Millennials as Entrepreneurs, Part 6 of 10: The 2nd Coming of the Lost Generation

It is said that we are a generation of victims. That we feel that someone has wronged us in the past. And due to that, many of us feel that we are entitled to some sort of compensation.

 

For many of us, that wrong was when our elders told us that there would be a job at the end of our college years. For others, that wrong was being told that they needn’t worry about a job because they would be taken care of.

 

Either way, we were told about something that wasn’t there. Many of us are still looking for the cheese at the end of that maze.

 

The Rich Get Richer, and the Poor Get Poorer… Right?

 

We’ve heard this many times before. But have you ever thought why this is the case? If you’re not familiar with how Washington works, then you might not know that there are people called Lobbyists who contribute to a campaign (read: bribe) for members of congress to do favors for them. Supposedly there’s supposed to be all kinds of regulation for this, but in reality it doesn’t seem to be that way.

 

What works for the rich in Washington generally works for the rich elsewhere. Obviously, money talks. So those that have money have the power. Those without money are fight a losing battle daily.

 

The Poor get poorer because they try to play by a system that doesn’t cater to them.

 

Let’s pretend that I’m poor with a young family to support. I don’t have a great education (didn’t have the resources to pay for it after high school) and I don’t have a great paying job. So chances are, I’m getting all kinds of subsidies from the government… or not (I might have moral standards that prevent me from applying for welfare).

 

Anyhow, I finally luck out. I get an offer for a decent job. However, the job is half an hour walk away. I’d drive, but I don’t have reliable transportation. I don’t have a bike either. So I’m going to hoof it.

 

Well, I’m doing this job for a couple of months and I finally have a little bit of money put away. It’s getting to be cold out so I consider buying a car. Why? Because I don’t want to spend a half an hour walking in the snow everyday (especially after work)! So, I get the least expensive car I can.

 

I’m doing pretty good, now. However, because I did pay for a cheaper car (with many miles already on it), I’m finding myself having to do repairs on said car. Well, crap. Now I got to pay for that!

 

Ok. Well, this rat race sucks. Maybe, I need to go to school and get a better job. Then I could get more income.

 

I start going and I’m doing fairly well, but it sure is tough having to balance work, school, and a family.

 

So I’m going and suddenly one of the kids gets sick. We don’t have the best insurance, so now I have to pay for that out of pocket. Oh and let’s not forget the car breaks down again.

 

Well crap. Now I have to figure out how to pay these two bills. I pick up a second job and now I’m finding it hard to study for school. Ugh… Ok. So do I struggle through the rest of the semester or quit and come back when I have the time for it again?

 

Hard decisions… hard decisions…

What would you do?

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The previous story is actually the story of one of my past students who posed the question to me. They tried to play by the rules that society taught them. But due to lack of time and resources, they had a ton of issues. Luckily, this story had a happy ending… but many don’t. For most, it really isn’t as simple as pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

 

The current economic system keeps them out not because they didn’t try but because they were told to do something that doesn’t cure what their symptoms are suggesting is their ailment. It would be like a doctor prescribing a hormone for acne treatment. It might work… or it might make the problem much worse.

 

What About the Middle Class?

 

This is currently where things stand for the rich and poor. And the middle class is stuck somewhere in the middle. With inflation and the cost of living going up, more and more people who once were considered stable middle class are finding themselves sinking lower and lower. How do the poor and middle class fix their situation?

 

By playing a different game. Two books that I’d recommend listening to (or actually reading) would be Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Robert’s book with Donald Trump Why We Want You To Be Rich.

 

In these books, you’ll learn mainly theory on how rich thinking is different than poor thinking. Ever since I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad in 2001, I’ve been looking for as much content that I can find that is applicable for people who need low overhead to start a business. (The results of that will be in another post.)

 

Formal Education is A Dinosaur

 

I grew up always kinda thinking that I was going to be a teacher of some sort. I always wanted to make an impact in other’s lives. In high school, I realized that it wasn’t going to be kids. A lot didn’t seem to take the information they received as vital information.

 

When I got to college, I thought “eh, this might work.”. So when I got the opportunity to finally teach, I realized it wasn’t going to be college students because of the administration.

 

I thought about this for awhile and with the help of a few videos and audios, I figured out that it wasn’t the kids in primary school. And it wasn’t really the administration’s fault in the secondary setting. It was the simple fact that the system itself is out of date!

 

The main part of this, I believe, is due to the Prussian Education System that our current education system is largely based off of. The main thing you need to know about the system is that it consists of a ton of a standardized testing AND one of the main results being that it creates a lot more followers than it does leaders.

 

With the internet completely giving everyone their own way to express their voice, the system is failing miserably. It just doesn’t fit today’s needs and culture. This is one reason I believe we’re seeing Millennials question early on whether or not college is worth going to. What’s the point if you don’t need it to do what you want to do?

 

The Choice is Yours

Again, I’d say that all Millennials are victims in one way or another. Whether or not you stay a victim is up to you. If you choose to stay one or think that you will forever stay one, then you’re probably right.

 

If you think that you’d like to get some wealth (not just money, but in relationships, health, etc.) into your life, then I know you have the ability to do so. I’m glad to be on that journey with you. We need more people like you involved with New Inceptions.

 

Below I’d like for those of you who would like to stop living paycheck to paycheck, quickly tell me why you’d like to get out and if you can, what you’ve done in the past to get out. If you haven’t tried before, I’m glad that you’re making the decision to now – welcome aboard!

 

In the next part of this series, we’ll be discussing Self Discovery. Personally, I think it’s one of the most important things you need to figure out to have success with not only business, but with life as well.