Why All Young People Should Be Entrepreneurs. | Justin Lafazan | TEDxAllendaleColumbiaSchool
Summary
TLDRThe speaker challenges the traditional linear path to success, questioning societal norms that dictate a certain sequence from high school to retirement. They advocate for life design, encouraging entrepreneurship among youth to create opportunities and solve problems. The benefits highlighted include excitement, flexibility, risk aversion, and the ability to explore passions. The narrative contrasts the structured life with the empowered life of an entrepreneur, urging young people to design their own paths to extraordinary lives.
Takeaways
- 🤔 The speaker felt their life was on a predetermined path that didn't resonate with them, questioning the conventional route to success.
- 🔄 A paradox was identified where the status quo advice for success didn't align with the dissatisfaction of many in their work.
- 🌐 The concept of 'life design' was introduced as a way to envision and create a path towards a desired future lifestyle.
- 🏫 The speaker disliked the rigid structure of school and sought a more flexible and engaging way to learn and grow.
- 🚀 Entrepreneurship was presented as a means to create opportunities and solve problems, diverging from the traditional career ladder.
- 💡 The speaker discovered that successful people often carved their own paths, seeking lives that were not readily available.
- 📈 Entrepreneurship was advocated for young people as it offers excitement, flexibility, and a sense of control over one's life path.
- 📉 The risks of following a traditional career path were highlighted, using the example of someone reaching a high position in a company that then failed.
- 👨🎓 The speaker shared personal experiences of starting companies and the value of trying different things to understand one's passions.
- 🧠 The importance of experimentation and exploration was emphasized over rigid educational and career structures.
- 💼 The final call to action was for young people to design their lives with entrepreneurship in mind, aiming for extraordinary rather than average lives.
Q & A
What was the speaker's problem with the traditional path to success?
-The speaker felt that the traditional path to success, which involves going from high school to college to internships to jobs and eventually retirement, did not make sense to them and did not resonate with their desire for a non-conventional life.
What paradox did the speaker develop regarding societal messages about success?
-The paradox was that if everyone follows the same singular path to success, how can one stand out or achieve something different from the status quo, especially when many people are unhappy with their work.
What is the 'hand in the sand' mentality mentioned in the script?
-The 'hand in the sand' mentality refers to the process of taking in as much advice as possible and letting go of the advice that doesn't resonate, while holding onto the advice that does.
What did the speaker discover as the core advice in the palm of their hand?
-The core advice that the speaker found valuable was to create opportunities and solve problems.
How does the speaker define 'life design'?
-Life design is defined as looking out 10 years into the future, identifying the life one wants to live, and designing a path to achieve that life.
What are the benefits of entrepreneurship that the speaker mentions?
-The speaker mentions three benefits of entrepreneurship: excitement, flexibility, and being risk-averse.
Why does the speaker feel that entrepreneurship leads to excitement?
-Entrepreneurship leads to excitement because it involves working on cool projects, traveling, and engaging with interesting people, which contrasts with the boredom and disengagement felt in traditional educational settings.
How does entrepreneurship offer flexibility according to the speaker?
-Entrepreneurship offers flexibility by allowing individuals to choose various life paths and make decisions that best suit them, as opposed to being confined by rigid schedules and structures in traditional education and corporate environments.
What example does the speaker use to illustrate the idea that entrepreneurship is risk-averse?
-The speaker uses the example of a man who worked his way up in a company (Blockbuster) that eventually went bankrupt, showing that even a seemingly secure corporate path can be risky, whereas entrepreneurship allows for more control over one's life path.
What is the story of Tim and Jared that the speaker shares?
-Tim is a high-achieving student struggling to find an internship, while Jared, who was rejected by every school he applied to, took control of his life by starting the 'gap year experiment,' which led to an impressive resume. This story illustrates that entrepreneurship can lead to more control over one's life path.
Why does the speaker believe entrepreneurship is essential for young people?
-The speaker believes entrepreneurship is essential for young people because it allows for experimentation and exploration of passions and interests, which can lead to finding fulfilling work and a meaningful life path.
What is the final call to action the speaker gives to young people?
-The speaker urges young people to envision their life ten years from now, decide how they want to live, and design a path to achieve that life, rather than following the average status quo advice.
Outlines
🤔 Challenging Traditional Success Pathways
The speaker reflects on their junior year of high school, feeling that societal messages about a singular path to success did not resonate with them. They observed a paradox where the 'status quo' advice seemed to lead to dissatisfaction for many. The speaker was confused about what it takes to be successful and felt that the conventional educational and career trajectory was not the best fit for their desire to make a change in the world. They began researching and asking questions, adopting a selective approach to advice, discarding what didn't resonate and holding onto what did. This led them to the concept of creating opportunities and solving problems, which they found to be the essence of entrepreneurship. The speaker also notes the evolving definition of an entrepreneur, from someone who starts a company to someone who creates opportunities, aligning with their own discoveries.
