If you ask a child what he or she “wants to be” when they grow up, what is the nature of the response you’re seeking? Most of us would find “firefighter” or “doctor” to be perfectly acceptable. Why?
Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, very accurately described in his aforementioned best seller this cultural dynamic: “...it reflects something I was long a part of: job descriptions as self descriptions.”
Why is society accepting of the fact that we implement at a very, very influential age that you as a person can be identified by means of a professional title? I can’t recall ever hearing a child respond, “a mother” or “a best friend” or even “a Christian” – most likely because one never did.
The saddest part of all is that, in America, professional success is overwhelmingly considered directly proportionate to level of income; transitively speaking, this means that a person is ultimately defined by a bank account balance. Some of the best people I know would easily slip through the cracks of this standard, and for that reason I wholly reject it.
On a side note, I'd pay to someday see a You Tube video of a Ferriss offspring, prompted by the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" respond with, "a drug dealer."
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