It’s alive! It’s alive!

Spend time doing the things you love — this can mean hobbies, like writing, playing sports, and working on your car, but it can also mean simple pleasures like simply spending time with your family. If you love your job, great! Being able to make money from work that aligns with your personal passions is a luxury that not everyone has.

If you don't love your job, that's OK. Stick with it and apply yourself to it, but always save some time for your passions and for looking for other opportunities to keep your morale high. Though owning a home isn't necessarily required to live a happy, full life in America, most Americans either own their own home or intend to eventually do so. Contributing to a mortgage allows you to build gradually build equity in your house throughout your working years, which can help you comfortably retire — selling your house for a good price when you're old can single-handedly finance your retirement.

Owning your own home doesn't just give you material benefits. Owning your own house also gives you a great deal of freedom to customize your living situation to the way you want it. For instance, if your kitchen is too cramped, if you own your house, you can get an extension. If you rent, you can't usually do this. In addition, many Americans find that owning a house gives them a great sense of satisfaction and security. Know your basic constitutional rights. Americans are given a great deal of personal freedom by the United States Constitution, the nation's definitive document of law.

Every American should know the most fundamental rights offered to them by the Constitution. Taking advantage of these freedoms can allow you to create a happy, fulfilling, and successful life for yourself. On the other hand, ignorance of these freedoms can make it easy to miss opportunities or be taken advantage of. Below are a few of the most basic rights provided by the Constitution note that these are all from the Bill of Rights — the original ten amendments to the Constitution: Exercise your freedom of speech.

Perhaps the most-used, most-cited constitutional freedom is the freedom of speech. America is a free country — Americans are allowed to say essentially anything they want to and to express their opinions in any way as long as they do so in a way that isn't harmful to others. This means that it's legal to have virtually any personal and political beliefs and to share these beliefs with others, even if your beliefs run contrary to the established order , as long as you obey the law.

Note that certain types of speech which are specifically intended to cause harm are not necessarily constitutionally-protected. It's also important to understand that the freedom to express yourself doesn't necessarily protect you from the consequences of your actions. For instance, if the president of a business makes racist comments that are made public, the board of directors can still fire him for this.

Freedom of speech doesn't necessarily mean that nothing bad will happen to you because of what you say.

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Exercise your freedom of religion. The pilgrims who traveled on the Mayflower, some of the earliest visitors to America, were people seeking a place where they could practice their religion free from harassment and persecution. Today, America maintains this attitude of religious tolerance. Americans are free to practice whichever religion they please, or, if they prefer, to practice no religion at all.


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All forms of faith are allowed in the United States and officially-recognized churches are even granted tax-free status by the Internal Revenue Service. For instance, if the members of a certain religion decided to drive their cars the wrong way on the freeway as a sign of devotion, they would still be arrested. All adult Americans are free to and generally should participate in government by voting.

In most states, residents are allowed to register to vote at 18 years of age, however a few states let 17 year-olds vote. Voting allows every citizen's voice to be heard in matters of government. All citizens have equal voting power — no matter how rich, powerful, or influential someone is, she still gets the same single vote that a minimum-wage worker does. Note that American men must register for Selective Service "the draft" to be able to vote.

Enjoy your freedom to choose how you live. In the United States, people are free to live their lives as they see fit. People can have any habit, hobby, or interest that they wish as long as it doesn't break any laws or hurt anyone else. What people do in their free time is up to them — bankers can be amateur punk rockers, dishwashers can speculate on the stock market, and electricians can study archaeology. People are also encouraged to choose their life's own path — no American needs to feel like there is a single "right" way to live his life. Americans are free to associate with who they want to and to pursue almost any opportunity that they wish to.

Note that, while Americans are free to live their lives how they please as long they obey the law, some sorts of activities which can be seen as "victimless" in other parts of the world are illegal in the US.

