The American Dream – Why is it elusive and How to achieve it

The American Dream is a long-standing belief that everyone can become successful and move up in life. However, almost two-thirds of Americans think that the American Dream is dead!

And this is not just an American phenomenon. Globally, more people are pessimistic about the future than ever before.

There are several factors behind this – income inequality, lack of opportunities, stagnating wages, increasing costs, etc.

Given all this pessimism, how does one become successful?

To answer that question, I decided to survey people who have achieved the American Dream or were on the path to achieving it.

I surveyed more than 50 people (including some international respondents). Below is a highlight of the survey responses.

Survey responses

#1: Hard work

Clearly, there is no substitute for hard work – almost half the respondents indicated that it was vital for their success.

As a management consultant, I routinely worked 70-80 hour weeks. That helped me learn about the field and get better at it.

However, a lot of the respondents also mentioned that in addition to working hard; Perseverance is essential. You cannot work hard for a few days or weeks and expect to succeed.

It is said that you need 10,000 hours of practice to become good at something.

Many people who appear to be successful; did not become successful overnight – they worked hard at it for many years. As Lionel Messi said, “I started early and I stayed late, day after day, year after year. It took me 17 years to become an overnight success!”

One note of caution, though. Although hard work is essential for success, one should be mindful of the fine line between hard work and overwork.

#2: Luck

How did luck rank so high? Isn’t it more important to be intelligent, disciplined, creative, capable, etc.? Well, Bill Gates was all of this and much more; but he also happened to go to the only high school in America which had a computer at that time – Lakeside.

“I can directly trace the founding of Microsoft back to my earliest days at Lakeside… If there had been no Lakeside, there would have been no Microsoft.” – Bill Gates 2005 Speech

It was an incredible stroke of luck that Gates happened to go to the one place in the country where he could use a computer.

Luck can take many forms – maybe it is just being at the right place at the right time. Or a chance meeting that leads to a new job. Or finding the right mentor.

The role of luck is probably best summarized by Michael Lewis in a speech he gave to the graduating seniors at Princeton University:

This does not mean we just sit back and wait to get lucky. Despite being lucky that he went to Lakeside, Gates still had to work hard at Microsoft. What this does mean is that after achieving success, we should be humble about it – because luck plays a part in everyone’s success.

#3: (tie) Risk Taking and Continuous Learning

Successful people take calculated risks like taking up a new role, volunteering for a stretch assignment, etc. Some survey respondents also took on bigger risks like going to an entirely new country or starting their own company.

Although I am risk-averse, I have always taken calculated risks.

Coincidentally there was a tie for third place (between Risk Taking and Continuous Learning). Taking risks means you might fail every once in a while and so it is essential to learn from your mistakes.

Successful people never stop learning. They are continuously seeking feedback and improving themselves. They are also honest with themselves regarding what they are good at and, more importantly, what they need to work on.

Take risks: if you win, you will be happy. If you lose, you will be wise.

Summary of the responses

I received some great survey responses which could not be summarized into a word / phrase. Here are some of the key ones:

“Choosing a good spouse and having a relationship that was conducive to my success”

“Trusting people: More people have positively surprised me by a long margin”

“Really, I consider the job-hopping to be key for my success” – as you may have guessed, this respondent is a millennial

“A strong foundation in childhood (loving parents who created a healthy and happy home, food security, clean water, solid basic education)”

“Always being grateful for everything we have right now in the present moment – family, friends, a roof over our heads, etc.“

“Being surrounded by supportive family, friends, and mentors.”

---