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So I was talking to one of my friends the other day about what he was going to do after he graduates from college. He’s a Business Economics major, and is specifically interested in international business. We talked about a wide range of opportunities that he could get in to – from going to graduate school to doing consulting to volunteering and a wide range of jobs in between. To each idea he responded, “Yeah, that could be cool, but I want to do something exciting”. Which I would then respond, “Well, what’s exciting to you?” Then he would say, “I’m not sure, I just want to do something influential”. When I would then make a sarcastic comment and say, “O, ok, that narrows down the options”. Essentially, the conversation got us nowhere except probably making him more confused about his future options than he was before we talked. And I realized that this isn’t just an issue with my friend, I think it’s a Generation Y issue.
Here’s what I see as the problem: How many times have we heard of twenty-something year olds starting businesses and making millions of dollars? Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Rose, and a ton of other ones (top 50 entrepreneurs under 30) just to name a few. All of these stories, combined with the plethora of available opportunities, have gotten into the heads of Generation Y. It has made us think that the sky’s the limit, anything is possible, and anything less than that is just mediocre. We want to change the world. We want to be revolutionary, not ordinary. Now that’s all good and well, but no one is going to change the world in a day. In fact, unless you get lucky, you’ll have to work for years to make an impact. But Generation Y has a tough time with patience. We’ve grown up in a world where things are instant, and we don’t like waiting around for things to happen. We look to the sky but don’t realize that you can’t reach the sky without taking the first step. That’s why, at least in my opinion, it’s become custom now for people to change jobs every 2-3 years, if not less than that. People want greatness, and if they don’t get it, they become disheartened and disappointed.
Now I’m not saying don’t have dreams, but I am saying that you have to be realistic about your opportunities. Let’s face it, not all of us are going to change the world and not all of us are going to be revolutionary. As much as our moms have told us that we’re amazing and that we’re number 1, most likely we’re not. Now I’m not saying don’t have dreams and hopes, but I am saying that you have to take the first step.
So what’s the first step? First and foremost, figure out what you want. “Change the world” is not an answer. Either is “Let’s just see what happens”. How are you going to change the world? Figure out what career you want and what’s the best way to get in to that career path. Once you get their, work hard, but be patient. Don’t half-ass your job, because no one that has ever achieved greatness was lazy. But don’t expect to become CEO in a day either. If you take it step by step, while still having your eye towards to future, you will still be able to achieve greatness. But overlooking that first step could be detrimental for your career and for your ego.
The thing is, we as a generation have the opportunities and the potential to truly change the world, but saying it and talking about it won’t make it happen. We need to take action and strive to achieve those dreams, otherwise we will always look for and think of something better, but it will never come.
Great post Peter!
I think the "thinking we are amazing part" is harmful, but the passion to do what we want and the willingness to risk everything, including failure, must stay. Be realistic about your opportunities sounds like a rather self defeating way to think of things. I'd say be creative with your opportunities and try to find a realistic way to make an opportunity happen.
Excuse me? I'm not going to change the world? Way to rain on my parade!! Just kidding! I think that Generation Y (and I still have my doubts that I am part of Generation Y) has grown up hearing that America is that land of opportunity. That we can be anything. We have so many more opportunities available to us. Also, with more people going to college and being successful, and just more people in general, there has been increased pressure, an increasing of pushing to be great and all in one night.
*shrug* just my 2 cents.
I think it is possible to have anything - but the level of "anything" you can have is limited by your own abilities and circumstances. You can be a writer if you're dead-set on it, but being the next J.K. Rowling might be a bit less likely.
After all, half of the world is below average in intelligence.
@Kristina: America IS still the land of opportunity. How has it changed? I love that this country gives us the freedom and largest amount of possibility to achieve our dreams.
@Peter: I feel that this post is confusing having lofty goals with having no sense of direction. These are two completely different ideas. If you are focused and take steps to achieve specific and outlined goals, you can indeed achieve them. The problem your friend has is that he is lacking goals to reach.
@Olivia: It is common for people to disguise negativity by saying that you are just trying to be realistic. I agree that being 'realistic' with your opportunities is self defeating. I would go on to say that our desire to change the world is something to be envied.
