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WotD: Get ahead
Hey, what’s up? How goes the battle? Are you winning or losing?
Where I come from, when people meet, they often ask each other many questions in quick succession.
So quick you never get a chance to answer most of them.
I covered the question of how goes the battle back in 2017.
You should refresh your memory on that one later.
Today, however, we’re taking a gander at getting ahead.
Coincidentally, getting ahead is a battle; we could call it the battle of life.
From the time we are born, we are all trying to get ahead.
So, what does that mean?
Well, to get ahead means to be successful or to prosper.
Seems simple enough, right?
Until you ask what it means to be successful or to prosper.
Now, my friend, we are getting into the philosophical side of the discussion.
Cultures and individuals measure getting ahead differently.
In American society, getting ahead means amassing as much wealth and possessions as possible.
Earning, saving, and spending money are at the centre of what it means to be American.
It’s called the Protestant Work Ethic.
In Japan, getting ahead is judged by how safe and comfortable you and your family are.
Sure, Japanese love possessions as much as anyone, but only as long as they enjoy a very high level of safety, comfort and convenience.
Americans can ‘rough it,’ or sacrifice or even risk everything to get ahead.
On the other hand, the Japanese are content to earn enough to have the daily necessities as long as they include a high standard of safety, comfort and convenience.
They are incredibly risk-averse.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 68.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.