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The Myth of Money and Success and That of Gender Essay

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The Myth of Money and Success and that of gender

“The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds” —William James, an American philosopher and psychologist

For a long time, the popular myth of success and that of gender have shaped humans’ minds and behaviors in a certain way. They set up a certain behavior model and provide people with an idealized reference for living their lives. However, people put too much emphasis on the bright side of these two widespread but outdated …show more content…

The world is filled with secret formulas for a successful life. The traditional American myth of success is a conception marked by certain individuals and social-cultural conventions. It indicates that honesty and hard work will bring people wealth and good reputation. Besides, on the path to success, people are never constrained by their race, gender or low-income families and they are offered equal chances.
Firstly, the notion of honesty and hard work leading to success is problematic and misleading. The myth can be more reasonable if part of it can be broadened: the integrity of honesty, hard work, right opportunities, and smart decisions will bring people success. One of the failures of the current myth of success is the fact that, although it stays valid for a small group of people, it does not address the realities of success for most of the population. There is a sizable number of people who are seldom provided with equal opportunities and excluded from this myth. Those children who were born into poor families are virtually stuck in the lower rungs of the economic and social ladder, in spite of their good personality, hard work and great yearning they feel to succeed. In this case, a timely opportunity and the ability to seize the opportunity become extremely important. In the article “From Ragged Dick”, Dick is a poor shoeshine boy who has to live a life by himself. He yearns for an education and a good

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