The Four Harsh Truths That Everyone In My Generation Needs to Accept 1) Nobody owes us anything. Literally, Figuratively, Metaphorically, Physically, In the material, in the abstract. In every conceivable way -- we are owed nothing. We are entitled to nothing. Maybe its been said so many times that the words just whiz right past us, but we really ought to stop and reflect upon this reality. We are not children. Nobody has to give us anything anymore. We can go hungry, and feel pain, and live without -- we will, in fact. And this will be no great injustice because it isnt anyones job to shield us from discomfort in the first place. Nobody promised us a life of ease and pleasure, and if they did they lied. We have no place to be outraged when we are made to experience some small measure of suffering or sacrifice. This is what it means to exist as a separate, distinct, mature human being. This is what it means be alive. The world has left bumps and bruises on everyone, why should we be the exception? Even if we can think of a reason, it doesnt matter. We wont be the exception. Why would we even want to be? 2) We have to work. I know people slightly younger than me whove never had a full-time job. Ever. They mutter things about the economy and the tough job market, but the groove on the couch and the glossy look in their eyes tells me that video games and lethargy are much bigger factors in their current predicament. The lazy, video-game-playing manchild is a stereotype, but its a stereotype for a reason. Heres a thought. If you dont have a job, you shouldnt be playing with toys. A revolutionary idea, I realize, but its something to consider. There is work to be done in this country, and there is no reason why we shouldnt be the ones doing it. Cant find a cushy, high paying job with competitive benefits and three weeks paid vacation every year? Join the club, your Highness. Now go flip a burger, dig a ditch, mop a floor. Something. ANYTHING. There is absolutely no excuse for a young person to turn down any job offer. How is it possible that fast food joints across the country go understaffed while 24-year-olds sit around at home, complaining that there arent any jobs available? Stop whining. Put on your business casual, walk in there, shake the managers hand, ask for an application, get the gig, work hard, operate with enthusiasm and competence. In six months youll be running the place. We cannot claim that there arent any opportunities. If were willing to humble ourselves and put in the work, there are opportunities aplenty. As Ive previously explained, I recently decided to go into business for myself, using the success of this website as my platform. There arent very many one-person opinion blogs that get more traffic than mine. I earned that. None of this happened by accident. But if this whole thing comes crashing down tomorrow, if my uniques plummet and my readership disappears and my ad revenue dries up (and it could, the Internet is a fickle beast), do you know what Id do? Id become a trash collector. Id be a janitor at the school down the street. Id get a job moving boxes, or clearing brush, or mowing lawns, or cleaning dishes. Id do whatever I needed to do, and Id spend my free time crafting my long range plans. I wouldnt give up on my dreams, but Id forge a new path. And Id never stop working. Whatever the case, heres what I know I wouldnt do: nothing. Nothing is not an option. 3) Well never be successful if we dont take risks. Im talking about smart risks; not guzzling nine beers and going for a drive at 2 a.m. type of risks. Im talking about bold but calculated risks. It causes me actual, real pain when I run into young people afraid of risks -- afraid to strike out on their own because it might not work out. Might not work out? OF COURSE it wont work out at first. Thats part of the fun. OK, maybe not fun, per se. But its part of the adventure. What, we refuse to get on with our lives until were guaranteed safe passage and smooth travels? Well, I guess our lives will go unlived, because trust me, we will never be afforded such a guarantee. When youre young -- particularly when you dont yet have a family of your own -- you can do anything. You can go anywhere. You can chase any dream. You can move across the country. You can work four jobs at once. You can live out of your car or under a bridge or in a tent. You can go all in. Swing for the fences. Toss up Hail Marys. Whatever overused sports metaphor you prefer -- thats what you can do. You are untethered and unburdened. You are mobile. You can carve out your niche. You can make radical decisions. You can walk out on that ledge in pursuit of bigger things. You can take risks, because there isnt that much at stake. Not yet, anyway. 4) Nobody cares about our excuses. Notice I didnt say that we cant make excuses or there arent any good excuses. We can and there are. For every personal failure, there are thousands of perfectly reasonable excuses and rationalizations. There are valid excuses to explain your shortcomings -- but nobody cares. Its that simple: nobody cares. Out here, standing on the cold, unforgiving ground of solid reality, our worth is inexorably connected to our ability to get things done. We all have inherent value as human beings. But if we want people to value our opinions, our efforts, and our time -- especially if we want someone to pay us for it -- we have to get things done. If we dont, the reasons wont matter. Good reasons, bad reasons, it makes no difference. So maybe were sick, maybe were tired, maybe our dog just died, maybe our lives are hard, maybe nobody understands our struggles. Fine. Millions of people are sick and tired. Millions of peoples dogs just died. Millions are struggling. Nobody understands anyone elses pain and suffering. Everyones life is hard. Everyone. Nobody on this planet has an easy life. That simply isnt in the cards for anyone. No sense in bemoaning the fact. We might as well just get up and get on with it. We might think our excuses are better because our hardships are greater, but they arent because they arent. Our excuses are about as valid as everyone elses. Its not that successful people dont have excuses -- its just that they dont use them. Hence the success. And thats the truth. These are all truths. And heres the good news: we -- all of us -- have indescribable potential. A young person with ambition, character, courage; a young person willing to work and sacrifice and take risks; a young person who thinks outside of the pop culture, video game, gossip magazine cage; a young person willing to scratch and claw and fight and dig and learn and grow, is an absolutely unstoppable force. A world-beater. This is a person with the power to unlock the universe and bring out its beauty, and truth, and joy. History might be written by the old, but its made by the young. Just look at Thomas Jefferson, or Alexander the Great, or William Wallace, or Joan of Arc, or Beethoven, or Frederick Douglas, or Martin Luther King Jr. Young pioneers, all of them. Conquerors, artists, heroes. Martyrs. Thats our destiny -- to be the people who change the paradigm. Not vassals and slaves and mindless, shallow, lackadaisical sloths. There is so much we can do, so much that must be done, but it starts with accepting the reality of the world in which we live. This is that reality. It really isnt so bad once you get used to it.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 22:20:56 +0000
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