Too scared to fail: Millennials aren't starting businesses

[jazb]

Those comments, I actually do feel for them. Government regulation is a huge pain in the a$$ when dealing with employees. so much red tape its insane.

 

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[Journey2Million$]

On a positive note, here's some teen millionaires

 

[merc]

2. The KARDASHIAN Effect: Most millennial's worship the celebrity, the athlete, the musician. They see this life of luxury on television and the internet and love it. That's not a good thing. They see the ease these people live life and end up thinking wealth is easy to obtain.

That lamborghini Mayweather just bought? I'll have one like that but in red!

That private jet Beyonce and Jay Z uses to travel the world? That's my future!

But they'll never get it because they're stuck daydreaming about a life of awesome, and have no idea how to take action.

The ones that do take action realize it's hard work to even gain a $1000 so they give up and go back to day dreaming..

This generation is the slowlane generation. I was fortunate enough to have parents that allowed me to discover life on my own and formulate my own direction. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it) business creation in this generation will be very low.

A lot of generalizations in this thread. I don't agree with @Ronnie . The internet has made more millionaires in the history of the planet. However There's definitely a lot of valid points i agree with. Im a milennial. My brain has been wired from birth though parents and school to adopt the slowlane mentality. It's not an excuse. Now I know. And have had to teach myself everything about this mentality. That's why I'm here, to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to learn

 

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

My brain has been wired from birth though parents and school to adopt the slowlane mentality. It's not an excuse. Now I know. And have had to teach myself everything about this mentality. That's why I'm here, to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to learn

I think you touched on an important point here. The educational system is designed to put you in the slowlane, or keep you on the SIDEWALK.

When I was in elementary, middle, and high school, my friends were the side-walkers. They had the mentality of just having fun and never really getting serious about anything. No real passion. No real drive or ambition. Just exist. When we were old enough to get jobs, the majority of us did, and we began the route to slavery.
Throughout my upbringing, I clearly remember my dad dropping me off to my job before I had my license. He told me "You'll never be rich, but you'll do okay".
My parents always echoed the same words throughout my upbringing: "work is a prison, you do your time and get out" "We're prostitutes for our money. We sell our bodies and time for money" "You'll never be rich but you'll do better than I did."
I would go to school and be told by my teachers "Find something you enjoy doing and go to school for it. From there you can go on to find a safe secure job and if you work hard enough, you can retire young and enjoy your life"
Teachers would advocate how we should go on to live our lives, and when you would look at their lives they were speaking from a mindset of having f*cked up themselves. They were getting a$$-F*cked on the daily by upper management, they were underpaid, and they had student debt at 40. Their lives *SUCK* and that *SUCK* was always exacerbated through their teaching.

It took me YEARS, literally YEARS to break that mold. Imagine growing up and that's the shit that surrounds you? It's no WONDER the millenials aren't starting businesses. What the F*ck do you expect with this kind of upbringing..

The only way I got out of it was through a life coach, mentors, books, ditching the loser friends, and from that shift of mindset / environment, taking *ACTION* and starting a business and beginning to learn the possibilities that exist in this world for all of us if we just take the time to notice..

 

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[Pete799p]

Sorry Little Rant before relevant content: I am starting to get sick of all the media millennial talk with their sweeping generalizations, mark twain statistics, and condescending passive aggression. The funny thing about all of these shows, including the one I saw yesterday about millennials participation in politics, is that they talk endlessly about how we aren't voting, or forming households, or starting businesses, then they quickly gloss over a stat like, over history young people have never been very involved in politics and in fact the first Obama election had the highest youth voter turnout in history, or excluding the housing bubble peak there is still statistically more home ownership then in generations past, or in the above video how business ownership is down across all age groups not just millennials. So we are doing all this "bad" stuff that still turns out to be better then previous generations. And lets face it they weren't really doing anything better then us when they were our age and frankly most aren't doing any better then us financially now at their age, which is pretty sad given the unprecedented and most likely not to be seen for a long time, economic growth. And in all honest it's not just Millennials that need to man up, I hear people talking about how stressed out they are because they need to buy a new area rug for their house, seriously that's stress? I constantly deal with "adult" children, fully grown individuals of all ages who literally throw tantrums. Things like Tom insulted me or Jim took a bite of my sandwich. It's actually quite shocking. Rant over...

