Add it to the list of bullshit we've been sold as a society, but building a career is not what anyone should be focusing on, especially right now. If you are an employee, you are a cog in the wheel. I'm sure you've heard that phrase before, but let's really read into it now in a way that will inevitably make you uncomfortable. "A cog in the wheel" is defined by someone or something that is functionally necessary, but of small significance or importance within a larger operation or organization. It's often been said in terms of the importance of the family versus job conversation, that a parent is of most value in the home because that is where they are truly irreplaceable, as opposed to the workplace - where no matter what you did or how important you think your contributions are, you would simply be replaced in a matter of days or weeks, and the life of the business would go on with little to no real disruption. Does this hard truth suck for most of you reading this? Of course it does. Worse, even if you get it and agree, you feel trapped. Trapped in your job which pays your bills and perhaps keeps a roof over your kids' heads. Trapped in your relationship that can't improve because it doesn't get the attention it requires to grow and evolve, because of how demanding the rest of your life has become. Trapped not being able to have the free time to find a suitable mate at all. Trapped in a living situation that is less than ideal because it's all you can currently afford. Hey - maybe even trapped in your life at large because you are now entrenched in a self-imposed system of operations so deeply that you're not sure you'll ever be able to truly smell the roses and find genuine and meaningful enjoyment out of life until the dust finally settles (hopefully) during your retirement years.
So WTF are you supposed to do?
I chose the harder, longer, road less traveled and started my own business at 22 years old, and that's honestly why I am not in this same rut today. I am, of course, not exempt or immune from many of the same struggles and circumstances as anyone else, but I have something many people do not have, and that's freedom.
How do you find this in your life if you've chosen a different path?
You do so by breaking the cycle in a careful and calculated way - that's how. And it all starts with getting off the hamster wheel and removing yourself from the monotonous, drone rat-race that has become most people's present lives.
It is imperative that you make the choice to build assets over careers, because assets build freedom.
Read that again if you need to. Maybe even a third time. If you truly want to build a life you love every single day, with autonomous control over your time, then all of your efforts from this point forward must work toward this single goal. Working a job for someone else and "climbing the ladder" has never had less ROI than it does right now. Inflation has sky-rocketed, interest rates are out of control, and families surviving (let alone thriving) on a single income has never been more of a fantasy than it is today. New mothers are being forced back to work before they're ready, and strangers are largely raising an entire generation of children, almost exclusively out of financial necessity - even though daycare costs are out of control. Adults are still paying back mountains of debt incurred from predatory colleges and loan companies, and the cost of living is off the charts. I've never seen more peers dead behind the eyes, and longing for an escape from it all, with barely enough gas left in the tank to play with their kids or grab a bite with a friend at the end of the week. It wasn't supposed to be this way and it doesn't have to.
Decide what it is that you're good at. Don't think about school, necessarily. What can you do exceptionally well? Think of how you can build an asset using that skill. There are a number of directions you can go with this, and endless ways to build upon it, one block at a time. Whether that means you start a "side hustle" (idea for parents: rent your old baby gear out with a company like BabyQuip in your spare time to earn product rental income, or for anybody with a car, rent your vehicle out with a company like Turo and scale at whatever pace you want), save up toward the purchase of something (could be equipment for content creation, gardening supplies to sell homegrown produce at farmer's markets, or investment in a commercial kitchen or office to start a small business out of), or partner up with like-minded family or friends to take on something of more magnitude (think going in on an investment property together), the best bet you can make right now is on yourself.
Do not be afraid to evolve or make a change in your life to secure a future of freedom. Freedom to raise your kids. Freedom to have a family. Freedom to move somewhere where your quality of life will be better. Freedom to wake up once you're rested. Freedom to do the things you want, when you want, every single day. Don't wait until your sunset years to realize how you should've been living all along.
Get focused. Be inspired. Work hard. And do what needs to be done, starting now.