We often have wrong assumptions about generations Y and Z’s desires and aspirations and continue insisting on them to repeat our mistakes, as our parents did to us.
In fact, they don’t want to repeat our mistakes and live in a rat race, they want to be in command of their own lives. The young generation wants to be important parts of something meaningful and for their energy and enthusiasm to be valued, and not to be treated as cheap labor.
I talked to thousands of young people from different countries and backgrounds and found their one common desire – they want to live a meaningful life and be in command of their success. They crave to be visionaries of their lives.
Their choice is not about the latest sneakers or corporate perks but about vision being their lifestyle and being proud of themselves.
Vision is their choice of lifestyle and there are four reasons behind this.
Bold thinkers
Young people were brought up on examples of global visionaries of today whose meaning of life is greater than their personalities such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Weiner, and Sundar Pichai. This is not about wealth; this is about bold thinking and inspiration.
We know that today’s giants, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and many others were started by young entrepreneurs in garages, sheds, and spare bedrooms. Their vision and bold thinking were the main force behind their success.
No one can unwrap a new reality without bold thinking and accepting risk; this is not a Christmas gift. Visionaries ask bold questions beyond convenience or comfortable understanding. In this sense, young people are bold thinkers and are not afraid to leave their comfort zone and they have less imprinted fears that block their acting. They are brave enough to think that they can change the world and they will change it.
Blooming aspirations
Austin Russell, a founder and CEO of tech startup Luminar Technologies, founded the company in 2012 as a teenager and today his net worth is $1.6 billion. Luminar Technologies was created on Russell’s aspiration to power self-driving cars.
Vision grows from the deepest aspirations which become a very focused solution to a grand problem. However, one of the most difficult questions for adults to answer is – What are your greatest aspirations?
Aspirations are the roots of a vision where adults are very good at silencing their own aspirations by being ‘too adult’. Mature adults tend to kill their own aspirations by being drawn into their routines and daily worries. Many adults stop dreaming and learning by the age of 40. Their aspirations are dead and forgotten by that time.
The aspirations of young people are still alive and seek realization. Being driven by their aspirations, young people are positively looking into the future and have the energy to make the world better.
Their aspirations for the future are not bounded by addictions to the past and they talk to the future in the same language.
They want to be free
Life is not a place we live but a path we take. Vision defines a path into the future down which a true leader must lead others. Vision allows us to define and live to our highest purpose, vision defines our why, this is a ladder to success and a means of breaking out from an unsatisfactory present.
By the age of 29, Ryan Breslow, an American serial entrepreneur has already launched several successful ‘conscious companies’ like Bolt, Love.com, Eco, Prism, The Movement, and more. He blazed his path on his own rules.
Young people clearly understand that without vision they are hostages of the circumstances. They want to be free by knowing where they go and how to make their lives and businesses purposeful and meaningful.
We don’t raise children for ourselves, we give ourselves to raise them. Similarly, we create a vision not for ourselves, but to live for people. The young generation consciously and subconsciously understands this and crave to make it a reality. They don’t want to be convenient for the older generation, they want to be convenient for the future in which they will live. They want to be free.
Inspirational lifestyle
Inspiration feeds vision which in turn generates more inspiration. This is what drives young people the most. Young generations want to live in a future that will be inspiring and up to their expectations. They know about the future more than older generations, mainly addicted to the past. If you want to know about the future, ask young people.
They already have aspirations for the future and inspiration to create something beyond themselves. They see success as a result of combining aspirations with a pragmatic and inspirational lifestyle. Thus, every day we see more and more cases where young people strive to have a vision that will define their lives. Vision becomes their addiction.
Final word
The future doesn’t send an email to anyone with clear plans. What it does is it sends vibes to the minds and souls of those who are tuned to the right frequency and prepared to translate these signals to others whereas young generations are very good at treading these signals.
We must help the next generations in creating their visions as we will live in the future they create for all of us.
Written by Dr. Oleg Konovalov.
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