Momentum Podcast: 53

The Real Problem with Millennial's

by Alex Charfen

Episode Description

Millennial's and younger entrepreneurs have made an impression on today's marketplace. Unfortunately, the conclusions that the market has come to are for the most part incorrect.

A simple Google search on “millennial's and work” turn up titles like:

– Eight Reasons Millennial's Seem Lazy At Work

– Do Millennial's Have A Lesser Work Ethic? 

– The Problem With The Millennial's And Work Ethic

There are of course some articles that are not negative however the overall consensus seems to be that millennial's are lazy, don't want to work, and are incredibly difficult to motivate.

The real problem with millennial's is perception, it's true that millennial's don't want to work if they don't feel like it matters. But in my experience millennial's will do anything for work the matters. 

The world is changing at an accelerated rate, human beings are evolving faster than we ever had and this is being driven by the younger generation.

When it comes to millennial's, I learn as much as I coach and teach.

Full Audio Transcript

I'm Alex Charfen, and this is the Momentum Podcast, made for empire builders, game changers, trailblazers, shot takers, record breakers, world makers, and creators of all kinds, those among us who can't turn it off and don't know why anyone would want to. We challenge complacency, destroy apathy, and we are obsessed with creating momentum, so we can roll over bureaucracy and make our greatest contribution. Sure, we pay attention to their rules, but only so that we can bend them, break them, and then rewrite them around our own will. We don't accept our destiny. We define it. We don't understand defeat, because you only lose if you stop, and we don't know how.

While the rest of the world strives for average and clings desperately to the status quo, we are the minority, the few who are willing to hallucinate that there can be a better future, and instead of just daydreaming of what can be, we endure the vulnerability and exposure it takes to make it real. We are the evolutionary hunters, clearly the most important people in the world, because entrepreneurs are the only consistent source of positive human evolution, and we always will be. Welcome to the Momentum Podcast. This is episode 53, The Real Problem With Millennials.

If you do a simple Google search on Facebook for millennials and work, here's some of the title that you pull up. Eight Reasons Millennials Seem Lazy at Work, Do Millennials Have a Lesser work Ethic?, The Real Problem with Millennials and Work Ethic. You know, the fact is that when you think of millennials, when you talk about millennials, most of the conversation in the public is negative when it comes to work ethic, when it comes to working, when it comes to getting things done, and I just have to disagree. Every time I hear an entrepreneur or someone saying, "You know, I can't get millennials to focus," or, "Millennials don't really care," or, "They don't really want to do as much," I always think to myself, "You are making yourself look bad, because here's the real problem with millennials.

The real problem is millennials don't want to work if it doesn't matter, but they will do anything for work that matters. In fact, they are the hardest working generation I've ever been around. Millennials are obsessive. They won't stop working. They'll kill themselves. They'll go extra hours. They'll get up early. They'll stay late. They'll do whatever it takes to get to their outcome, just like any entrepreneur, but just with a higher level of drive, a higher level of passion, and a higher level of efficiency than any generation before them.

See, here's the reality that we're arguing here is whether millennials will work or not. The problem is is that they might not work under the conditions that you were willing to work or that someone was willing to work, but the fact is that each generation of human beings evolves. We evolve. We become more capable, more aware, more intelligent. We take on information faster. When we look at the millennial generation, they were raised at a time where information was literally at their fingertips. Anything that they were wondering about they could figure out quickly. They could find things. They know things. They're more intuitive when it comes to technology. They're more connected when it comes to getting things done, and finding solutions, and moving forward.

The fact is the real problem with millennials is this perception that they don't want to work. See, and where does this perception come from? When I was in my 20s, I heard the same thing. People would say, "Generation X just doesn't want to work. They're different," because they wanted my generation to look at working in a company the same way they did. They wanted my generation to look at spending 50 years somewhere and getting your gold watch for retirement, to look at that as a badge of honor. I can remember thinking I wanted to opt out of everything that had to do with that.

I think today millennials are the same way. They look at their parents, who killed themselves and didn't really have a life. They look at people who aren't really working for joy, or working for contribution, or working for an outcome, and they don't really understand it. When it comes to what they want to do with their lives, they want to make sure that what they're doing actually matters. When I talk about millennials, I want you to know I'm talking about entrepreneurial personality type evolutionary hunter millennials. I don't really know the rest of them, but when it comes to people like us, millennials are simply extraordinary.

See, most of my CEO clients are in the millennial age range, and they are unbelievable. You know, I think one, Carissa Hill, who is one of the most talented information product marketers I've ever seen in my life. If you look her up, Carissa Hill, or look up her group, Coffee With Carissa, she is amazing. She is absolutely herself. She is transparent. She's raw. She's real. She lets people know what's really going on. She's helped more salons, and salon owners, and stylists create six figure to seven figure business than just about anybody I've ever met in my career.

Recently she decided she wanted to start helping people not just with growing their salon business, not just with growing their brick and mortar, but she wanted to pivot and help people grow businesses online, grow a presence online, create information products. In her pivot she made $300,000. I've never seen anyone pivot a business from one line of business to a completely different one and make 300 grand. She's doing it, because she's wildly talented and able to do far more than most people were able to do in the past.