There are a ton of factors that I think play a role in why there is less new business formation, one of which is without a doubt student loans, but in all honesty things just are not the same. Hiring and firing people, all the regulations, the fees, the licensing, the tax structure, how one must operate, the magnitude of capital required, stagnated growth, more sophisticated economic systems that led to massive industry consolidation= fewer bigger players, banking, technology simplifying operations on a national and international basis and on it goes.

I have had this debate many times already but things don't really work like they did years ago, especially banking. I know several medical professionals who graduated with significantly lower student loan debt when adjusted for inflation then doctors are graduating with today and went on to open practices in their late 20's. They literally walked into a bank with very little if any track record, minimal cash, and significant debt and were able to take out substantial loans to fund tenant improvements, operating expenses, equipment, and other start up costs. In college I tried to pull $10k worth of equity out of my vehicle to fund a business after being told there was a snowballs chance in hell I would ever get a start-up business loan, only to be denied again and I had direct experience in the industry. Big deference compared to walking into a bank in 1975 slapping down your newly minted diploma and borrowing $100k for a business you had no experience in. I have a friend in dental school right now and when I asked if he would open his own practice he laughed and said his debt payments will be about $5k per month. That's a pretty big nut to cover from day one before accounting for equipment, rent, payroll, insurance, etc.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Some interesting opinions and insights here, especially from people in this generation.

Marked GOLD.

 

[ZCP]

@Pete799p is dead on about business funding. One of my businesses has stagnated on 3 separate occasions due to lack of capital (banking). Hurdles my father was able to get over because it was a different time. Banks may be shooting themselves in the foot as crowdfunding begins to take hold. Don't think they are going to be able to get a lid back on that box!

 

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[FionaS]

I think you touched on an important point here. The educational system is designed to put you in the slowlane, or keep you on the SIDEWALK.

When I was in elementary, middle, and high school, my friends were the side-walkers. They had the mentality of just having fun and never really getting serious about anything. No real passion. No real drive or ambition. Just exist. When we were old enough to get jobs, the majority of us did, and we began the route to slavery.
Throughout my upbringing, I clearly remember my dad dropping me off to my job before I had my license. He told me "You'll never be rich, but you'll do okay".
My parents always echoed the same words throughout my upbringing: "work is a prison, you do your time and get out" "We're prostitutes for our money. We sell our bodies and time for money" "You'll never be rich but you'll do better than I did."
I would go to school and be told by my teachers "Find something you enjoy doing and go to school for it. From there you can go on to find a safe secure job and if you work hard enough, you can retire young and enjoy your life"
Teachers would advocate how we should go on to live our lives, and when you would look at their lives they were speaking from a mindset of having f*cked up themselves. They were getting a$$-F*cked on the daily by upper management, they were underpaid, and they had student debt at 40. Their lives *SUCK* and that *SUCK* was always exacerbated through their teaching.

It took me YEARS, literally YEARS to break that mold. Imagine growing up and that's the shit that surrounds you? It's no WONDER the millenials aren't starting businesses. What the F*ck do you expect with this kind of upbringing..

The only way I got out of it was through a life coach, mentors, books, ditching the loser friends, and from that shift of mindset / environment, taking *ACTION* and starting a business and beginning to learn the possibilities that exist in this world for all of us if we just take the time to notice..

You're dead on. I'm 23, was raised in very much the same way - my parents are super supportive, kind parents, I love them to bits, but there is definitely a slow lane mentality there. I grew up thinking I was going to go be a cop, join the Army, or maybe do something with computers, work till 65 and then maybe retire. Or maybe be a stay-at-home mom, which is my current gig.

