Generation Me

[Runum]

Most of you know I have been a teacher. I got out, got bored, and jumped back in the pool. I got the opportunity to talk to a group of underachieving teens today. These kids have proven they are intelligent and unmotivated. This is a poor, rural area. I had my pitch scrutinized by my 18 yo daughter and she thought it was OK, appropriate, certainly not lame. (Smart kid, she likes to eat )

So, I make the pitch, complete with pics and docs to prove I walk the walk. I told them about tough days in my life, how I worked and overcame them, where I am now, and where I am going. I also talked about how they need goals and methods to achieve them. I thought I was a pretty good pitchman, I think I coulda even sold some slap chop.

Response was like looking at a dry wall. :blah2: Nothing, no facial expressions, no emotion, nothing.

Providing financial and business education to teens is something that has been discussed here off and on. I have been working with several of them for about a year now and I really don't think they are receptive at this stage. I think they have to get out and skin their knees before they begin to realize they don't have the cat by the tail.

Also, I was watching a Dr. Phil show the other night. The topic was about the Generation Me and how a majority of them sincerely believe they will be wealthy and famous. They have no idea how, they just believe it is their destiny. The authorities are attributing this to the internet, You Tube, the reality shows, the pop star music shows, instant information, instant gratification, everyone gets a trophy for showing up, and being constantly told they were special since birth. It was interesting watching.

Dr. Phil.com - Shows - Generation Me

My question is, is any of this true? Am I wasting my time talking to teens? Should I pick another target audience to help out? Just askin. :cheers:

 

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[kurtyordy]

IMHO, the only thing that has changed is the exposure and perhaps the number with this generation. Every generation has their bad eggs. Every generation has a group that thinks they are entitled. Every generation wakes up at some point.

Are you wasting your time? Should you pick another audience? I would say no, not if you care about this demographic. My advice would be to stop worrying about and wasting time on the 99.99% and start pursuing the 0.01%. Maybe you need to talk to many more kids, but there are kids who will take to your message, you just need to wade through the manure to find the corn kernels. Take these kids and build deeper with them. They will be your apostles. Nothing will motivate the 99.99% more than seeing their peers succeed.

 

[Runum]

So, not a message for the masses?

 

[kurtyordy]

So, not a message for the masses?

no you need to message the masses so you can see which frogs need to be kissed (how is that for a mixed metaphor?)

It is just a matter of conversion. (I know you are not selling, but the principle applies) If 1 kid in 1000 will buy in and be motivated, then you know what your conversion ratio is. Find your conversion ratio, and then speak to as many as necessary until you are mentoring the desired number of kids you are looking to mentor.

 

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[Bilgefisher]

I think it can be. Many kids have never been exposed to it. How many relatives have you talked to until your blue in the face and they still don't get. Hell RDPD woke me up. I knew I wanted to be successful, also didn't know how.

Good things never come easy. I think one presentation is way to early to rule them out. I would say don't quit on them, even if they have quit on you.

Try another pitch, find local business folks to talk about the topic. Make them write out their goals, then make them state in detail how they will reach those goals.

Brain Tracy has some good info on the topic.

I do think society benefits as a whole when folks like you do this. It takes time, and you may never directly see the results, but you may just spark that fire.

The beauty of teaching is knowing that one kid you reach will make a difference.

Sorry if it sounds preachy. I grew up in a teaching household and hold a teacher that cares in the highest regard.

 

[Runum]

Thanks Kurt. You're right, I'm not selling a product but it is still selling, persuasive speech.:cheers:

 

[PaulRobert]

My question is, is any of this true? Am I wasting my time talking to teens? Should I pick another target audience to help out? Just askin. :cheers:

I fit into this category and I am all ears Runum :ears:

Are you wasting your time talking to teens?- Definitely NO

Many "teens" go through this phase and mentality that if they show emotion to a higher authority figure, they will be considered "uncool" amongst their peers. Many times during these types of motivational speeches, teens may bring out a lesson and apply it to their lives secretly. Cause if they show it in front of their friends, they are in a nicer way to say it, considered a "dork".

