By: Douglas J Utberg

It is certainly true that many people need a helping hand at some point in their life, but this week I was thinking about where to find a helping hand with your personal success.  Not surprisingly, the answer to this question is that your helping hand is attached to the end of your arm.  This is not to say that you cannot receive help from others, or that you should not accept help if it is offered.  What we must all eventually come to terms with is the fact that we cannot stake the entire course of our future on the chance that other people will come to the rescue and elevate us to financial success.

To many people, this statement is no more than revealing the obvious.  To others, it seems somewhat reasonable, and for some it is a complete reversal in the course of their life.  The reason for this is because of a ‘culture of dependence’ that has emerged from increased government involvement in the economy.  Every time that the source of our wellbeing shifts from our own efforts to the whims of company/union bosses or politicians, it erodes a small part of our independence.  Each additional step of dependence is a deeper level of control that is placed over us by the entities on whom we depend.  Thus, by losing influence over the course and flow of our financial wellbeing it leaves us subject to the ebbs and flows of fate.  By relinquishing control over our lives, it places us at the mercy of chance.

For people who seek to regain control over their lives, it is critically important to build our own castle of success instead of waiting for somebody else to grant us an invitation into theirs.  This is not to say that people should not ever seek any type of help or assistance.  To the contrary, success frequently requires the building of a ‘master-mind’ coalition that creates the ideas, systems, and business models of success.  However, there is a critical difference between working with a group of people in a voluntary manner where both sides benefit and monolithic dependence on a government forces you into their system and extracts taxes using the same force.

Ultimately, it holds true that progress and success can only come from creating things and ideas of value.  Dependence does not create anything . . . it simply shifts resources from one person to another while the government gains power over your life.  For all people that aspire to success, focus must firmly shift toward creating things of value.  For all people that are holding onto promises from government officials or union bosses for their future prosperity, consider that these entities can only distribute resources by taking them away from somebody else.  This does not create anything . . . quite to the contrary, it destroys resources by reducing incentives to produce.  Because of this, the pool of resources available for distribution are necessarily limited.  This will place everybody who depends on the government for their prosperity in the middle of a very long line.  When the resources run out, the dependent class will have no recourse, but to accept a lower standard of living.

In the end, your helping hand is truly attached to the end of your arm.  Taking ownership of your life and success is the only way that any of us can hope to build the kind of prosperity that will endure across multiple generations and withstand the foolishness of politicians.  Take the reigns of your future into your hands today.