The New American Dream: No Longer The White Picket Fence

If you were born in the 1900s, (don’t be offended, I just mean anything before 2000, I was also born in the late 1900s), you probably remember many different versions of “The American Dream” some of which involved 2.5 children, or a house with a white picket fence. And you probably also remember how everyone was always working so hard to obtain the American dream. We no longer live in a society where everyone is working towards “THE” American dream, we now live in a time where everyone is working towards their own dream, and it looks different for everyone. If we are honest about it, hasn’t that always been the case?

The whole point of the American dream was that everyone had the same opportunity to become successful and wealthy if they were determined and worked hard enough. Even in 2023, we know that isn’t completely true, but it isn’t a lie either.

How we define and reach success has drastically changed over the past few years. We know that finding a corporate job, working forty-plus hours a week without taking vacations, and slowly climbing the ladder is not the only way to success and wealth. More people are starting their own businesses, becoming social media influencers, and finding alternative ways to earn their income. Even the corporate world is slowly transforming. People are starting to look for companies that are socially responsible, cherish their employees over profit, value wellness and self-care, and adhere to a similar ethical code that they do.

As more people focus on working with a purpose instead of just working for a paycheck, they are looking at the workforce in a different light. We are moving away from just looking for the job that pays the most, and intentionally looking for what is going to make us the happiest, provide us the most freedom, isn’t a toxic work environment, and happens to pay well on top of all of that. If you can’t find the perfect place to work, you can always start your own business. (It’s not an easy route, but many people have jumped into becoming an entrepreneur and have never looked back.)

In 2023, the American dream is about more than just your work life, it’s about how you live your life. More people are choosing to not buy a house, to travel the world, to live a laptop lifestyle, to not have children until they are older, and to not have children at all. It doesn’t necessarily look like wealth. It is also about being treated fairly and equally, and truly having the same opportunities as the person next to you.

Technology has helped us drastically change what earning a living means. If someone had told the teenage version of you that one day people would become billionaires making short videos and dancing online, would you have believed them? Probably not, but Social Media Influencer is a job title and not one that should be taken lightly.

What if “The American Dream” has always been about living life on your terms, and making money in a way that makes you happy and gives you peace? If you were sold that story, instead of the one where you have to find a “traditional” job and work yourself to exhaustion, what would you do differently? It’s never too late to start living YOUR American dream.