But, on the other hand many teenagers go through a phase were they think they own the world and know everything the best. (I went through this 2 years ago, life taught me a nice lesson about that. :smxB: )

One other thing that I have observed is that many teens presently, really only care about money, money, money. They love money and want it badly.

And my final statement is.. some teenagers just have a negative outlook on life. I call them dream stealers. You state your dream and they respond by saying "You'll never do it." Their attitude can influence many people without the others knowing it consciously.

As Kurt states above. Keep doing it and you will find more teens becoming interested.

Every generation wakes up at some point.

OO yes, especially after being in high school/ college for 3+ years and they ask themselves "What do I want to do in life?"

 

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[Runum]

I think it can be. Many kids have never been exposed to it. How many relatives have you talked to until your blue in the face and they still don't get. Hell RDPD woke me up. I knew I wanted to be successful, also didn't know how.

Good things never come easy. I think one presentation is way to early to rule them out. I would say don't quit on them, even if they have quit on you.

Try another pitch, find local business folks to talk about the topic. Make them write out their goals, then make them state in detail how they will reach those goals.

Brain Tracy has some good info on the topic.

I do think society benefits as a whole when folks like you do this. It takes time, and you may never directly see the results, but you may just spark that fire.

The beauty of teaching is knowing that one kid you reach will make a difference.

Sorry if it sounds preachy. I grew up in a teaching household and hold a teacher that cares in the highest regard.

Thanks Bilge. Not my first presentation, just my latest. I thought I would include pics and some proof I am who I am. Didn't have the desired effect on the audience. I do know the host teacher was asking all kind of questions after the show was over.:cheers:

 

[Runum]

Thanks Lambo. I know I shouldn't lump all of them together. I just expected more than I got. I was surprised with this group. I did talk to a group last spring and some of the most hard core, tough guys were all over me asking questions. One of them eventually did some work for me in exchange for me showing him some stuff. He didn't want anything for free and labor was all he had. I wonder what ever happened to him.

 

[cmaq]

A lot of people are never going to care... that's the bottom line... then there are those that will.. you just need to target those that care or have it in them to eventually care.

 

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[Operation_OPM]

Teens are not one big mass. Focus on the ones already looking for success and have the motivation and drive to succeed.
Honors Society
Future Business Leaders of America
Student in Free Enterprise

The way to handle the smart- inner city, rural, unmotivated type is counter intuitive and that's why most fail at it. You have to show them their "hood rich" hero...in a fallen state, contrasted by the success of a boots trapper. Most people pick one or the other and these kids are smart enough to retort them every time at every point.(I know because I was one) You must acknowlege the polarized state of their world...a flowery outlook will come across as a lie and the "scared strait" method will send testosterone levels through the roof "that'll never happen to me". Tell them the truth, let them know good or bad...rich or poor its up to your daily thoughts and actions.

Once had a kid tell me positive thinking was BS because people tell you that to make you put your guard down...that's his reality.

Frankly I advise you to let them bust their a$$(I had to) it is the only way to have a wound deep enough that you never want to revisit the negative environment, people and thinking that once plagued you and you will do anything to get on the other side of the spectrum. Focus on the doers....once they start making moves and driving to school in Lambo's....the rest will follow.:fastlane:

 

[StreetsofSilver]

You need to make it fun for them. This generation is very hands on and gets bored easily by listening to a long speech. Make it fun for them by doing interactive things. Use a game (like CashFlow for Kids) or make one of your own. Be creative. Use examples of stuff that they can relate to like how MySpace got started or video games. Good luck. You are doing a great thing! Don't give up.

 

[Knightsman]

IMHO, the only thing that has changed is the exposure and perhaps the number with this generation. Every generation has their bad eggs. Every generation has a group that thinks they are entitled. Every generation wakes up at some point.

Are you wasting your time? Should you pick another audience? I would say no, not if you care about this demographic. My advice would be to stop worrying about and wasting time on the 99.99% and start pursuing the 0.01%. Maybe you need to talk to many more kids, but there are kids who will take to your message, you just need to wade through the manure to find the corn kernels. Take these kids and build deeper with them. They will be your apostles. Nothing will motivate the 99.99% more than seeing their peers succeed.

