"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United StatesI know I touched upon this subject before here, but I'd figure I'd go a bit further. It seems to me that nowadays, everyone is starting to feel privileged without even having anything to back it up or even having a reason to be. It's getting pretty bad. It seems like the attitude is everywhere, especially when I see some posts on Facebook with the words "be jealous" (I talk about the whole bane of Facebook's existence here). From Wall Street to Main Street, privilege is bringing down people instead of propping them up. Here, I'll show you to get over yourself so you can really get the things you want and show what exactly derivatives are (it's not what you think).
First off, let me provide a definition of privilege (courtesy of dictionary.com):
1.a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most: the privileges of the very rich.
2.a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities: the privilege of a senator to speak in Congress without danger of a libel suit.
It's not just me that thinks this. There's actually this book I've found interesting called Generation Me by Jean M. Twenge. To sum it all up, the author illustrates and provides research to how the newer generations are having a sense of privilege that they're taught throughout their lives, and as a result this may actually hurt them in adapting to the many harsh realities of life. Again, it's never been so apparent. When there's services that you can pay for paparazzi to follow you around, and there's people you can hire to be your Facebook girlfriend, I'd say that the false sense of privilege is getting pretty bad. We also know about models and actors, and how they seem to never do any wrong by looking perfect (for some fun, check out celebrities without makeup). Let me tell you, seeing them without makeup is a humbling reminder of what appear to be beautiful on the outside is anything but. It doesn't stop there. How many bad Photoshop jobs does one stumble upon on the Internet?
Nice try!
The really shameful part about people like the one above is that she'd look fine even without the Photoshop. It's just that the fact that they try and be someone "better" that they're not. If she was un-Photoshopped, I'd actually think she'd still be pretty hot. She has a nice face and hair, but unfortunately some people just can't get over their sense of perfection (Rule #12: Nothing is perfect, but that doesn't mean you can't do anything to improve on it). It's not about how good-looking you really are. It's about knowing what you have and making the best of it and showing others why you're an awesome person. Once again, Kate Upton can prove my point very well.
Once again, that confidence in knowing how to strut her stuff makes her irresistible.
Yeah, I know I'm probably into Kate Upton. Can you blame me?
I think the whole point of privilege is to reap the benefits of advantages that you may not normally have. For example, food stamps. Food stamps of course provides free food for the poor. It's a program designed to help people out. Should you be poor enough to qualify (and you have to be practically dirt poor to qualify), it should be used so you get the nutrition you need and work for something better. It shouldn't be something that you use so you save up for the latest iPhone. I remember one time while taking to the streets of NYC, I saw this lady getting on the bus. She was one of those people who had like 3 MetroCards ready to try so she could pay the fare. Now, at least she wasn't like other less-smart New Yorkers in that they hold up the line trying each and every one of their cards while people have to get on. Nevertheless, she tried all three of them, which were empty, and didn't have $2.25 in change to pay for the bus, so the bus driver gave her a free pass. Once seated, she proceeds to take out her iPhone 4. Nice of people to have their priorities straight, huh?
Privilege is something you should use to make yourself into something. For example, now during these harder economic times, there have been family and friends who have helped me out in many ways. It would've been a lot harder getting to the point that I currently am without their help. It's important to drop the ego when you need to. Before I felt like it was "cheating" and doing myself a disservice because I didn't "need help." Now, since using meditation to literally get over myself and as a result, unlocking my potential, I use whatever I can. Okay, I'm not going to be always leeching off services like that because I actually want to make something out of myself (Rule #2: The only way you will be able to achieve the best results
for yourself is to find the optimal balance between two
extremes), but at the same time, what the heck. It gets me to where I want to go faster and easier, even though I know I can do fine by myself. Who cares?
