Living the American Dream

Reaching The American Dream

Many yearn to reach the American Dream. The Dream that includes different types of higher education, near limitless economic opportunities, home ownership, and countless consumer choices. Some would even add freedom of religion to that list. Of course not everyone who tries to reach even some of those goals makes it.

The American Dream is not all that elusive nor is it selective in any way. The path to achieve it is not an exact one, though. It seems to be a mix of toil, tears, and hardship to be sure. But, it’s also a path that has rewards scattered throughout it. Each new reward more treasured than the last one. Hope in a brighter future spurs each one of us on to reach our own personal American Dream.

In an odd mix of both planned and unplanned events, many of my older relatives did achieve their American Dream. Their “un plans” included plenty of hardship and sacrifice. But, because most of them were “self-starters,” they rose from their negative situations. They made wise choices, for the most part. They believed that God is in control. And they never ceased at making their tomorrows better than their yesterdays. They made their days count instead of counting their days.

Changing Life’s Direction

My parents reached their goals by being “self-starters.” They realized where and when they needed to change direction so that they could achieve their goals. They didn’t wait for perfect timing either. They overcame great obstacles in moving our family of seven. But, they did what they had to do so they would have better job opportunities. My dad has always been an “out of the box” thinker. In the spring of 1964 he changed our family routine forever. He had convinced Mom that she could operate a souvenir shop on the Reservation as good as anyone else could. Mom decided to give dad’s idea a try. So she quit her plant job and we moved about fifty miles west to the Cherokee Indian Reservation. It took a few years to put all their ideas together. But from that start in the souvenir retail business dad developed an idea that made him and my mom millionaires. Of course, in the beginning neither of my parents knew that much about selling souvenirs. Up until that time they had busied themselves with regular jobs and raising their five children.

What changed things for them was that they realized the harder they worked nothing changed for them. They knew they had to change their career ideas if they were to ever financially succeed. And that's exactly what they did.