In our society today, there is a lot of pressure. Pressure to get a degree. Pressure to make money. Pressure to be successful. And pressure to find what it is that you want to do for the rest of your life. But here's the thing: society isn't right.

You don't have to go to college right out of high school. You don't have to decide on a major in a four-year time period because "you're supposed to." You don't have to get stuck doing something for the rest of your life that you don't want to do. The fact is, there are a lot of people out there who have absolutely no idea what they want to do, but know they want to find something. And that's okay.

For many people, it takes years of trying new jobs, activities, clubs, associations, traveling and life experiences to figure out what it is they are truly passionate about and how to make that work for them.

I read about a study where a group of teenagers ranked what the "American Dream" meant to them. The highest ranking answer was, "simply being happy, no matter what I do." If that's the American Dream, isn't all the pressure to live up to other people's standards a waste of time?

I recently spoke at a high school where I asked students what they wanted to do after graduation. One student said he wanted to own his own plumbing business. Everyone in the class laughed at him. I immediately told the class to stop laughing and explained how people laughed at me when I said I was starting a magazine. Nobody has the right to tell you what you want to do in life.

If you feel like you've got a huge weight on your shoulders and have to decide your eternal path by tomorrow, don't worry – you can always change your mind. Don't let outside pressures, whatever they might be, influence your right to your American Dream.

It may take a while. Ray Kroc didn't launch McDonald's until he was 52, but the moral is that he kept trying. And that's my message to you. Don't ever stop trying to find your own American Dream. You've got to go out there and find it, because it's sure not going to come find you.

Bryan Sims, CEO

Sources:

time.com; courier-journal.com