As I sit and participate in the daily ebb and flow of humanity from the suburbs to the core of the metropolis near where I live, I watch the winding traffic (not moving at all) while I sit on a commuter train packed in like the cattle corporate America would have us believe we are.
At what point did we trade the relative freedom of the entrepreneurial age in exchange for the self imposed (or at least indoctrinated) lifestyle that amounts to us slaving away for a faceless corporation that we see through the eyes of the next level of management above us? Was it the advent of the Industrial Revolution that set us on this path and moved us further and further from a trade based system to the present situation where millions of us climb into cars and drive for hours to attend a place where we exchange our most valuable commodity - time - for the perceived value of a dollar? I look about the mass of people crammed into a double decker train and notice the glazed looks on people's faces.
I notice the people living and reacting to the space immediately around them, shuffling on the train like zombies (in most cases without the groaning one hears on zombie movies - although not always).
A few people sit huddled and share stories in hushed whispers as if the train were a place of worship about nothing of real import - what was on TV last night, who is dating who.
A few other people struggle to open file folders and review stacks of paper as they bounce against their neighbours with the sway of the train as if completing this last review of a file will somehow earn them attention and encouragement from a 'boss' who themselves struggles with how they provide value.
A few others drift on the edge of sleep, dozing as the train speeds them towards a day where they will continue to sleep - all semblance of creativity bred and beaten from them in an odd mixture of pleasure and pain.
The cycle of self abuse and self flagellation continuing to be reinforced with every daily trip.
I am reminded of the matrix and the scene where Lawrence Fishburne is telling a confused but wondering Keanu Reeves that it is time to choose the blue pill or the red pill.
I believe that many of the people around me have unwitting chosen the blue pill - going on their lives and not knowing or being aware of the deeper knowledge and reality around them.
They are trapped in their own version of the Matrix and living an endless cycle where their self worthies tied to an existence they rarely (if ever) have control over.
A rare few have selected the red pill and are beginning to explore their horizons.
Pushing their boundaries.
And what does this look like? The few that have taken this next step - swallowed the red pill; chosen independence - see the world differently.
They are moving from a 'live to work' to a 'work to live' outlook on life.
They are taking chances and have acknowledged that everything in life has an element of risk - whether you are self employed or working for a large corporation - the difference is that they are taking control of their own lives and embracing risk.
Embracing the change that will come to them, to their family, and to their community.
So I ask you...
Do you want to join the herd and migrate daily to work in a role where you do not fully control your future? Or would you rather start to look at the world a little differently and plan your eventual escape from the corporate game?