🚀 Embracing Entrepreneurship for a Fulfilling Life
The speaker advocates for entrepreneurship as a means for young people to design the lives they want to live. They highlight three main benefits of entrepreneurship: excitement, flexibility, and risk aversion. The speaker contrasts their own engaging and dynamic entrepreneurial experiences with the monotony of traditional education and the rigidity of corporate structures. They also challenge the notion that entrepreneurship is inherently risky, using the example of a man who diligently climbed the corporate ladder only to see his company, Blockbuster, go bankrupt. The speaker shares stories of their friends to illustrate the unpredictability of life paths and the empowerment that comes from taking control through entrepreneurship. They also touch on the importance of experimentation and exploration in entrepreneurship, which can help young people avoid the pitfalls of underemployment and find fulfilling work that aligns with their passions. The speaker concludes by encouraging young people to look beyond traditional career paths and to design a life that is extraordinary through entrepreneurship.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Success
💡Paradox
💡Entrepreneurship
💡Life Design
💡Experimentation
💡Disengagement
💡Flexibility
💡Risk Averse
💡Status Quo
💡Opportunities
💡Problem Solving
Highlights
The speaker felt like they were living life backwards, questioning the traditional path to success.
They observed a paradox about societal expectations and the desire for a non-standard life.
The concept of 'life design' was introduced, which involves creating opportunities and solving problems.
The speaker engaged in a 'hand in the sand' approach to filter advice and keep what resonated.
Entrepreneurship was redefined as creating opportunities and solving problems, not just starting a company.
The speaker started two companies in different industries to explore their interests.
Entrepreneurship offers excitement and engagement, contrasting with the boredom of traditional education.
Flexibility is a key benefit of entrepreneurship, allowing for varied life paths.
Contrary to common belief, entrepreneurship can be risk-averse by taking control of one's life path.
The story of a man who followed the traditional career path and ended up jobless due to company bankruptcy.
The contrast between two friends, Tim and Jared, showing the unpredictability of success in traditional paths.
Jared's entrepreneurial spirit led to a diverse and impressive resume despite academic rejections.
Experimentation and exploration are encouraged in entrepreneurship, unlike structured education.
The speaker's first company, 'Students for Students', was a test of their passion for higher education.
The second company focused on marketing and digital strategy, further exploring the speaker's interests.
The importance of not just being a business owner, but applying entrepreneurial thinking in any field.
A call to action for young people to design their lives instead of following the status quo.
The potential for extraordinary lives if young people embrace entrepreneurship and problem-solving.
Transcripts
around my junior year of high school I
started to feel like I was living my
life backwards both subliminal and overt
societal messages were telling me that
there was one singular path to success
and that I went you go from high school
it's a college which leads you to an
internship which you would lead to a job
and then you turn that into writing to
partner and then you get to retire but
that didn't make a whole lot of sense to
me and I saw the development of a really
really interesting paradox because if
this was status quo advice what if I
didn't want the status quo where four to
five Americans feel negatively about the
work that they do so I was really
confused about you know this whole thing
of what does it take to be successful in
the world and anyways I thought I was
different I loved learning but hated
going to school I wanted to make a
change in the world that didn't feel
like an organized structure was really
the best place to do it so I started
researching and I started exploring just
asking questions and I used this hand in
the sand mentality where I tried to take
as much advice as I can and things that
didn't resonate with me I let slip
through my fingers and what I did enjoy
I kept in the palm of my hand and what I
eventually found in the palm of my hand
was advice to create opportunities and
solve problems so I went back to the
people who were giving me this advice
and I was saying you know how did you do
it why did you do it and they were
telling me that they wanted a life that
they couldn't live you know with that
they wanted something different than the
universe presently offered them which
made a whole lot of sense to me
and that's where I kind of got this
whole idea behind life design which is
looking out 10 years finding the life
that you want to live and designing a
path to get there now don't get me wrong
I'm not saying we have to know what
career we want to do it while being in
high school I started two separate
companies in two completely different
industries and I have no idea what I
want to do in five years nevertheless I
understand the kind of life that I want
to offer meanwhile back to when I was
asking all these questions I started to
realize another thought and that the
people I was asking these questions to
we're all entrepreneurs now Babson
College is leading this fight to change
the definition of the word entrepreneur
away from someone who started a company
and towards someone who creates
opportunities and solace problems which
is ironically the same definition I was
getting before so I thought it was
really on to something and I started to
weave together
more advice and settle upon the fact now
what we need to do as young people is
design the lives that we want to live
through entrepreneurship and there are
so many benefits to entrepreneurship
the first is excitement back in high
school I was bored I was sleeping in
class I felt distracted and I really I
felt disengaged me and my friends liked