I was introduced to the idea of being an entrepreneur in 2009, when I had just started college. So, I started a blog and wrote stuff. Joined Beachbody as a 'coach' (MLM). Couple years later, I was introduced to TMF , just in time to get married and have kids. So, of course, I "had" to devote all my time to that. It's only been recently (even though I've been a member here for years) that I've really broken out of that mindset.

I'm still dealing with some residual issues (not in the least trying to work with two kids pulling on my leg all day), but I'm reprogramming myself, figuring out my routine, and how to get shit done a little more every day.

Most of my friends (the ones that aren't still in school for their Masters/PhDs) are miserable working lower wage jobs, and are already dreaming about the day that they can retire and travel/golf/do absolutely nothing with their lives.

And if I bring up the idea that there's another option? I get laughed at and told that their reality is the best it's gonna get.

 

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

You're dead on. I'm 23, was raised in very much the same way - my parents are super supportive, kind parents, I love them to bits, but there is definitely a slow lane mentality there. I grew up thinking I was going to go be a cop, join the Army, or maybe do something with computers, work till 65 and then maybe retire. Or maybe be a stay-at-home mom, which is my current gig.

I was introduced to the idea of being an entrepreneur in 2009, when I had just started college. So, I started a blog and wrote stuff. Joined Beachbody as a 'coach' (MLM). Couple years later, I was introduced to TMF , just in time to get married and have kids. So, of course, I "had" to devote all my time to that. It's only been recently (even though I've been a member here for years) that I've really broken out of that mindset.

I'm still dealing with some residual issues (not in the least trying to work with two kids pulling on my leg all day), but I'm reprogramming myself, figuring out my routine, and how to get shit done a little more every day.

Most of my friends (the ones that aren't still in school for their Masters/PhDs) are miserable working lower wage jobs, and are already dreaming about the day that they can retire and travel/golf/do absolutely nothing with their lives.

And if I bring up the idea that there's another option? I get laughed at and told that their reality is the best it's gonna get.

You're in the right place, that's for sure. You're reading the right books and browsing the right forums, which already puts you and everyone else on here miles ahead of the average joe-blow on the street.

The *Best* part about your statement at the end, which I marked in bold. I had a professor that really changed my mindset forever last semester, and it was about what you just said and the concept of retiring. I bet even MJ can touch on this.

My professor taught an actual, real life entrepreneurial class. No bullshit. No formulas. No functions. REAL LIFE. Business owners come in every week and we would solve their real world business challenges and present it to them, every week. And, a lot of the concepts we came up with made many people millions of dollars. This professor, let's call him Joe. Joe went on to found two very large companies that you and I both know of, but I will keep the names out for confidentiality. To put a long story short, Joe has a 9-figure net worth. Joe comes and teaches the class once a week because he has a true passion for helping entrepreneurs and contributing to the world. Joe is approaching 80 years old (and he's been a hundred millionaire probably since he was 35, mind you), and yet he continues to work on the board for over a dozen businesses, running companies, advising the youth, and teaching the class.

Why?

Because, with his exact words on retirement, this is what he told me.

"Why don't you retire, people will say to me. I tried that once. I went, up and moved with my wife down to Florida. We bought a nice beach home in a retired community and would get together with the community every night... And every night, all they would want to talk about is what the dinner-special was... If that's what retirement is, I dont WANT to retire."

Retirement is a joke. People think once they have a hundred million dollars they can go live in a beach home and fish and golf every day. Guess what, fishing and golfing every day will get old. If you aren't making a contribution, if you aren't *DOING SOMETHING* for the world with your time and with your energy and with whatever life is left in you, you're going to go crazy.

Go re-read the first several pages of MJ's book. "I write this to you out of blablabla... and out of boredom" - Now I don't want to go and put words in anyone's mouth, but I would *think* that sitting back in a very large house with everything money can buy will get utterly pathetic and boring... and you will HAVE to do something with your resources, with your time, and with your life. That was the perspective I got from a cancer-surviving near 80 year old professor of mine who has been worth 9 figures probably since he was in his 30s. Once you walk the entrepreneurial path, there isn't a finish line. Remember, journey, not destination. It's a carrot on a stick dangling in front of you.. So don't think you're going to *make it* and *retire* and golf and fish all day. Reality will catch up with you.. You will probably *ALWAYS* be doing something entrepreneurial once you drive into the fastlane

 

[LibertyForMe]

You're dead on. I'm 23, was raised in very much the same way - my parents are super supportive, kind parents, I love them to bits, but there is definitely a slow lane mentality there. I grew up thinking I was going to go be a cop, join the Army, or maybe do something with computers, work till 65 and then maybe retire.

