By this time most people are bored of the Occupiers around the world. They smell, their chants are idiotic, and the crowds who repeat every phrase of what a speaker says remind me of a very bad zombie movie.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s a lot to protest. “Crony capitalism” is not capitalism. Governments that promised to back up bad mortgages that Congress forced lending institutions to make is not the definition of a free market.

But too many of these protestors don’t have solutions. Some advocate wealth redistribution. Not only is it theft, but it doesn’t work. Then there’s the problem of people just not wanting to work hard. Here’s a perfect example from a 38-year-old protestor from Toronto:

“It’s weird protesting on Bay Street [Toronto’s financial district]. You get there at 9 a.m. and the rich bankers who you want to hurl insults at and change their worldview have been at work for two hours already. And then when it’s time to go, they’re still there. I guess that’s why they call them the one per cent. I mean, who wants to work those kinds of hours? That’s the power of greed.”

That’s right. If you want to succeed, you have to put in the time and effort. There is a payoff for hard work. Of course, not every protestor thinks this way, but there are a lot that do. And that’s scary!

By the way, not every person who works in a bank or a financial district is a one-percenter. But you can bet your bottom dollar that the way to become a 1-percenter or even a 25-percenter is not by protesting against them. Get angry if you want, then drop your sign and drums and get a job. Take anything that you can find no matter what it pays. Learn everything you can about that job. Then move on to the next one. Get to work early and be the last worker to leave. Become an expert in one thing. Make yourself indispensable.

When I graduated from college, I started out stocking shelves in a grocery store. I worked 70 hours a week. The manager offered me the assistant manager’s job at a new store they were opening. At the time, I had a bicycle for transportation and was living in a one-room apartment. I declined the offer, because I knew I needed to go to graduate school. I worked my way through graduate school. When I graduated, I took a teaching job that paid me $10,000 per year with no health insurance or retirement program.

I took what I could get. Saved what I could save. Spent only what I had earned. Didn’t envy anybody or protest against those who were better off.

No one ever became prosperous by complaining and protesting unless your Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton.