Number one, when I talk about builders versus consumers, I am not talking solely about building a business. Society could not function if everyone were trying to build their own thing, so I just wanted to get that out of the way from the beginning.
Builders can be any of the following: business owners, people who have built a career, people who serve society, and people who maintain or move society forward. The idea of a builder is broad and can mean many different things.
When I speak about consumers, I am not talking about buying or consuming goods and services. I am talking about people who feel entitled and who, instead of trying to build and improve their lives and the world around them, tear it down.
One thing I have never understood is why, when you have rioters in the streets, some of them burn down their own neighborhoods. I understand that you're angry, but how does burning down your own community solve your problems? You're left with one less place to go to get food or something to drink.
Before you accuse me of being privileged or out of touch, I make a very modest wage and live in a working-class town. My mindset has never been about taking from others, whether through higher taxes, theft, or corruption. I have always maintained the belief that the person with the most power to change your life is yourself. Politicians, from my observation, can do one of two things: maintain the status quo or make things worse. Very rarely do they come into office and leave the world in a better place by the time their term is over.
If I were mentoring a young person today, I would tell them to develop the character of a builder. Be someone who wants to improve their own life and the communities around them. The famous quote from John F. Kennedy comes to mind: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Be someone who strives for independence rather than someone who relies on others. Do things that contribute to the building up of society.
