Don't try so hard, fail and then write a best $eller about your experience and of there being no opportunity in the US.
You don't have to have connections to make 200 k per year. Almost anyone with average talent can do that as long as you are not afraid of hard work and your intention is to be the boss. Here's the plan. 1. Get a job. 2. Sign up for community college courses at night to learn a trade that you can do after work. Here are some examples: electrician, air conditioning mechanic, plumbing and appliance repair. 3. Put an impressive ad in the paper for your services. Can't afford that, then try Craig's list. 4. Do the service at a fair price after work and don't try to lie or cheat people. Next thing you know, you'll be heading up a company, supervising others and making lots of dough but don't let it go to your head. One of the happiest guys that I ever knew was a roofer. He owned a ton of land on the coast of North Carolina.
I can't speak for others but in my case it was pursuing something that was naturally suited to my personality & skills, then dedicating a lot of time and effort to it, and being willing to take a chance and set off by myself that seemed to work. When I have ventured into fields requiring different skills or natural abilities, I have not done well. IMO the most important thing is understand your strengths and weaknesses, then find something you are passionate about which plays to the former and not the latter. Then, work your nuts off gaining skills, expertise and contacts in your field of choice, by the hardest working and most informed person anyone in that field will meet, and either you will succeed by yourself or other people will notice you and offers of work & opportunity will come your way. Also, locating yourself in the right environment is critical - don't try to become an actor in Podunk, Idaho. Finally, if something is both your passion and suited to your talents, never give up. N.B. I am not "rich" (as in tens of millions+) but pretty well off and have a lot of independence. I know some rich older people and in many ways prefer the more independent lifestyle to the purely wealth-maximising one. I think it's better to be making say 150k a year travelling around the world than it is to be worth 20 mill but tied to one place, one woman, kids etc. So don't focus entirely on money but also on freedom. A writer makes less than a lawyer but can work from anywhere on the planet, a lawyer is restricted to one area unless they wanna retrain for years.
See, this is what I mean. I said FIRST generation wealth. I still maintain that they have much better VISION, such being able to read this post accurately on the first try.
oddiduro. I must have missed your first post on "vision" and went back and re read it,which brings to mind an incident from the past. I had a business relationship some time ago with a guy who I have to say was the wealthiest (let's include brains here also) person I knew at the time. We split some charity work and after the fact we both saw an opportunity to possibly turn a profit from our mutual effort and still provide a charitable benefit. I threw out my idea of how to do it (me being the schlub) and then he told his idea. I was totally floored with his concept. While my idea I'm sure would fly, it was elementary compared to what I called his "no touch" process invoving none of the work himself yet receiving the greater portion of the gains. Although neither of us followed through, I'll never forget the lesson of vision and thinking outside the box. You just can't get it enduring among the mass mentality.
LOL, you're a trader though, right? Welcome to outside the box. We are so outside the box that certain segments of the government want to kill us for a crime we did not commit.
This is why it's essential to wear aluminum headgear to ward off the evil forces. http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/
Cute T-dog. Youre from Canada, so I give a pass. You don't know any better. Watch the news in the US sometime. Populism is on the rise here, and Wall Street and all of it's associates are in peril. If I got rich shorting this bear market, I would keep my mouth shut to any non-trader.
Well, if we apply this to the richest families of the world, I can see your point. Drug smuggling, human trafficking, slavery & financing wars is Visionary, to say the least.