There are thousands of corporations out there with millions of employees who religiously devote themselves to working for someone else’s vision.

Sometimes they slave day and night, aiming to meet deadlines and hit targets. The majority of them strive in anticipation of climbing the hierarchical ladder, to rise in status and pay grade.

The sad thing about each of these employees is that they base their self-worth off someone else’s perception. They want their boss to notice them. They want validation for their achievements and hard work. Rightly so, it is human nature to want these things.

Yet, in doing so, they give away their power, their innate sovereignty, to another entity. The corporation.

The corporation decides when and how they will rise, when their moment to shine will be, how much status and importance they will have. It’s a never-ending cycle.

Hit one moment of glory, there will always be another to strive for. In this, the employee becomes chained and shackled to the company, along with everyone else who is part of it.

The employee starts basing his sense of worthiness on how well he is perceived to be doing in others’ eyes. Perceptions that are highly subjective and irrelevant.

He gets so sucked into this infinite ladder of striving and rising, that the dreams he once had for himself, the dreams that used to light up his eyes, begin to fall by the wayside. He loses his spark. He becomes another zombie, operating just like the others.

He becomes more agitated at home, because he feels undervalued, unappreciated, and unrecognized.

He gave his power away.

He let them do that to him.

He doesn’t even recognize himself in the mirror now. The hopeful, optimistic young lad with the bright eyes full of untapped potential is not there anymore.

Now all he sees is a dreary man. His smile faded. His eyes lost their vigor.