“Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps” Will Keep You Poor.
Expunge this idea as SOON as you graduate.
We have all come across the trope that it is the person who pulls themselves up from nothing who is more worthy of money, fame, and success. And of course, we should praise a strong work ethic.
But nobody really, 100% pulls themselves up from nothing. We all have helpers, inspirational teachers, and mentors along the way.
When I went to college, I was shocked to learn most of what I thought about success…was actually a trap to keep me poor.
I lived in a suburban neighborhood growing up…a house my parents could sort of afford. They wanted me to be in a good school district, and strove to buy a small house within one.
My mom sometimes worked two full-time jobs. My dad worked full-time, too, but even with all these incomes, money seemed to always be a problem.
I learned what I was taught: Move out when you’re 18, because you’re an adult then. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Hustle. Do not accept charity.
This was so ingrained that even my grandmother would brag about how her mother never accepted charity. “We were poor and she had diabetes, but…
