Don’t wanna stay at the same place forever

When I first started here I was really motivated and I’ve even gone so far that I thought I struck gold. In my mind I was thinking that if I worked hard, showed initiative, and stayed dedicated I'd eventually climb the corporate ladder. Thought I’d get situated and anchor myself till retirement like my father did on his job. He worked for 30 years in a single company and never even thought about changing his job. But after a year of putting in the effort, I’m not seeing much improvement or any opportunities for growth. I've talked to some colleagues who've been here for much longer and they pretty much share my opinions. It seems like unless you’re lucky or have connections, advancing beyond a certain point is incredibly tough. I know some people might say that I haven’t been here long enough but it's really discouraging to see so many long-term employees stuck in the same place for years.