Why Millennials Are Not Prepared
As I write this I want to remind everyone that is reading this that I am a millennial. I also do not take offense to the stereotypes that millennials deal with simply because I have the work ethic of a baby boomer and the generations before them. In fact there is only one super ignorant person that I know that likes to randomly bash millennials on his Facebook page from time to time.
Let's get one thing straight. Not all millennials are lazy. Not all millennials just settle for what they can get. Not all millennials want to be just average. I have been working since I have been 14 years old and my parents will tell anyone that no one ever forced me or pressured me to get to work. At 19 years old I had $12,000 in the bank, a 740 credit score and I purchased my first brand new car. This all happened while I paid my own way through college and worked three jobs. Why was I trying so hard? I came from a middle class family where both parents worked hard and did everything that they can to provide for our household. If I needed clothes or shoes, my parents got me name brand things. If I wanted something I did not beg or demand it because when my parents felt that I deserved it they got it for me. Take note that I am also an only child. This started from watching my parents and grandfather work hard. I think that I also developed social skills from a very young age. You see between the ages of 10 and 14 I did not go to summer camps. I spent my summers hanging out by the pool in our community and seeing what normal teenagers do with their summers from age 15. I realized that I would do the same thing (I just took it to a whole other level).
There are plenty of friends and colleagues of mine that have become high-level executives at corporations and even CEOs by age 30 (myself included). While the stereotypes might be true for a larger percentage of millennials we need to understand that it is our surroundings that created the way that we function. Checkout some positive words from the White House.
While social media and mobile devices have made life easier it might have also hurt the growing population (in some ways I am guilty of it too). One thing that gets overlooked is that the economic times are different. As the younger generation grows up it is common that both parents are working endless hours to provide for the family. This in turn creates less communication in the household and the millennials are attached to their mobile devices. The problem is that there is not much attention being paid to the growth and development of some millennials. I see it with the young generation. Additionally, these younger generations feel that is appropriate to dress immaturely and get tattoos. Yes here I am a millennial criticizing how young people dress and what they do to themselves.
I have a family member that is 18 years old and in college that is complaining to me how hard it is to get a job. I mean even McDonald's turned him down. It is no surprise. In fact when you consider that every single time I come over for family gatherings him and his little brother are always locked up in their rooms playing video games. The problem here is that they avoid most interactions with adults and are therefore not in a position to get inspired to start working towards greatness at a young age. I find myself being hard on my family member with how I respond to his situation. It bothers me more because he is a brilliant young man that is going to college with a full scholarship, which means that he is book smart but cannot figure out how to make other moves. In fact I constantly have to remind myself that I was raised different any my surroundings.
The blame for how average millennials turn out should not be directed at them but their parents for how they raise their children. Parents that get involved in their children's lives to teach them wrong from right raise more productive human beings in society. Again it is all about the surroundings that we as individuals are placed in.
One of the most important things that parents must focus on is developing social skills. Social meaning human interaction. The most successful people can be in any surrounding and start a conversation with anyone. That same conversation can create opportunities. The best example that I will use is myself. When I was 16 years old I took an interest in building computers and also teaching swimming lessons. Thankfully I was always around people in my lifeguarding job. I literally got to know people at these pools that I worked at. The opportunities that I developed included building custom computers for people and teaching their kids swimming lessons.
We can look at the word "hustler" in a negative fashion or we can use that word to describe what every individual needs to do to survive. The hustler is the person that can adjust to their surroundings and create lemonade out of lemon. Take the hustler and leave them in a new environment and they will create success or at the very least find a way to survive. It is never too late to inspire, teach and mold young millennials into success minded individuals. Colleges and universities must take over the role of grooming young people by letting them experience parts of the real world at an early age. This includes giving millennials the responsibility of having some bills. When they finish college they need to be able to move into a more responsible role in their lives.
Stan Sher is an entrepreneur and founder of Dealer eTraining, Social Sher and Digital Guitar Player. The focus of this article was to empower people to better themselves in 2015. To book Stan for a speaking workshop, contact Stan at [email protected] or http://www.dealeretraining.com/contact/