I like this, because im willing to bet, you had someone in that group who listened well but probably didnt show it much based on how their peers reacted. Hopefully they come forth and look for further help from you.

 

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[NoMoneyDown]

Without getting to deep into sociology and the psychology of today's youth, I can only say children are - for the most part - a reflection of two things: their parents and their environment. The parental part is crucial. Today's youth are living in a much different world than when I grew up. Parents - if they even HAVE two parents - are both working, and under more stress than ever. Their time is limited, which befalls on their children. Single-parent households are also more prevelant today than 20-30 years ago, creating more of a burden on children. Technology has given rise to more means to socialize, so kids are finding "guidance" through other means. They are bombarded constantly by this thing and that and how "you, too, can keep up with the Jones'." Information is just too easy (and too much) for kids today to absorb.

 

[Icy]

Considering I'm a teen that grew up during this time I feel I'll give my input.

While I agree with what NoMoneyDown says I don't agree with the stigma attached to it. I feel that growing up in a time that I am told I can do anything does more good for me than bad. Now, this is of course dependent on whether or not I want to take action towards whatever I want to do.

I don't feel any sense of entitlement, or it's destiny, but I know I am no worse off than anyone else, and in a lot of cases better off than many who have achieved much greater things. What I do know though is that if I want something (and by this I mean a true sense of needing it) and work towards it then I will do it.

I don't see anything wrong with this type of attitude as long as you don't think it's going to be handed to you. People are too easy to fall into the trap of "to be happy you must":

1. Go to school
2. Go to college
3. Get a good paying job
4. Get married.
Etc

I know following the pre-determined path would leave me feeling empty compared to doing what I actually want to do.. I'm not going to be a failure because I dropped out of college. I'm going to be a failure if I fail to take action and just watch life passing me by hoping I find a winning lottery ticket on the streets.

Everyone here was certainly able to do anything that they wanted at some point in their life. I put "at some point" because lets face it some of us here are a bit past our prime to become the next pro sport star.:smxB:

At the same time, many of the people here show that they are willing to go outside of the pre-determined life to go after the "something more" they want in life. Surely all of us as kids are told how every millionaire\billionaire were just lucky and don't bother trying. Why are we here then? Because we know that we can do something more than what others assign for us in life and are willing to take action towards that.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Greg,

Kudos for you for doing this. It warms my heart no matter what the response was ... I think with kids, you have to break through their "barrier", violate their expectations, and speak their language ... if you can't break through it fast, the rest of the speech is just another teacher with a boring speech.

Of course, the big challenge is how? A Lambo rolling into class would have worked, but probably impractical. This is a good topic for discussion; how do you break through these kid's noise and get them attentive?

 

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[GlobalWealth]

Last week I was invited to speak to an entrepreneurship class here in Estonia. While these aren't really kids, mostly 20-25 yrs old, it was still quite interesting. There was about 20 'kids' in the class and I was there for about 2 hours talking to them about entrepreneurship. The lecturer prepared a Q&A session for us, but he gave me free reign to talk about what I wanted after I answered his question. I offered to the instructor before the class started to give free coaching sessions to any student from the class. Out of the entire class, I had one email. One! And this was a group of university students studying entrepreneurship. So far I have had an introductory session with this student and it went quite well. There is hope for this one anyway.

The point is, as someone else mentioned, it is a bit of a sales game and you will need to go through the numbers. This kids aren't going to be too receptive because it just isn't 'cool'. But it will sink into their brains. Kids these days aren't taught these types of things. There is a major need for it. I too believe there is an opportunity here to not just make some money, but attempt to eradicate this entitlement mentality that seems to be infecting the country.

In my case with these students, the one who was most diligent will likely employ the rest of the others. But without an entrepreneur, there are no jobs.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

Well, as you know Greg, I have been doing several of these "motivational speeches" to the local high schools around here. Even went to my old high school.