to joke that we spend three weeks every
year of high school we're trying to find
birthday gifts for my girlfriend just to
pass the time well you know at the same
time my friends who were doing real work
and going out into internships came back
and told us that all they really were
doing was getting coffee and working on
spreadsheets so there wasn't really a
solution and everyone is feeling so
disengaged nevertheless when I started
my companies now I get to travel the
country and I get to work on cool
projects with cooler people and it's
exciting to me and for the first for my
life I'm feeling less tired and more
engaged the second reason why I believe
all young people should be entrepreneurs
as for the fact that it offers
flexibility I was really dissing courage
in school by that I by the fact that I
had to make choices and sacrifices based
on time spent in class or time spent in
jobs school just like prison has a bell
schedule that you have to operate with
in addition you're told where to do and
where what to do and where to go every
single step of your life and the
corporate world really isn't that much
different we're forced to clock in and
clock out and have everything structured
around us and that really didn't make a
whole lot of sense for me instead I
wanted something flexible where I can
choose a variety of life paths and
really make a decision that felt best
for me and right for me the third reason
why I believe all young people should
try entrepreneurship to design the lives
that we want to live is because being an
entrepreneur is actually risk averse now
the same societal messages from before
stop me and they say no entrepreneurship
is risky and unstable and we should try
the corporate world to really get a
taste for what is going on but I turned
to a story told by Forbes writer Paul B
Brown and Paul was telling me the tale
of a man who really knew what he wanted
he found a company he really wanted to
work with and went to work for that me
interned in their store work his way up
to assistant manager to manager to
regional manager to senior management
and the company turned out to be
blockbuster and went bust a few months
later because we unfortunately unless
were entrepreneurs we don't have really
control of our life path and ice
really interesting dichotomy between two
of my friends the first let's call Tim
Tim is one of the brightest kids I know
he went to Harvard University got a 4.0
average did all the right clubs and
organizations and is struggling to find
a summer internship for this coming
summer after his freshman year of
college he has no control of his life
path well on the other hand I have my
fred jared kleiner
jared was rejected by basically every
school he applied to a kid's ultimate
nightmare but Jared didn't let that stop
him because he's an entrepreneur he
wanted to create opportunities and solve
problems for himself so Jared started
the gap year experiment in which he
backpacked Europe consulted for New York
Times best-selling authors did pageant
training with Miss West Virginia and
everything else under the Sun and now
jared has a resume which impresses
forty-five-year-old corporate executives
and yet he got rejected from all the
schools he applied to a few months
earlier because he took control of his
life path by creating opportunities and
solving problems the real entrepreneur
the final reason I believe that all
young people should really try
entrepreneurship is because of this idea
behind experimentation and exploration
MoneyWatch reports that one in two
students will end up working in a career
that either doesn't match their major or
that they're overqualified for which
leads to tremendous youth unemployment
and youth underemployment that's a real
problem nowadays and I happen to believe
it's caused by the structure of what
we're living in right when we enter
college we're forced to make these major
decisions about what we want to major in
and what we want to do the rest of our
lives
when a few months earlier we have to ask
permission to go to the bathroom in math
class it really didn't add up to me
because now college is no longer a time
for exploration but seeing is this
career accelerator so where's the time
to actually try things out and see if
it's what you love care about and want
to do entrepreneurship gives you the
opportunity to test out your passions
see your interests and find the work
that you really that makes you really
come alive and gets you up in the
morning so I started my first company
students for students college advisory
because I really loved higher education
and I wanted to consult in that industry
and I tried it and I grew it and it went
really well
and then I started a second company
millennial marketing strategy
I liked marketing I liked digital
strategy I liked consulting and I'm
still trying new things every day
worked in two industries
have zero clue if I actually want to
pursue either one of them in the future
but now I know more about myself my
passions and my interests and I can take
a step back and see what's going on
nevertheless I'm the classic
entrepreneur because I started companies
and I started consulting and I grew
organizations but just like Babson
College is trying to teach us not all
entrepreneurs have to be business owners
you can go work for a non-profit you can
go work in you could go work in a
corporate world but create opportunities
for yourself and solve problems you can
go to college but do things differently
and see the world differently this whole
status quo advice really didn't make a
lot of sense to me
so I urge all young people to look out
ten years from now and don't decide what
you want to be doing but decide how you
want to be living your life and design
your path to get you there because if
all young people listen to the average
status quo advice we'll end up with this
average status quo life but if we do
things differently if we create
opportunities if we solve problems if we
spark our interests if we try
entrepreneurship to design the lives
that we want to lead we might truly have
lives that are extraordinary thank you
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