Wage Slavery

[ChadT]

I have been thinking about Leo's recent wage slavery video this week...   A couple things about it bothered me.  Mainly it was the words "slave" and "sheep" used in the video. 

First, let me say I generally admire people who are able to build their own business.  It's usually not an easy thing to do and often takes a lot of hard work and courage.  Having said that, I don't think it's for everyone.  Nor does it need to be.  I think you can be an employee and still find "freedom".  In fact, I think if done correctly, that path is probably more realistic for most people.

I think you can find a lot of meaning and value in life by providing a service to society in exchange for a wage.  The key is to find something you like doing (or at least don't hate) , living below your means, saving, building a financial safety net and ideally, being good enough at what you do to secure your place in the market.  At least that is what I have found worked well for me.

I have struggled with this issue a few times over my life.   Still do to some extent.   I have had jobs where I have felt like a slave.  However, I haven't felt like that in over a decade now.   I work in accounting for a fairly large company.  Love my boss.  She has been a true mentor to me and become a personal friend.  I like most of my coworkers.  Met my wife there.  Have learned and grown a lot both personally and professionally.  The stress level is fairly low and the hours are great.  I feel confident at this point in my career that if the company closed it's doors tomorrow, I would be able to find a comparable job relatively soon and if I couldn't,  I have enough money saved to live on for several years.   Sure there is the occasional bad day, but they often end up being learning experiences.

I'm not sure I would even want to retire before my 70's.  I find a lot of meaning and personal growth in work.  

Where I do still get conflicted on this issue sometimes, is regarding creating a side stream of income.  I would like to find a "passion project" that I could do on the side, provide a creative outlet, some side income and I would enjoy doing.   I have found many of Leo's video's very helpful in terms of thinking about this.

Sometimes I wonder if people push too hard for financial independence, or business success, at too great a cost.   Plus, I don't think everyone is wired for it.   People shouldn't necessarily feel like a slave, or a sheep, if that isn't their path.   Sometimes I think our culture can make people feel inferior about this.  There is more than one way to skin a cat here.   The Buddhist concept of grasping rings true to me a little on this topic.

 

"A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness." -Albert Einstein

[CroMagna]

I agree with you here.  I think there's some value to striking a balance between optimism and philosophical pessimism, like you said,  realism.

[Brittany]

I work in corporate and I am living proof that you can be in a deeply meditative state during an intense 9-5 job. 

I have had many spiritual experiences while doing corporate work. haha

Some of my most profound epiphanies have been while at work.

But there are a TON of obstacles that you need to overcome.

1. Do you wake up 5 minutes before your work day starts? Or do you wake up 3 hours before your work day starts to do your practice?

2. Do you scream at drivers who cut you off in the morning? Or do you practice loving compassion towards them?

3. Do you spend your lunch break gossiping with your colleagues? Or do you spend your lunch break doing yoga or meditating?

I can list out 100000 obstacles that you need to overcome at a 9-5 to be in a deeply meditative state. But I don't have time right now. 

Entrepreneurship simply has less obstacles that attack your "higher self".

A 9-5 job is constantly attacking your "higher self". So you have to be more alert.

Edited September 15, 2018 by Brittany

[Brittany]

In regards to being a wage slave and working 9-5:

1. Are you debt free?

2. Are you spending most of your paycheck on materialism (new TV, new car, new clothes etc.) , escapism and entertainment?

3. Do you have money in savings and investments?

The answer to these 3 questions will determine how much freedom you will have working a 9-5. 

Edited September 15, 2018 by Brittany

[7thLetter]

Some slaves don’t know that they are slaves. It takes consciousness to be able to see and understand that.

Also it is very easy to try and justify being a slave rather than to accept the harsh cold truths. “Yeah passive income is great but its difficult, therefore I won’t work towards it. Besides, I love my job anyway!”

I think the whole point of the video is that, you have no time to work on personal development workinrg 9-5. “But I’ve had some spiritual experiences in my office!” Good job, but if you created passive income for yourself then you could take the inner work even DEEPER.

I’m not judging in any way though. I’m going to be honest, I just started working a full-time 9-5 job last month for the first time. I’m 22. But my goal is to leave as soon as I’ve built enough wealth for myself to even do so through side projects.

But I’m going to be honest with myself, I know that I’m a slave, a sheep, because I’ve been working hourly jobs for a couple years now. And who am I working for? Not myself but for someone else who is creating their own financial freedom for themselves. We are just tiny investments for him/her to be able to do so. All we get is little crumbs of bread.

That is the first step, understand and accept that you are a slave. That way you won’t try to justify it and then you can start to work on something even greater.

[fabriciom]

Bloody hell.

If you are getting paid for work you are not a slave. No one is putting a gun to your head or a whip to your back to get up everyday and go to work. Do realise that we are all free and we can just walk out of our life situation and move to any "free" country and start a new path. Only your mind can stop you from doing this. I'm not saying you should.

Now the thing that is not clear to most here is that "being" a slave as is being discussed here is in your mind. Its a role you seem to be in and/or are playing.

No one can tell you who or what you are. Not Leo, not me, not society, no one but yourself. So if you think he is talking about you. That is just in your head and your ego is reacting to it.

[Shadowraix]

On 9/15/2018 at 4:26 PM, fabriciom said:

Bloody hell.

If you are getting paid for work you are not a slave. No one is putting a gun to your head or a whip to your back to get up everyday and go to work. Do realise that we are all free and we can just walk out of our life situation and move to any "free" country and start a new path. Only your mind can stop you from doing this. I'm not saying you should.

Now the thing that is not clear to most here is that "being" a slave as is being discussed here is in your mind. Its a role you seem to be in and/or are playing.

No one can tell you who or what you are. Not Leo, not me, not society, no one but yourself. So if you think he is talking about you. That is just in your head and your ego is reacting to it.

Work a job to support yourself or starve to death. Hmm...

Just because working is optional doesn't really mean you aren't a slave. Its just not physically forced but its set up in a way to where you are dependent on it for survival. Any alternative means of survival will require $$$ at least initially.

The 'being a slave' role is to help you see past an illusion. To understand the economic structure. Once you have a grasp on the economic structure you can strategize to overcome it.

If your survival is dependent on someone else paying you for work, you are a wage-slave. As Leo said though true independence financially from other people is extremely rare and even then you are usually piggybacking off other wage slaves.

You know the word slave used in Leo's videos were not used in the way like white on black slavery was done in the past. 

[d0ornokey]

word, perhaps. but the enemy of the great is the good

Edited September 19, 2018 by d0ornokey

[Michael569]

On 15/09/2018 at 9:26 PM, fabriciom said:

If you are getting paid for work you are not a slave. No one is putting a gun to your head or a whip to your back to get up everyday and go to work. Do realise that we are all free and we can just walk out of our life situation and move to any "free" country and start a new path. Only your mind can stop you from doing this. I'm not saying you should.

1

Our society has evolved since times of slavery, these days we give ourselves fancy names (executives, directors, managers...), dress in fancy clothes and get some cash for the work we do. You are free to walk away but unless you have other means of making money or have supreme hunting skills, you will end up on streets which is equal to being exiled 2000 years ago. 

|For many people (low wage workers especialy), "walking away" is literally equal to becoming homeless and dying of hunger. In some countries the state will not take care of you and you will freeze, starve or die of disease. So in a sense, those people are slaves. For other who earn a lot, it would take much more but remember that not all homeless people started as poor alcoholic bums or gambles, many of them are progressed HIV or syphilis patients who may have once been success butt could not get a work anymore and have been rejected by the family.