Same here. I'm 25, and my childhood was exactly the same. I think, for me at least, it was a reverb from what my parents experienced. My Dad's Dad was always trying some business scheme, and never really devoted himself to anything. Dad had to move all the time, and I think he saw 'business' as what Grandpa was doing. I am pretty sure he vowed to work EXTREMELY HARD for a company, so he would have some stability. He now rubs this off on me, because he views business as inherently risky and a bad idea, even though his Dad just did business wrong.

I think it a little more complex than just saying "Our parents just give us everything." I think there is a reason why they act like they do.

But I am still trying to break free from the chains myself. I've found that I have an extreme tendency to stop doing anything I won't like or be good at, or if it gets hard. I do things that I am good at. Really is a problem once that tendency applies to business. I am working very hard on closing the open loops in my life and learning perseverance.

 

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[PopEmersen]

Not sure if I'm a millenial or not, i'm 34 but don't worry too much about us, we'll be fine. You can see the lightbulbs going on over young people's head every day. Or at least I see it. It usually happens when something wild like 700 billion dollars given to bankers for a baillout, or when we receive that fat Sallie Mae bill, or you see Snapchat being valued at 10 billion. Lot of us are actually finding new and different ways to move the world forward i.e. bitcoin, crowdfunding, social media so don't worry too much about us. We'll be fine.

On another note, who are these whiny a$$ victim millenials you guys know? Either I have really good, intelligent friends that don't mind taking risks or idk but I don't have these experiences with people my age. Shit, most of the people i've partnered with have been my age or even younger.

 

[Maks]

I'm 18 from EU and I founded a company and made a few hundred bucks so far.

If you ask me it's really simple.

Parents are stupid-->their kids are stupid

Everything comes from parents and most parents are just plain stupid. Period.

unless kids change their mindset along the way. This can happen I think only to the kids that have enough.

enough humiliation. enough of that feeling that they average. enough of taking crap from others etc.

This are the only two ways I see how kids 18-24 would start a business. Enough of something or smart parents.

24+ obviously start thinking about money more and it's another story but I can only talk about my age and college.

But anyways I like the situation. More money for those who are trying

 

[Jamesdoesmith]

So I went to actually go find what a millennial actually is and their characteristics. I have realized just myself and the few don't exactly fit the mold. SOME POSITIVE QUALITIES FOR sure and these are all i feel sweeping generalizations. But I digress

Generation Y/Millennium.

• Born between 1981* and 2000*.
• Aka "The 9/11 Generation" "Echo Boomers" America’s next great generation brings a sharp departure from Generation X.
• They are nurtured by omnipresent parents, optimistic, and focused.
• Respect authority.
• Falling crime rates. Falling teen pregnancy rates. But with school safety problems; they have to live with the thought that they could be shot at school, they learned early that the world is not a safe place.
• They schedule everything.
• They feel enormous academic pressure.
• They feel like a generation and have great expectations for themselves.
• Prefer digital literacy as they grew up in a digital environment. Have never known a world without computers! They get all their information and most of their socialization from the Internet.
• Prefer to work in teams.
• With unlimited access to information tend to be assertive with strong views.
• Envision the world as a 24/7 place; want fast and immediate processing.
• They have been told over and over again that they are special, and they expect the world to treat them that way.
• They do not live to work, they prefer a more relaxed work environment with a lot of hand holding and accolades.

