Life Is Not Fair, and You’re Right, the ‘System’ Is Rigged Against You and Me
According to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, approximately 75 percent of people worldwide believe the system (i.e., government, culture, and other establishments) is untrustworthy. Positions of authority are especially distrusted, with only 37 percent of people believing CEOs are credible and just 29 percent of people trusting government officials.
So how is the system truly rigged against you, and how can you take advantage of it?
Socioeconomic status.
At the risk of striking up a heated political argument, the reality is that there’s a vast discrepancy of both wealth and opportunity in the world. To put that in perspective, the entire world budget will be lower than what the top 1% owns. On top of that, about 90 percent of this money will be held in stocks, secure investments, and real estate — which means it’s not going to create jobs, as trickle-down economic theories would suggest.
How can you hack this system? Realize that everything starts with education.
If you can find a scholarship program to get you into a better college, exploit it. If you can take cheap classes at a local college until you can make more money, do it. If you can simply talk to successful people and learn what they did to become a success, do it. Read as much as you can, especially things written or recommended by successful people. Everything you learn puts you one step closer to success, even if you started out several steps behind everyone else. Are the socioeconomic challenges in the world as simple as trying harder and finding new opportunities? Of course not. But it’s one way for individuals to fight back and win against a system that’s rigged against them.
Nepotism and cronyism.
Some suggest that 70 percent of new jobs are found through networking, and others suggest the number is even higher, but as much as 80 percent of new jobs never even get listed, since they’re filled internally, or are filled by connections of connections.
Who do you do? Who is your connection?
You heard this numerous times, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” nepotism and cronyism seem to fill most open positions, leaving few possibilities for fresh blood to break into an industry. Chances are that your resume’s going to be thrown away before it’s even seen. So how do you win against such system? Many jobs are filled by mutual connections, so become that mutual connection. Attend networking events regularly and meet as many people as possible. Build and maintain a rolodex of contacts, and make yourself as visible as possible through personal branding.
Appearance and salary.
Do you ever wonder if pretty people make more money than their less-attractive counterparts? They do. It’s true that it’s illegal to discriminate against people based on their outward appearance, but that doesn’t mean a correlation doesn’t exist. University of Florida study found that every inch of height could add more money and George Washington University found that obese employees are paid far less than their normal-weight counterparts. And it isn’t just about height and weight; workers rated low in physical attractiveness overall can expect to make 5 to 10 percent less than average-looking people, and average-looking people can expect to make 3 to 8 percent less than good-looking people.
Practice impeccable hygiene, buy clothes that fit you perfectly and make a keen impression on new people.
Just remember this, businesses are invented by humans, to employ humans, trade products and services, facilitate investments and foster production, we as societies designed business to meet human needs. We have a choice about what business looks like — its purpose, priorities, and structure. So, we do not need to accept that business must have a one-track mind, focused only on growing profits for shareholders.
That’s it for this week, Happy workers day, and I leave you with these wise words: “The system isn’t perfect. Hell, in many ways it’s downright unfair. But even committing yourself to change the system full-time, you still must live and subsist in it today. While you fight for change, it’s in your power and your best interest to turn the system to your advantage in whatever ways you can. Instead of resenting it, learn it, and make it work for you. Then, when you find yourself in power, if you still don’t like the way things are, you can use your power to start changing it.”