For me, the fact that I can attract millennials, talk to millennials is phenomenal, because I feel like I'm a leader of a revolution, and you should too, because what is a business? A business is a revolution with a profit motive. A business is a social movement that makes money. When you look at Apple, or Tesla, Or Google, or any of the great businesses that are around today, they're not just corporations. They are social movements. We are members of those organizations. When people buy a Tesla, they become a part of a tribe. When people use Apple computers, you know that they're a little bit different than the ones who use PCs.

When I look at the fact that I can work with millennials and that I understand them, it's like a badge of honor for me, because I want to lead a revolution, and anyone who's ever led a revolution in history is able to lead the young, is able to lead the next generation and the generation behind them, is able to lead the people who are actually boots on the ground, rubber meets the road, making things happen. In our world today, it's millennial entrepreneurs that are absolutely changing the game.

A friend of mine, he's actually a consultant who's helped me out a few times, Gallant Dill, here in Austin, is an incredible example of a millennial entrepreneur. He's in his early 20s. He has a Facebook group called Entrepreneurial Lifestyle Group. I think it has 85,000 members. He recently released a $100 lead generation product, and he's selling thousands of dollars a day. He helps people around the world change their perception, change their reality, and start creating cash in their businesses, because he's obsessed with creating an outcome, with making things happen. Like I said, millennials don't want to work if it doesn't matter, but they will do anything for work that they feel matters.

So, for you, if you've been on this bandwagon of looking down on millennials or thinking less of them, let's see some things that they have figured out. You know, millennials won't commit to something unless they really care about it. Millennials, most of the time, won't get involved with something unless it really matters to them. They will put their heart and soul into something if they feel like it's moving the world forward. If you're an entrepreneur, especially an older one like me, I'm 44, and you find yourself saying, "I can't work with, I can't stand, I can't motivate, I can't move millennials forward," any of those things unfortunately are just as much a judgment on you, maybe more than they are on the millennials.

Here's what I can tell you my experiences with working with millennials, coaching, training, helping them build multimillion dollar companies is that if they are inspired, if they understand that what they're doing matter, if they understand the outcome, if they're part of a culture, if they're part of creating a change in the world, they won't stop. My cousin's a product manager at Apple. He's one of the smartest people that I've ever met and still, just genius level IQ, incredible motivated, and he's a millennial. He was a product manager who helped create the button on the current iPhone, the one that's not a button. I think about Eric, and all the work that he does at Apple, and the outcomes he's created, and flying around the world, and really changing our perception of technology.

Hen Apple first created the new iPhone and they have a button that doesn't move ... It actually tricks you into thinking it's a button, but it's a static piece of equipment. There's no movement. It vibrates to pretend like it's a button. Apple didn't have the technology to do that, and they assigned it to a millennial to manage that process, to find the technology, to see if it could actually be done in a product that was already slated for shipment and delivery, but he pulled it off. I look at that level of talent, that level of drive, that level of motivation, and I'm first in awe.

Then I also think, "How could anyone judge this generation, who gets up every morning, looks at what they actually want to do, has higher guardrails for what they're willing to do, for what they're willing to put into their lives, for what they're willing to accept, and then goes out and is creating our world around us?" That's my take on millennials. See, I think they may be, and history will show, that they are the most connected, most aware, and most capable generation we've ever experienced as human beings.

The massive change we see going on in the world today, if you back up and take a closer look, it's being driven by the generation that has titles written about them like 8 Reasons Millennials Seem Lazy at Work, Do Millennials Have a Lesser Work Ethic?, and The Real Problem with Millennials and Work Ethic. Here's the real problem. Our perception is off. Millennials have it figured out. They're doing what they want, when they want, and how they want to, and if you ask me, that may be the very definition of success.

Thanks for being here with me on episode 53. I just want to share a little bit of incredible information with you for the podcast. We just hit 40,000 downloads in 52 episodes, because we hit it before this one. I just want to thank you, because we've done no paid advertising, like I've said before. It's been because you are sharing it with your friends. You are subscribing to the podcast and downloading it. You're leaving us reviews. You're leaving me a review. The ratings, and the reviews, and all of that drives podcast downloads, and we could not do this without you. I don't feel like this is my podcast. I feel like this is our podcast, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. 40,000 downloads is huge.

When Cadey and I first started this, we had no idea what we could do, but we set the goal of having 25,000 downloads in our first 90 days, and we think we're going to more than double that. I just want to tell you I appreciate you. I appreciate you being part of the Momentum Podcast membership, part of our listenership, and for supporting us in growing this podcast. It means the world to me, because getting the entrepreneurial personality type content out there and sharing this with the world has been my mission for years now, and this is the most effective vehicle we've found. I just want to thank you for helping support it.

I look forward to seeing you here tomorrow for episode 54 of the Entrepreneurial Personality Type Podcast. It's going to be a little personal, a little revealing. I'll even get a little vulnerable with you, because I think if you're an entrepreneur and you ever get in that place where you have some issues and lose momentum, you get a little overwhelmed, maybe feel like you can't see the path forward, I want to share with you one of the biggest hacks I've ever found that has helped me create momentum in the moment and go forward fast. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, and thanks for being here with me today.

Thank You For Listening!

I am truly grateful that you have chosen to spend your time listening to me and my podcast.

Please feel free to reach out if you have a question or feedback via our Contact Us page.

Please leave me a review on iTunes and share my podcast with your friends and family.

With gratitude,

Alex

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