 

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[Sowexly]

This has been an eye opener for me I might have jumped into some great books and chuckle at the idea of having benefits and a 401k right now but I still have herd mentality when it comes to products I won't say it's a "safe" mentality to me it's a if hundreds of people gives this an above average review I’ll not waste my time further it's the product for the job right in front of me. Not to say I haven't looked into things for too long either but these are things I'd conciser more future proof or things that will affect my body/health.

I know a lot of people in my city under the age of 25 are very lost in their below average lifestyle and distract themselves with social media and entertainment (I do it in my own ways too no doubt but I'm still working it, I believe some people find I might be too serious to have fun).

 

[DeletedUser394]

@Mattie , what in the world do you do?

Everyone you know seems to be either an addict or a degenerate lol.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Penn Jilette had an excellent quote that relates, he said something along the lines of:

'Two things are always true:

1) The world keeps getting better
2) People think it's getting worse.'

The relevance here is this media and public fearmongering. Economy is crashing and burning. Debts are rising. Sky is falling. Dan Kennedy also mentioned this in one of his seminars. He said 'Nobody talks about the new company which hired 300 people, but the one that fired 20.' So you have these people who are so afraid of starting anything.

Funny I was reading an article today about exactly this topic. The crux of it was that life is good, and only getting better, regardless of what the media would have you believe.

Some facts included;

-The world has never been more peaceful. Civil wars are down 40% since 1990. They are also becoming less lethal. In the 1950s 86,000 people would die on average, now it's 3,000.

-In the middle ages you had a 1 in 8 chance of dieing violently in some kind of war. Now that number is minuscule even when accounting for disease and famine related causes.

-Threat of nuclear war? Warheads are down (and declining) from a peak of 70k, to 24k today.

-There has never been less poverty. The number of people living on less than $1.25 a day dropped 52 percent to 21 percent in the past 30 years.

Most people in the USA that today would consider themselves 'poor' in fact live better than the kings and queens of a few centuries ago.

-Hunger is down 40%.

-There are 78 MILLION fewer child labourers than there were just 14 years ago. (still over 150 million to go!)

-The number of democracies have increased exponentially from a low of 11 in 1900, to over 80 today.

-Crime is down in the USA and Canada. Significantly.

-Life spans are always increasing.

-Malaria rates? down. Teen pregnancy? down. Smoking? down.

Regarding teen pregnancy, with the proliferation of shows like 'Teen Mom', people are under the impression that more kids are getting knocked up now than ever before. Simply untrue.

Quote: 'This is the Golden Age. For you, your family, everyone you know, and everyone else around the planet, there has never been a better time to be alive. But it doesn't feel that way, does it? Your mind is likely filled with thoughts of recent terrorist attacks, racial tensions and economic crises.'

I am never turning on the TV again. Was going to watch the last few NFL games, but F*ck it I don't even care.

 

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[Mattie]

@Mattie , what in the world do you do?

I consider myself and emotional & mental fire fighter. Advocate I'll go where no one else wants to go.

Life Coach/Spiritual Teacher/Human Service Worker/Social worker, Mental Toughness Coach, psychotherapist, sports psychology and I don't know you people all keep confusing me who I am with all the labels, and repackaging, making a new book cover, and calling it something different.
You tell me what I am? I know it all! I've been studying it for most of my life. Just didn't know at the time. I was just a life long learner.

I blame it my favorite Grandfather that taught me to do what's right in the world, and show them how it's done. He was in the Army, spent his life helping people and doing the right thing, versus what everyone else said. Walked in unconditional love, and I know if he was here, he would be very proud of me to be in the fast lane and trying to make it. I am his legacy!

 

[Mattie]

Parental Control: Most millennial's have been programmed from birth to "do the safe thing" and to "never trust anyone." Since birth what we eat, who we play with, where we sleep and where we work has been printed on a nice little "life card."

That kid's father did 2 months in prison 20 years ago for stealing sneakers? YOU'RE BANNED FROM HIS HOUSE!

Those cookies over there killed a little child in Arkansas 15 years ago? YOU'RE BANNED FROM EATING THEM!

