As a young adult growing up between the ages of 16 and 25, you are the first generation to grow up in the 21st century amidst the advent of a new technological era that actually allows you to carry out the majority of your consumer-related transactions and access unlimited amounts of information and resources from your SmartPhone, computer or tablet device from virtually anywhere in the world. Yet, despite all of the major advancements and perceived conveniences created by these new technologies, recent studies have revealed that many of you Emerging Adults still have no idea how to create wealth or procure jobs because your parents, teachers or universities never provided you with the ability to balance a checkbook, or acquire skills to perform a job.
According to a recent CNN article, multi-Grammy Award winning singer, Dionne Warwick, just filed for bankruptcy, citing more than $10 million in tax debt dating back to 1991. Warwick, 72, was one of the most recognizable pop voices of the 1960s, winning 5 Grammys throughout her 50-year career. Unfortunately, now she is down to her last $1,000 in cash and only owns furniture and clothing worth $1,500. At the time of her bankruptcy filing, Warwick claimed that her financial chaos was due to several consecutive years (the late ‘80s through the mid-‘90s) of negligent and gross financial mismanagement.
Like Warwick, so many adults between the ages of 40-60 continue to foolishly believe that money matters and career decisions take care of themselves. If you recall the financial crisis of 2008, ignorance was not bliss, as many of your generation have now either personally experienced or known someone close to you whose parents have lost their jobs (due to downsizing or outsourcing), could not afford to send you or your friends to college due to unforeseen financial hardship, or, even worse, had to lose their homes or apartments due to unprecedented bank foreclosures. Have I got your attention? Does this make you a little more nervous or concerned? Good! If not, it should.
Recent studies have shown that over the past decade a majority of Emerging Adults continue to suffer from poor financial literacy, a trend that shows few signs of improvement. In my upcoming book, Growing Success: A Young Adult’s Guide to Achieving Personal and Financial Success, I provide Emerging Adults, like you, with the needed educational concepts, techniques, and tools in order to help you address the lack of financial education and personal development that many of you are not receiving in high schools and/or colleges and universities today. These are the very same skill sets that will enable you to make decisions that will positively impact your overall personal and financial success for years to come.
Many of you are probably returning from your college spring break this week, and some of you may also be close to graduating or landing your first real job in this century of uncertainty. So now is the perfect time to start asking yourself, “What do I want to do with my life?”, “How can I create and manifest the life that I really want to live?”, “Who will I choose to surround myself with that will support my intentions?”, and others like these. Once you begin to answer these important questions, you can then start taking the necessary steps to begin to make things really happen!
I have often believed that one’s ability to truly create wealth and find a job that truly sparks and inspires one’s passion is the single greatest road to success. As I have shared before, there should be at least one of three reasons why you should consider pursuing an ideal job:
1. Quality of Life – Find a job that allows you to live in a location where you can thrive. Identify a job that lets you live the life you want surrounded by the people who support and admire you.
2. Challenge Yourself – Pursue a job or career where the work will challenge or motivate you, while also allowing you to grow from your experiences, and
3. Financial Reward – I intentionally listed this pursuit last. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for finding a career path that rewards you for all your hard work and efforts, but I just don’t believe that money should be the sole driving force for why you choose to pursue a job or career. Money should be viewed as opportunity, your financial means for continuing to pursue your passions. I honestly believe that if you follow your true passion, the money will definitely follow.
You can no longer rely on others to fix your problems or create your opportunities.
It is imperative that you not blindly follow in the footsteps of the generations before you.
You must begin developing new ways to succeed on your own terms so you can begin to make better decisions earlier in your life that will positively impact your future personal and financial success.
I am confident that if you take the time and find the courage to educate yourself now so you can learn and incorporate good financial habits from an early age (e.g. reading books and articles, attending webinars, etc.,), you will enhance your odds for growing your success.