What does it mean to be a slave, and can you free yourself from the slave mentality?

These answers have shown that many persons do not realize that they are slaves. This is because to them,it's simply normal to work overtime to put your kid though Harvard say...or buy that shiny new car. And if you went into debt to do these things, that you felt compelled to do(somehow), then you are working overtime to pay that debt. People are slaves to each other and biology. As a woman who knows the pressure to marry and have kids, I suspect many women would be free of that burden if they wern't slaves to what other people think or fitting in. The good thing about failure is it frees you from the rat race ..and the thing about the rat race is even if you win you are still a rat. What do I do to fight it? I must battle within myself spirtually to fight my nature to want to be admired by my peers or compete or to date. It's freedom to me. It's a different way to pursue happiness.