There is a mindset that is very prevalent in our community. It’s one where the generations before the Millenials subscribe too but has been hurting the younger generations and keeps us stuck in a different time. It’s the thought process that we need to be a doctor, lawyer or get a government contract in order to be successful.
The things that worked in the previous generations, were great for that time period. I say this regularly and believe it in my core, that we are living through the greatest time. We are living in a time where we can truly pursue our passions and not limited by geography. In case you are a first time reader of mine, I just needed to throw this out there for you.
Is it any wonder why many of our mothers, especially in the Caribbean community our nurses? We grew up under the mindset that if we didn’t become a doctor or a lawyer or get a government contract, we were a failure.
Millennials have had it hard because we grew up in a different time and we have to unlearn so much of it because it is keeping many of us back. We have a generation that still believes the only way to success is by getting a degree and entering into the field our parents want for us.
We are still programmed to believe that the measure of success is a good job and more letters added to our names to flaunt on Linkedin. We are trained to believe that happiness is reserved for vacations and when we retire.
We need help! We need to be told and shown that everyone has their own path and in the digital age, there is a multitude of ways that we can go about carving our own path.
A big part of why I focus on digital entrepreneurship is because I know what it’s like to think about starting up a business and not having collateral or assets to get a loan. In the black community, it’s rare for our parents to be in a position to help us get something off the ground. Putting us through school is usually a struggle for us and if it wasn’t student loans or government assistance, we probably wouldn’t even make it University.
Getting into digital entrepreneurship blows the doors of opportunity wide open for us. Start-up capital is low and we can learn a great deal of skills online and begin putting them to use and gaining experience.
This blog isn’t meant to be a long drawn out one…But listening to the radio, watching things on TV and the conversations that keep on being had are poor and unhealthy.
Hearing that we have so many doctors graduating a year and they can’t find jobs locally and people are blaming the government. I blame everybody around the student, who didn’t encourage the individual to really explore if this is what they want to do.
If being a doctor is your passion, great…but now is the time to take all of that knowledge and try a different angle with it. There are so many ways to monetize and execute on your passion.
There are many ways to succeed today…if you need to be reminded to follow your passion today, allow this blog to be that reminder.
Why be in a profession that doesn’t bring you happiness, when you can be happy pursuing the things you love.
I love Rottweilers and tech. Breeding Rotties, Dog training, technology…I am positive I can find a way to mesh it all together and create something. If I told my mother any of this, she would probably laugh it off and be confused as to how I could do anything with dogs and a computer.
Long story short, be creative…You are not limited by anybody’s definition of success…and you do not have to limit yourself to being a doctor, lawyer or praying to get that next government contract.