The American Dream is still alive and well

For instance, many drugs which are relatively unregulated in parts of Europe and elsewhere are illegal in part or all of the US. Challenge the mainstream freely. An important aspect of achieving the American Dream is being willing to be take a stand for your own individual principles. America has a long tradition of celebrating the type of rugged individual who's willing to "go against the group". Many famous Americans are celebrated for going against prevailing attitudes or social institutions that ran contrary to their personal beliefs. For instance, famous Americans like Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, and even modern icons like Steve Jobs became legendary by changing the world with their willingness to go against the grain and challenge the way the world worked.

Being an individual means standing for your own principles and having the courage to go against popular attitudes, but it doesn't mean never accepting help from someone else. Some tasks are difficult, if not impossible without the help of others — no individual should be so proud as to think that she can do everything in the world by themselves. For example, many famous American companies were started with modest loans from friends and family or government-backed small business loans.

Innovation has been one of America's most cherished national values for over a century and still is in the modern age. Innovation is often referred to for instance, by elected officials as being key to the continued growth and success of the nation. Being a successful innovator in America is a quick ticket to personal fulfillment, material success, and widespread recognition.

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For instance, some of America's most important innovators, like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and others are now recognized as having changed the world with their groundbreaking work. You don't have to be a modern-day Edison to have a shot at the American dream — even small, everyday innovations can substantially improve your life.

My wife and I are not living our lives the normal way. We have no plans to have children. We do not anticipate working past and we have no particular desire to move out into a big home in the suburbs and endure the torturous commute to an office for the next 30 years. And that is okay. This is us, just two peas in a huge world-wide pod, shaping our future in the way that works the best for us. We are working hard and taking charge.

I believe the American Dream is alive and well in the United States. But in truth, The Dream is not about stuff. If someone is not living what they believe the American Dream to be, that does not necessarily mean that the American Dream is impossible to achieve. The reality of living in the United States of America is actually quite encouraging.

The very large majority of us have plenty of opportunities to succeed and build the life that we want. Some of us take those opportunities and make the best of them. The impact can be amazingly severe, but the impact of our decisions does not kill off the American Dream.

The sheer number of rags to riches stories in this country and from around the world helps to prove how powerful our motivations are in building the lives that we want to live. Like Ursula Burns, who grew up in low-income housing projects in New York and is now the head of Xerox , or Oprah Winfrey who wore dresses made out of potato sacks and widely known to have been abused as a child is now one of the richest people in the world, or Harry Potter author J.

Rowling who lived on welfare and is now worth in the neighborhood of a billion. Oh well, The Dream is dead.

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If you want the American Dream bad enough, you can have it. How do you define the American Dream, and do you believe it is still alive? You probably already know where we stand on this. But does that mean that everybody has access to it equally? We highly recommend two really well researched books on the subject. First is Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich which is about the huge obstacles low-wage earners face and the extra costs they have to pay in order to just get by, let alone get ahead.

Personally, I have witnessed several examples of success stories in this nation — my dad being a good example. This is thought provoking. I can be a pessimist on a lot of things, but when it comes to this one, I tend to be pretty heavily optimistic. I think the issue with the American Dream is that many people think it is a right, and not something that you have to work for. Maybe that is why it seems unachievable. The American dream is whatever life you create that you believe will give you the most joy and happiness.

I do think you are right the American dream is alive. But is that definition absolutely correct? I would personally beg to differ with this definition, and actually, believe that it is a fallacy. Living the American Dream should not be dictated by a fixed set of rules or standards. Living the American Dream should be all about the individual, I mean you and I, and the standards we set for ourselves.

While I commend the efforts of Merriam-Webster in attempting to define that phrase, I must say it is overly restrictive and does not give room for alternative definitions. However, the purpose of this write up is to open your hearts to alternative ways in which you can view this concept, so that you can begin to create that dream for yourself, and live it as you choose.

American Dream

Whether you choose to call it the American Dream or not, we all want to become successful in life. And it is important to note that the definition of success is different and unique, as it pertains to individual situations. What I may consider success, may be nowhere near what you consider same. Therefore, trying to describe a universal definition to the concept of the American Dream, aims to put undue pressure and stress on people, which may, in the long run, be detrimental to their overall health and well-being.