We hear all about what it means to be successful, or rather, twisted American Capitalist tales of it. You know, the whole 'Look at that guy! He started with nothing but the hairs on his head and now look at 'em. He has enough money to buy and sell everyone a thousand times over and he's a job creator. A model for success, I tell ya what!'

The problem is that these 'successful' people rarely do it all on their own, if at all. In fact, no one could get as rich as Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton by themselves. That takes connections. And shortcuts. And remember the part about buying people? Yeah, that's done in spades. After all, you just can't make money with all those pesky regulations in the way. Oh, and the tax loopholes, gotta take full advantage of those. Being born into money also helps a lot too. Ask the Koch Brothers.

But what about those of us who don't have all those? And what about those of us who have illness or disabilities that take their toll? Well, in that case, it takes a village. If a person doesn't have access to services that would help with a special needs child or relative, they're pretty much dead in the water. And in some places, it's a virtual desert when it comes to those services.

Some people like to point to Temple Grandin and say 'She revolutionized agriculture with no help from nobody'. Except she did have help. A lot of help, especially early in life. No doubt she'd be the first to say it. She is where she is because her family and many others had the resources to help her get there.

On the other side of it, I wasn't as lucky. In fact, Asperger's wasn't taken seriously until I became an adult (I'm not entirely sure on that, correct me if I'm wrong). But in any case, grade schools were usually ill-equipped to deal with special needs students, and it was largely in its initial stages when I was in pre-k about 25 years ago.

Things didn't really get 'better' for me until I attended college 4 years out of high school. I managed to get 2 degrees in the process so I guess that makes me successful. Still, I've yet to find a job because the IT industry is basically dead as a door nail in Florida.

So what do we do to fundamentally change the American image of success to be less about money and possessions and more about actual accomplishment? Well, if you ask me, we need to walk away from money as a driving force. Thoughts?

See ya around,
Aspie