I'm sorry to say but this one is just complete bullshit, this is a typical example of a lie people usually tell themselves. If I walked up to a person and offered him to choose between a latte or financial freedom (as a gift) I think no one would choose the latte. On the other hand if they had to make efforts to reach one of them then the result would be almost the opposite. A financially free man can have a latte anytime, someone who isn't free can have a latte when his/her boss allows that.
Social studies say this isn't quite accurate at all... people will choose instant gratification (aka the latte) over long term gratification. Over and over again.
But. It isn't just the effort--people put in effort all the time.. but after expending that effort, putting MORE effort into it (aka saving that money from working hard) doesn't feel as good as rewarding one's self for the effort already exerted (like getting a latte after 3 12 hour shifts). People choose lattes because they feel good now... And sometimes, that's totally necessary to do. I'm not knocking it entirely. But it's a choice. And it's the total accumulation of those choices that leans one way (towards the rat race) or the other (towards your own personal goals, whatever those may be). Sometimes peoples' goals are to get a job, and a house, and a family, and retire. If that's the case.. it isn't really a rat race for them. If that's what they truly want. But for those who don't want that, and are playing that game anyways... yeah, it's up to them to change their decision making.
I think no one likes the rat race. Leaving it is very difficult since you have to act against a huge set of (social) expectations. Leaving the rat race requires a mindset that makes you very-very different than most of the people in the rat race. It requires huge efforts and taking a lot of risks. In my opinion most people are simply trapped between the feeling bad about being a "slave" but being unable to take the risks necessary to leave it and meanwhile they spend decades lying themselves something nice to make the situation more bearable (this is what some people call "mediocre life").
Yes. Exactly... They do all of that. But... that isn't the rat race's fault. The rat race is a force. If you grow up on the beach, and get hit by a lot of storms... either you have to accept that you're in a stormy side of the world, or you have to eventually get up and move somehow. But if you CAN'T move, being angry at weather won't fix anything. It does literally nothing. You can't blame weather for you being there in the first place. Similarly.. people blame the rat race for their slots in life. It doesn't work that way. Yeah, it DOES require a different mentality.. it requires a lot of thinking outside the box, taking risks, doing things differently.. but that's what it takes. Not willing to do that? I won't think less of you.. but I also don't want to sit through a bunch of excuses which are just that. Excuses. At the end of the day, if you're stopping yourself, it's an excuse.
Selling your time for money at cheap rates is bad business in general. I definitely agree with that. Using your time as an asset is much more productive.