I just recently got invited to do ALL of the inner city schools, that makes for about 9 schools, probably 10,000 some high school students.

Two things I've seen know is that "hood rich" mentality plays big into what they are saying. (kudos for bringing that up)

The second biggest thing is language. It's not what you say, it's how you say it.

 

[Luke12321]

As many have said, I think it is a numbers game. You just got to talk to many, before you find one. Is it sad that is the case? Very! If you are speaking to kids who have had it rough, they may have a hard time understanding that yes....they CAN make it. And if you are talking to the kids who have had a "normal" childhood...they think they will make it big because life is easy and they have never been told no. Sad situation but I think you are probably talking to the hardest group to get through to.

 

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[PaulRobert]

A Lambo rolling into class would have worked, but probably impracticle. This is a good topic for discussion; how do you break through these kid's noise and get them attentive?

Well, many teenagers in this era are extremely materialistic. If you drop a line saying that you own a Lamborghini, I bet you will have more than half your audience listening to you. Teens love flashy and nice. If you say that you are a millionaire, own a nice car or nice house, teens will listen to you because in their eyes "You have made it." It's pretty disappointing that you have to mention your wealth status to gain attention amongst most teenagers today in order to get them to listen to you.

Another way to get them to listen, is to get teenagers to laugh. If you get them to laugh, they will see that you are not there to just "teach" them something but you actually want to help them and have fun in the process.

Out of the entire class, I had one email. One! And this was a group of university students studying entrepreneurship. So far I have had an introductory session with this student and it went quite well. There is hope for this one anyway.

In my case with these students, the one who was most diligent will likely employ the rest of the others. But without an entrepreneur, there are no jobs.

And that student will go far, because he took the extra step to reach out and ask for help and guidance. At my school we recently had a motivational speaker/Olympic gold winner come speak to us. He spoke to us about goal setting, believing in our dreams and never giving up. I was very moved by his speech and emailed him a nice Thank You email after.
Some other kids said that he was full of it. That is just pure arrogance. You are handed a once in a life time opportunity and you trash it. This is the problem with my age group. Arrogance, ego and attitude all play a huge factor.

 

[mkzhang]

I think you will find a nice receptive audience if you speak with graduating college students right now.

The recession is hitting home hard, a lot of people can't find jobs let along getting an interview. I've had friends jumping through hoops for an interview and then get weeded out at the end.

Once reality hits, the mentality goes away.

Young kids, specially high schools find no needs to listen to you. They can get into college fine, why should they listen? After all, college gets them nice jobs right?

 

[rcardin]

Greg,
I go through the same thing every year. You try to give them valuable info that no other teacher will ever give them and it is nothing but blank stares.

Right now my advisory class is listening to RDPD on tape. I know that most are not paying attention but there are one or two that can answer questions about the tape. Maybe it will make a difference maybe not. I have to go to eviction court tomorrow and were telling my kids about it and why I would be gone. Got an interesting discussion on kicking someone out of their house this close to Christmas. Some had the bleeding heart mentality and some had the "it's just Business" attitude. After they found out the girl owes me over 2k most of them understood why I was doing it. Kids these days are all about the money.

Every year I ask my kids what they want to be when they grow up. 90% of the boys are absolutely sure they will be pro athletes. I usually explain what happens when they blow out a knee their senior year and they have wasted that free ride. I have actually had a couple of kids come to me with a backup plan. Kinda neat to know that they listened enough to make a back up plan.

Second thing I ask the boys is "what is the easiest full ride scholarship they can get?" They come up with all kinds of sports related scholarships but not one of them comes up with Cheer leading. I tell them about cheer leading and the first thing out of their mouth is "that is so gay" I have to ask them what is so gay about holding the hottest girls in the school up by their butts? Maybe one of them will take the chance and get a free education.

 

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[mkzhang]

Second thing I ask the boys is "what is the easiest full ride scholarship they can get?" They come up with all kinds of sports related scholarships but not one of them comes up with Cheer leading. I tell them about cheer leading and the first thing out of their mouth is "that is so gay" I have to ask them what is so gay about holding the hottest girls in the school up by their butts? Maybe one of them will take the chance and get a free education.

