People living in most developed countries and progressive economies tend to believe that their way and quality of live will remain forever. They hold that it is their birthright to be enjoying the privileges of a well-maintained society. Most of us westerners think that by simply being a citizen of our countries is more than enough to give them the quality of life they choose. Through the financial education I have acquired from over the past year, I have come to realize that this pseudo-stable society is just a hoax.

The American Dream & The European Dream
Ordinary Americans may become complacent of their lavish lifestyles because almost everything is available to them at affordable prices. The American Dream of having a nice house in a neat neighborhood, a nice car, a cool job, wide screen TVs and weekend barbecues are the ‘simple’ things most Americans take for granted. Europeans may think that their fashionable lifestyles will continue indefinitely because top designers are constantly out-pacing each other. Westerners assume that all will be well because their governments are taking care of them.

Our Volatile Subsistence
However, the sad reality is that these modern conveniences are dependent on economic conditions. Once the economy behaves unpredictably, modern living behaves unpredictable as well. I encourage everyone to wake up to the reality of life and act decisively. As proven by the recent financial and sub-prime crisis of 2008, even mature economies like the USA and Europe are not as stable and impervious as experts claim and as you and I assumed.

Conditioned Illusion
The problem is systemic. It was simply passed from the previous generation to the next. We were all led to believe that by just following the traditional success formula of doing well in school to get a decent job, we can choose the lifestyle that we want. Many of the new rich today preach that scholastic education was for the predictable Industrial Age. This meant that getting good grades in school no longer translates into a financially secure future.

Racing with a Dead Horse
The sad reality is that we are still flogging a dead horse in the race to financial freedom. College is now the ‘new high school’ – as more and more students graduate from college, their competitive advantage in the job market dramatically decreases. Now, graduate programs are becoming the ‘new college’ – but don’t count on it for too long. It is crucial, now more than ever for people to change their views about wealth and education. After all, the real difference between the truly rich, the ‘rich’ and the rest is not the amount of money that they have, it is what they know and do with what they have.

Fight Back and Take Control
You need to acquire the correct knowledge that will help you take specific measures to protect your future from economic uncertainties. If you wondered why the truly rich are not bothered by external perturbations, it is because they have established specific measures to mitigate and counteract these problems. The truly rich do not depend on external conditions to be what they want to be. Most of us are like sail boats that depend on the wind just to move at sea and obviously suffer on windless days. The truly rich are cruisers with powerful engines fueled by privileged information to tread across the sea of uncertainty regardless the external conditions.

Escaping the Trap
The first step to get out of the trap is to realize and accept that you are really stuck in the trap. You need to be honest that you have a problem that needs to be dealt with face to face. The next move is to think outside the trap. As Einstein reminds us: “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew.” Then you have to get yourself outside by applying the lessons you’ve learned. Finally, you also need to do the same steps with people whom you are living with – because they will support you if do and they will drag you if you don’t. With our economy on the verge of total collapse, there is not better time for you to escape this vicious rat race.