This is an email I sent in response to the following request:
Looking for Gen Yers that strongly disagree with the “work hard,
go to college and get a good job” mantra. Why do you disagree
with this? What personal experiences have taught you otherwise?
How did you learn this mantra and why don’t you follow it today.
go to college and get a good job” mantra. Why do you disagree
with this? What personal experiences have taught you otherwise?
How did you learn this mantra and why don’t you follow it today.
My name is Jason Kirby and I am 21 year old senior at San Diego State University graduating in Entrepreneurial Management. I am against the whole idea of go to college, get good grades, and get a secure job with salary pay. My parents raised me in a way that was leading me down this very path and it was not until my second year of college that I realized I was going to end up just like my father. My father is a great person and has had great success in his career, but he is absolutely miserable at work. He has changed jobs 5 times in 6 years and every time I talk to him on the phone he is always complaining about his job and his boss. Both my parents provided my brother and I, but at the cost of their own wellbeing. Some people spend up to 50% of their existence working and I am do not want to be miserable for half of my life (read my blog post “Love What You Do”). This is why I am against that whole mantra because it says nothing about doing what makes you happy and following your dreams.
I first realized this mantra after reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki when I was 19. It was in that book that I realized my father was Poor Dad and I was headed down the exact same path he was. It was from that point I took a long hard look at myself and decided that I want to work my hardest to avoid becoming depended on an employer and a salary. I started a photography business (I have a passion for photography) when I was 19 and have continue to grow the business. I intend to use the money I make from my business to fund my future travels in 2011 that will allow for me to avoid the corporate world and experience what this world has to offer. Now I am no hippy by any means, I fully intend to do big things in this world when it comes to business, but it will be on my own terms.
My biggest question from all of this is: How can someone in their 20′s truly know what they want to do with their life if they have been in school learning one train of thought their entire life?
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