Unfortunately, so many people use their privileges to inflate their egos. How many people nowadays feel like they're untouchable just because they make a few million or billion dollars? That's what's been happening in Wall St. these past few years, and it's not a coincidence that economies are crashing. Goldman Sachs continues to do well, in spite of questionable business practices that have landed them in hot water such as this settlement. In spite of paying millions upon millions of dollars, they do not have to admit wrongdoing, and at the same time they can continue to do the same thing. The logic behind it is that they only get caught once in a while, and while they have to pay a $550 million like in the shown settlement, they make billions more through deceptive practices. The fact that they don't have to admit wrongdoing means that they're never held criminally responsible for their actions, since having that could potentially break up their business. Heck, even regular people such as Jon Asgeir Johannesson have done some plays out of the same playbook without the use of corporations.
Again, it seems to consume many facets of life. As a result, too many people in my opinion are just resting on their laurels and not working toward a better future for themselves and everyone else. It's starting to get to the point where people sacrifice basic morals for the bottom line, and there's so much more to life that closing up multi-billion dollar deals. What happens when you sell your soul for frivolous results? You die inside. Of course, it's not tangible, but believe me it's there. It's not a coincidence that Wall Street workers suffer from drug abuse. That's what starting to happening to me after a while (okay, so not drug abuse, but it was still pretty bad). I was making decent money before my "moment of revelation." After that, I saw that it wasn't worth it and I decided to build my morality and spirituality again from the ground up. Now, I'm working harder than ever before in my current job, which was something I've been wanting to do without cracking or breaking my spirit like before. I know this is just a start, as meditation has unlocked infinite potential for me.
The reason why I'm doing so well right now (in spite of not being EXACTLY where I want to be) is because I took advantage of privileges, but at the same time, I know that the world doesn't owe me anything just because people were charitable enough to help me out. In this world, you have to continue to prove to everyone that you are capable of living life out. Sometimes, we lose the basics and skills that got us to a better place, and that's when people start "faking it until they're making it." I have to hand it to Wall Street .They were pretty smart in developing things out of nothing like derivatives, where people bet on the rise and fall of stocks and commodities, and even the weather. Besides, if you learn the basics of the ORIGINAL derivatives in calculus (which I did), you'll see that it's NOTHING like the derivatives of the stock market and that it's like saying apples are the same thing are oranges. To sum it all up, math derivatives are just the level of increase or decrease that something is experiencing AT THAT INSTANT. Stock derivatives operate on the increase or decrease of something IN THE FUTURE, and as the 2008 global recession showed, it didn't work so well. There's no solitary magical formula for it (although I believe many factors come into play and all of them need to be followed, but I digress). Derivatives are actually worse than you realize, as it contributes to gas prices being artificially high, in which we all pay for at the pump.
Basically, I think the global recession (which in my opinion, will get undoubtedly much worse as this is only a start) can teach us all something. We all need to go back to basics. With that, I leave you one basic that I'll address very soon. I know this rule helped me out greatly from things to morality to my dating life.
The reason why I'm doing so well right now (in spite of not being EXACTLY where I want to be) is because I took advantage of privileges, but at the same time, I know that the world doesn't owe me anything just because people were charitable enough to help me out. In this world, you have to continue to prove to everyone that you are capable of living life out. Sometimes, we lose the basics and skills that got us to a better place, and that's when people start "faking it until they're making it." I have to hand it to Wall Street .They were pretty smart in developing things out of nothing like derivatives, where people bet on the rise and fall of stocks and commodities, and even the weather. Besides, if you learn the basics of the ORIGINAL derivatives in calculus (which I did), you'll see that it's NOTHING like the derivatives of the stock market and that it's like saying apples are the same thing are oranges. To sum it all up, math derivatives are just the level of increase or decrease that something is experiencing AT THAT INSTANT. Stock derivatives operate on the increase or decrease of something IN THE FUTURE, and as the 2008 global recession showed, it didn't work so well. There's no solitary magical formula for it (although I believe many factors come into play and all of them need to be followed, but I digress). Derivatives are actually worse than you realize, as it contributes to gas prices being artificially high, in which we all pay for at the pump.
Basically, I think the global recession (which in my opinion, will get undoubtedly much worse as this is only a start) can teach us all something. We all need to go back to basics. With that, I leave you one basic that I'll address very soon. I know this rule helped me out greatly from things to morality to my dating life.
Rule #13: If you want something for yourself, go get it. No one ever owes you anything. Get over yourself.
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