@Rob: If we are not #1, we should strive to become #1 and not accept mediocrity because half of the world is below average.
@All: How do companies reward those who have been working the same job for 30 years? They are laid off in an effort to cut costs. If you did not enjoy the years spent working, then you have wasted your time which could have been spent with your family or doing things you feel passionate about. This sense of entitlement will force us to question these kinds of jobs and instead perform jobs that will help us to rise out of the recession a stronger country.
I think in all this talk of passion and changing the world, we forget that we live in a meritocratic society. People like Zuckerberg are outliers in some sense. It's luck meeting some kind of niche really.
the rest of us, if we want to change the world, we have to have a tangible goal as to what that change is supposed to look like: whether it's writing a new policy or planting a tree. A lot of Gen Y'ers judging from what I've seen are all-arounders and make short term commitments to what looks like change. But change isn't a sprint, it's a marathon (according to some influential people). If you're going to want to change something, be in it for the long haul and figure out what you want to do first!
Great post, by the way. Some very sensible advice.
I think we do dream big. Is it too big? I don't think so. Although the ideas might be lofty, even if we decide to take this extremely risky road and "change the world" mentality, at least you tried it. Even if you fail miserably, those stepping stones seem important and can help to shape Gen Y.
It's funny because I can agree with the conversation you and your friend had, I seem to have that a lot as well: not wanting to settle. I see it as, to each their own, and that even we leap really big you're going to learn no matter what and if you don't try you may never know...
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My experience with dreams is that I am a terrible predictor of what will satisfy me career wise. I have been working part time billing for am air ambulance company because I needed a job. It sounded so boring that I dreaded my first day. As it turns out, my coworkers are so much fun that we laugh all day. I can't say that I love sitting at a desk all day, but my expectations have definitely proven lacking. I've also played the part of a super hero at a theme park as a job...that should have been great fun, but even it got boring.
Even the most exciting jobs can and do get boring. Likewise ordinary jobs often have a lot more going on than would seem just looking at them.
@all thanks for your comments!
@Kristina You make another great point. On top of all of the opportunity, the competition and the pressure is much greater than before. Ever since gen y’ers were in middle school they have been pushed to be the best in school, in sports, or whatever else. In some ways the competition makes us strive to be the best, but too much pressure can be detrimental if not handled correctly.
@benjamin It’s two separate ideas, but they go hand in hand. I believe that Gen Y has very lofty goals, but has no sense of direction in attaining them. That’s where the problem comes in. I would say that my friend has goals, even if their vague, it’s the lack of direction that he’s missing.
@mehnaz. Thanks! And I completely agree. I feel like Gen Yers thinking that planting a tree or getting someone to not litter isn’t meaningful, but they fail to realize that every little steps count. You can’t get the whole world to not litter if you don’t stop one person first.
@grace Although I agree with what you have to say, I think that comes down to more of a personality thing. For me personally, yes I agree it’s better to take a risk and if you fail, then you take it as a learning experience. But a lot of people (at least from what I’ve seen) don’t have that same mentality. If they fail, then they get really down on themselves, really worried, and will be scared to fail again in the future. For someone like that, it’s better to have a realistic, attainable goal, so that way they’ll have a couple accomplishments under their belt if they decide to go for a bigger, larger goal later down the road.
@natalie well said. So much of a job comes down to the environment, the people you work with, etc etc. That’s not something you can predict from just a job description or even an interview or two. Sometimes those factors are just out of your hands and as much as some people like to have everything planned out, there is a high sense of variability in any job that you take.
Change is constant so "changing the world" implies that a single action or group of actions can change everything—independent of the decisions and actions taken by other people... Changing the world in the absolute sense isn't possible. The world cannot be mastered nor can the behavior of people. Dream big, start a company or become an activist. But don't expect to change world and be able to identify it as something that you individually did.
Doesn't anyone recognize that ALL change starts locally? That if you work hard and make a difference in your local community, that the changes ripple out from there? Often it takes time, energy, hard work and persistance to make a change around you, but it's rewarding to actually be able to see the differences your efforts have made.
Stop using your companies pre-printed thank you notes. Hand write a thank you note! Hand writing is much more personal and it shows you care. More...
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