"God Bless the Dream, the Dreamer and the Result." 

Thursday, April 24, 2008

The True Cost Of Economic Freedom

by: Rob Lawrence

The following story was shared with me recently, it’s been circulating around the net for years and I now share it with you.

In the United States of America lies a large industrial city which is the sight of one of the world's largest slave labor camps.

Located in and around the center of this city are community settlements where the economic slaves live.

Each morning the slaves move in herds like cattle from their small quarters into the slave labor camps. They cram into tiny buses and trains, trend through snow, sleet and inclimate weather. Not because they want to, but because they have to.

Each economic slave is at his or her station by 9:00 AM. Here they report to their master for the day's duties. And here they remain chained until 5:00 PM or even later until they're released to go home.

The slaves have no choice as to how many hours they must labor. Sometimes they are required to work overtime until their master tells them they may leave and go home.

The master can even lie to the economic slave and make up rules and new job duties that weren’t covered before, and the slave has no choice but to adhere to the new rules or risk losing their slave job.

Each year the slaves are told when to take their vacations, for how long, and when they must return. But the master never likes “vacations”, so even though the slave has the time, they rarely use it.

If a family member gets sick and needs help, well the slave can’t be there to help them, they must check-in with the master first. And the master’s answer is never a good one.

Economic slaves have little choice as to how much money they earn as they are paid not what they are worth, but what the job is worth. If they die or can’t do the job anymore, they will quickly be replaced with another slave to fill the position. Soon they will be forgotten and it will be as if they had never even existed in the first place.

If the economic slave’s job becomes obsolete or inefficient, it can easily be replaced with a machine. And machines don’t talk back or need promotions. They do what they’re told.

Slaves are allowed very little time for lunch and coffee breaks during the labor hours. Sometimes they don’t get a break, or are forced to eat lunch at their desk. Sometimes when they are forced to work late, they don’t even get a hot meal, they skip dinner and even go hungry.

The slaves will remain in their chains in great fear because the economic master can punish them with the "firing" or "layoff" whip. And he is not afraid to use it, so the slaves bow to his command. They do whatever he wants.

It is said that even some of the older slaves who have been good and faithful have felt the sting of the whip. They disappear quickly and are never heard from again. Soon, they are forgotten too.

Day by day, year-by-year, the slaves toil and grow older until the master decides it is time to release them to the retirement camps where they're forced to sit idle and wait for death. The master has used them for all he can, and now it is time to move onto another economic slave to fill the position.

It's a well-known fact that the old slaves who try to keep working are sometimes whipped with a "stop-their-pension" whip. They are quickly let-go and without all the benefits they were promised. The slaves waited their whole career for the promise of a pension that never came. The master simply strung them along. He dangled the carrot and the slave bought it.

I know these money slave camps exist for I once was an economic slave. But now I am a free man who lives among the self achievers. I make my own rules. The reason I am free is because I am in business for myself. I am not an economic slave and my only master is myself. I decide my destiny.

Yes, I am truly free. I arise in the morning called for by my schedule.

I decide my own hours. I can even sleep in late while my former economic slave friends are at work.

I can vacation when, where, and for how long I please. If I want to take a day or two off, I can. And no one will complain.

I'm free to take my coffee break and lunch when I decide. I do not have to ask anyone for permission.

And of course, I can decide my own paycheck and how much money I earn, because I am not an economic slave anymore. If I want to earn more, I simply work more.

I can choose to work when, how and where I please. I can even choose the type of clients I work with. And if a customer becomes too unreasonable or demands too much, I can increase my fees or simply “fire” them. I do not have to give my services away. I work for myself.

I'm free to stay in the city for as long as I want, or to move on to greener pastures if I decide to. I choose where I want to live and for how long. I am not trapped by the economic slave master anymore because I do not fear “losing” my job.

I've seen many slaves sadly pack their belongings to leave their city in search of a new master at another company, but it is always the same. The masters tend to lie a lot, but the economic slaves simply believe everything. It isn’t until they’ve been with the master a while that the truth is revealed. But, then it is too late. They are trapped!

There is however, a ray of hope for the lonely economic slave. He or she can “buy” their own freedom.

The cost is not high, yet it seems high to those who do not have the courage to pay the price.

What is the price of true freedom?

ONE MUST BE WILLING TO BE THEIR OWN ECONOMIC MASTER.


About The Author

Rob Lawrence is ranked one of top national trainers in the mortgage industry. He is the currently the CEO of Battlecall.com, coaching, tools and resources to turn mortgage professionals into mortgage warriors. Visit http://www.battlecall.com for his free “Sink Or Swim” weekly newsletter, mortgage training, marketing advice and more! Jumpstart your career in the mortgage business, starting today.

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