Your friend's house is next door to a gay, non church going, Buddhist worshipping, Prius driving, hummus eating couple? YOU'RE BANNED FROM SLEEPING OVER!

A lot of us grew up without being able to make choices for ourselves which reflects in our adult decision making.

I'll buy into that! This world is just pushing things that way, with criminal background checks, pee tests, credits checks, internet checks, your whole life has pretty much got too be perfection to get a job. In college I had four background checks on me to get my degree. Local, state, federal, and forgot the last one. It's been awhile. And I've been finger printed for jobs, pee tests, personality tests, and they even make you take classes before they interview you, to see whether you will do the classes fast or not do them at all in a certain amount of time. If we had a traffic ticket, the school was like, we'll have to see if you can stay in the program. I didn't have any, but they're getting stricter. So yes, even with my son a few times, I've had to say no way and be on his but.

This society isn't friendly about your track your record. And that the same time I can see how millenial's can be rebellious.

 

[DeletedUser394]

I don't know if you took it as an insult, because I'm not really sure how to decipher your answer.

It's a fairly straight forward question and answer. Are you an employed/self employed social worker (I'm guessing so?) or do you just find ways to interact with the fringes/people with issues.

Edit: I found your website. So yeah, I sort of understand how you keep interacting with these types. Kind of that new age stuff.

Glad it works for you.

 

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[K. H.]

Quote: 'This is the Golden Age. For you, your family, everyone you know, and everyone else around the planet, there has never been a better time to be alive. But it doesn't feel that way, does it? Your mind is likely filled with thoughts of recent terrorist attacks, racial tensions and economic crises.'

Instant gratification has a lot to do with it too... I'm 18 and have grown up in a well-off (society's standards) middle class family that fully subscribes to the sidewalker mentality. We have a big flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, tons of knick-knacks, nice cars, etc etc.... but there's no progression. We live in an apartment and I don't see my parents moving out any time soon... They're just comfortable. Settled. They're happy with the jobs they have and live paycheck to paycheck... If I didn't know any better, I'd be going off to college in pursuit of the same.

I'm glad I fell off the railroad young enough to realize that everyone around me is going... nowhere. I've written essays on the failure of the public education system to harbor any enterprising thoughts in our youth... We've been indoctrinated to be employees from the start of kindergarten. No one around me sees it (too busy caught up in social media, drugs, worrying about their own petty issues), but I don't feel that bad about it. I see it as much less competition for me and endless possibilities with the gifts I possess. Hello everyone by the way, this is my first post

 

[Mattie]

No I don't take as an insult. No job, in the Netherlands/had to wait for paper work, permits, and language barrier. I moved here a year and a half ago.

 

[DeletedUser394]

Instant gratification has a lot to do with it too... I'm 18 and have grown up in a well-off (society's standards) middle class family that fully subscribes to the sidewalker mentality. We have a big flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, tons of knick-knacks, nice cars, etc etc.... but there's no progression. We live in an apartment and I don't see my parents moving out any time soon... They're just comfortable. Settled. They're happy with the jobs they have and live paycheck to paycheck... If I didn't know any better, I'd be going off to college in pursuit of the same.

I'm glad I fell off the railroad young enough to realize that everyone around me is going... nowhere. I've written essays on the failure of the public education system to harbor any enterprising thoughts in our youth... We've been indoctrinated to be employees from the start of kindergarten. No one around me sees it (too busy caught up in social media, drugs, worrying about their own petty issues), but I don't feel that bad about it. I see it as much less competition for me and endless possibilities with the gifts I possess. Hello everyone by the way, this is my first post

Welcome to the forum.

You might be misinterpreting the point of my post (which was straying off topic and was mostly a response to the person that I quoted).

My point being that if you are a human being living in a western democracy (or anywhere really) you are so much better off than ever before.

Even if you have a 'job', and make $10/hr, you have an extremely high standard of living compared to what even our not too distant relatives experienced, and yet in the news and elsewhere we hear about how life sucks and you can't go outside because it's dangerous, and everyone wants to kill you, and the wealth gap, and etc, etc, etc.