That cracked me up, you sound like a fun teacher

 

[Runum]

Greg,
I go through the same thing every year. You try to give them valuable info that no other teacher will ever give them and it is nothing but blank stares.

Right now my advisory class is listening to RDPD on tape. I know that most are not paying attention but there are one or two that can answer questions about the tape. Maybe it will make a difference maybe not. I have to go to eviction court tomorrow and were telling my kids about it and why I would be gone. Got an interesting discussion on kicking someone out of their house this close to Christmas. Some had the bleeding heart mentality and some had the "it's just Business" attitude. After they found out the girl owes me over 2k most of them understood why I was doing it. Kids these days are all about the money.

Thanks Rick. RDPD in public school, interesting.

The host teacher emailed me a thank you today. It was a cool email, she got it.

Here is a little more about what I did. When I opened I gave them a piece of typing paper and had them fold it in half. On the left side I had them sketch or list a few things about life right now, good or bad. This was to be totally private and even I didn't want to know what they wrote. On the right side I wanted them to sketch their goals or vision. While they were doing this I did my list on the white board. I listed several things on the left board that I had to overcome to get here. On the right I listed a few simple goals. A beach house, 2-3 sports cars.... After I talked about my life for a while and pumped up goals and dreams and work, I then used the projector to show them my house, cars, some rent houses, web sites, etc.(Not too much, I didn't want to get mugged:smxF: ) I knew I had to have pics to back up my story.

At the end of the show I asked them to neatly tear their papers in half and spread them apart as far as they could reach. I told them, on the left is where you are now, on the right is where you want to go. For 12 years everyone has been telling you what to do. Soon, it will be all on you to figure out all the stuff it will take to get from your left hand to your right hand. It will be so cool, no one will tell you what to do or how to do it. You have the freedom to figure it out on your own. You will make mistakes, learn from them. You will have successes, celebrate them. People will help you if your are really driven. However, just know this, you also have the freedom to starve, as well, if you don't work. I wish you all much success.

To all the fastlaners, thank you all for your input. I am learning more with each post. I can't wait for my next opportunity.:cheers:

 

[GlobalWealth]

And that student will go far, because he took the extra step to reach out and ask for help and guidance. At my school we recently had a motivational speaker/Olympic gold winner come speak to us. He spoke to us about goal setting, believing in our dreams and never giving up. I was very moved by his speech and emailed him a nice Thank You email after.
Some other kids said that he was full of it. That is just pure arrogance. You are handed a once in a life time opportunity and you trash it. This is the problem with my age group. Arrogance, ego and attitude all play a huge factor.

While I am by no means a huge success story, I have had some professional success as an entrepreneur and investor. One of the students in class asked me during my discussion 'what is one of your critical succss factor?'. My answer was 'get a mentor'.

I have always had mentors. First my grandfather and my dad who were both entrepreneurs. Then other entrepreneurs over the years.

The student who asked me the question then asked me how to you go about finding mentors. My answer, 'ask them'. This guy in class just laughed and responded, 'don't you think those that are willing to mentor won't give you the time?'. I told him that the people you are most afraid to approach are, in many cases, the ones most likely to respect you for your courage and become a mentor to you. I find it ironic that I made an offer to coach any of them in the class after this discussion and only one responded.

When I was 20 years old I was very interested in investing in the stock market. So I wrote a letter to Warren Buffett asking him if I could come to Omaha to meet him in person. While Buffett did not become a mentor, he took the time to write me a handwritten note telling me that he was too busy and he thanked me for the letter. Maybe I was naive at 20 (who isn't), but I had the courage to ask.

Last week I decided I want to find a new mentor in investing. I sent an email to an unnamed, but very famous, investor. I requested a meeting with him and an invitation to a lecture he is giving in Zurich. Today I received my formal invitation to the private event. The point is, don't be afraid to ask.

Sorry I got a bit off topic but I was on a thought and afraid with all my motorcycle crashes I would forget it later...

 

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