I learned a long time ago what the American Dream was for a young black woman. The secret ingredients were to be the smartest in the room, get the highest degree, get a job and become the leader. I followed those steps but never really felt like I was making it. I always felt I was missing something. So then I learned that I needed multiple streams of income. So I tried my hand at network marketing. I have been an Avon lady, a Mary Kay Rep, sold Beijo bags, and Traci Lynn Jewelry. Yet none of them brought me the big bucks that I saw other ladies in my organization bringing in. It did however, bring me tons of inventory either got tossed, donated, or sold at deep discounts. I went and took classes on how to get into real estate investing and stock market investing. I have a wealth of knowledge on how to build income, but something in me keeps holding me back from taking the leap from 9-5 to enjoying my life.
The scariest part for me though is the values that I have shown my children. They too believe that the only way to make it is to find a JOB. Work the dreaded 40+ hours and make the salary that the owners want you to make. No matter how many times I tell my kids start a business it doesn’t sink in for them. They don’t take the leap to be better than me. No matter the encouragement I share with them they still won’t budge from the example that I have set.
So I guess to break this cycle, I cannot wait on the next generation. I must be the one to be the example. Many of us provide the best examples we can for our children and families. We know they can do better and have more than we ever had. But they are stuck with the examples we provide for them. And while we may try to expose them to alternative ways of living it is not until they have a constant steady example of what that looks like that they can truly latch onto that desire to want more for themselves.
I have been exposing myself and my kids to these opportunities but it is up to me to provide an example that it can be done and not just by the YouTubers of the world but it can be done by people as close to them as their own parents. So while I started this post to discuss how to help my kids break the cycle, but it looks like I am the key!
The Moneyberg 