The people you see protesting minimum wage, or the wealth gap widening, or whatever else you can think of, fail to realize that even in their 'poverty' they live better than royalty of not too long ago. That's not an excuse for complacency mind you, but it's perspective.

I'm not at all addressing instant gratification or even the desire (or lack thereof) of people wanting and aspiring to be entrepreneurs.

I'm just saying that regardless of who you are, what you do, and where you live, you've got it better than ever before in human history, but it would appear to be the media's mandate to have you believe otherwise.

If people are happy, or think different than you, that's no problem. Some people, like you, need to 'progress' and keep moving forward. Some people are truly happy just accepting and maintaining where they are in the world.

Entrepreneurship is not the 'right' way, nor is it the wrong way. It's our way.

 

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[K. H.]

Welcome to the forum.

You might be misinterpreting the point of my post (which was straying off topic and was mostly a response to the person that I quoted).

My point being that if you are a human being living in a western democracy (or anywhere really) you are so much better off than ever before.

Even if you have a 'job', and make $10/hr, you have an extremely high standard of living compared to what even our not too distant relatives experienced, and yet in the news and elsewhere we hear about how life sucks and you can't go outside because it's dangerous, and everyone wants to kill you, and the wealth gap, and etc, etc, etc.

The people you see protesting minimum wage, or the wealth gap widening, or whatever else you can think of, fail to realize that even in their 'poverty' they live better than royalty of not too long ago. That's not an excuse for complacency mind you, but it's perspective.

I'm not at all addressing instant gratification or even the desire (or lack thereof) of people wanting and aspiring to be entrepreneurs.

I'm just saying that regardless of who you are, what you do, and where you live, you've got it better than ever before in human history, but it would appear to be the media's mandate to have you believe otherwise.

If people are happy, or think different than you, that's no problem. Some people, like you, need to 'progress' and keep moving forward. Some people are truly happy just accepting and maintaining where they are in the world.

Entrepreneurship is not the 'right' way, nor is it the wrong way. It's our way.

I understand. My post was a little more general; come to think of it I'm not entirely sure why I quoted you, heh.

 

[Formless]

Entrepreneurship is not the 'right' way, nor is it the wrong way. It's our way.

Glad someone killed the High-Horse effect before it laid eggs in this thread.

 

[AntEmpire]

I'm an older millennial. Split my childhood between the 80s and 90s. And I don't know if it's fear or really just the lack of knowing how to dream big that stops many millennials from striking out on their own.

My story: I grew up in inner city Chicago. Neither myself nor my friends came from homes of means. The only thing we had to really entertain ourselves were our toys and each other. We spent LOTS of time outdoors. Playing in the park, dirt lots, or just hanging around on different building stoops. If we ever complained that we were bored, our parents would say "well, find something to do." And we always did. In fact, one of the phrases we often repeated enthusiastically to each other was "hey! I got a good idea!"

We were always making up something to do and having a good time doing it. And we were all creative, each of us known for doing something. I was known for my writing while some of my friends were known for drawing, singing, dancing, and poetry. We spent a lot of time producing things and sharing them with each other.

Contrast that with my cousins who are 5-10+ years younger than me. They grew up with TV's in their bedrooms, complete with cable packages and spent a lot of time in front of the TV, on the computer, and on video game systems. My cousin's 12-year-old son has been thrust in front of something electronic from the moment he was born. He had his own phone since he was 10 and whenever he goes over to his grandmother's house, he occupies the TV in the living room, complete with his phone, kindle tablet, and a few action figures.

But you know the one thing I've never seen any of my younger cousins do? Create something. I've never seen them write stories, or draw, or build anything that wasn't required from a school project. When they're bored, they throw themselves in front of a TV or computer screen. And the oldest ones, who are now of drinking age, are spending a greater amount of time crushing for deals for alcohol.

I honestly don't see them being anything other than employees for the rest of their lives. From my observations with my own family, I can't say they are fearful of starting businesses because it just never crossed their minds. For them, it's just the lack of knowing how to create anything. If they're short on money, they beg from older relatives to get the difference. When me and my friends were short of money, we just found a way to earn it on our own, because we knew we couldn't expect it from our parents.

