookmark Steven Miller to your Favourites.
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