Just my two cents on my experience as a millennial observing other millennials.

 

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[SBS.95]

Generation Y/Millennium.

• Born between 1981* and 2000*.
• Aka "The 9/11 Generation" "Echo Boomers" America’s next great generation brings a sharp departure from Generation X.
• They are nurtured by omnipresent parents, optimistic, and focused.
• Respect authority.
• Falling crime rates. Falling teen pregnancy rates. But with school safety problems; they have to live with the thought that they could be shot at school, they learned early that the world is not a safe place.
• They schedule everything.
• They feel enormous academic pressure.
• They feel like a generation and have great expectations for themselves.
• Prefer digital literacy as they grew up in a digital environment. Have never known a world without computers! They get all their information and most of their socialization from the Internet.
• Prefer to work in teams.
• With unlimited access to information tend to be assertive with strong views.
• Envision the world as a 24/7 place; want fast and immediate processing.
• They have been told over and over again that they are special, and they expect the world to treat them that way.
• They do not live to work, they prefer a more relaxed work environment with a lot of hand holding and accolades.

Great post. I'd also like to add: they don't like to "figure things out" on their own.

-Need to fill out a form? Call mom and dad.
-Need to set up your internet/computer/printer/cell phone? Call the Geek Squad.
-Need to change a flat tire or jump a car battery? Call AAA.

Nobody wants to just do things for themselves anymore, despite the fact that pretty much anything can be learned from Google. Nobody wants to accept responsibility; they'd rather just make it someone else's problem.

It took me a while to accept it, but I really just don't like most of the people my age. Not even just in terms of entrepreneurship/careers, but even basic values and approach to the world. I'm not one of those doomsday freaks that think this generation is the end of us. There were problems with boomers, and every generation before that. I just don't share the same interests with most people my age. I've never felt more alienated than when Jersey Shore was blowing up towards the end of high school/beginning of college.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

They're happy

And that's what really matters. A Fastlaner has no grounds to tell a happy Slowlaner/Sidewalker that his way is wrong. The Fastlane message is for DISGRUNTLED Slowlaner/Sidewalkers who want to change and are unhappy with status quo.

But you know the one thing I've never seen any of my younger cousins do? Create something. I've never seen them write stories, or draw, or build anything that wasn't required from a school project. When they're bored, they throw themselves in front of a TV or computer screen. And the oldest ones, who are now of drinking age, are spending a greater amount of time crushing for deals for alcohol.

Great take. Surprised no one commented. Rep+$100.

 

[Bila]

Meanwhile the number of $10-million-plus women-owned firms increased by 57% ...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/geriste...-be-a-break-out-year-for-women-entrepreneurs/

Maybe because, yes, there is no other choice to a better life

 

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[ZCP]

But you know the one thing I've never seen any of my younger cousins do? Create something.

Which is why they come on here looking for a 'step by step'. It is how they are used to receiving information. Someone is there to help or has done it before. They take 'why reinvent the wheel' to a whole new level.

Means we need to challenge them on a whole new level. You see them wanting to do something that 'matters'. That is why. All the hard stuff seems to have already been handled. Most generations had a 'war' or an opponent to strive to beat. Life is too good. Not challenging.

As a bunch of fastlaners, the key will be figuring out a way to challenge them. Two avenues right now..... providing care for the older generation, providing instant gratification and challenges for the younger generation.

 

[DennisD]

'Two things are always true:

1) The world keeps getting better
2) People think it's getting worse.'

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS.
It's just people finding something to bitch about.

The "share" of young business owners is lower than the overall whole of all business owners.
But I bet you that the total number of young business owners has gone up.

Tech entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg are/were under 30 when starting their billion dollar enterprises.
There are more enterprising youths now than anytime in history... because young people are ON TOP of the technology their mass-market consumer peers are using and can take full advantage of it.

Also, the number of young people making money by being creators and selling on paypal is much higher than the number of registered businesses