Young, Unemployed and Living on the Street
I'm torn whenever I hear stuff like this about my high-functioning (non-mentally handicapped) peers struggling out there.<p>Half of me thinks: How weak.<p>Don't they get it? It's not about "money" or "jobs". Those are abstractions. You have to create value. What do YOU do that's valuable? Why <i>should</i> someone hire you? Why <i>should</i> someone pay you?<p>Can't they see? Quit blaming the economy. Quit waiting to be hired. Bring the locus of control inside. Put in on you. Go to the public library and start learning. Make yourself valuable. With enough determination and will, you will find a way. Or you will make one. Less fortunate people than you have done it. Dumber people than you have done it.<p>That half of me recognizes that the hard work, the learning, the hours I've put in to get traction on a strong path of entrepreneurship <i>wasn't</i> handed to me. It <i>wasn't</i> intuitive. I make sacrifices, I toil, I struggle, but I make it work. Why can't they?<p>The other half of me wonders: Why do I realize all that? It's a rather meta though. But... I can't tell you honestly <i>why</i> my life fell into place so that I would be so driven. Why my life fell just so, so I would be curious enough to seek out the books, essays, podcasts, and blog posts that have shaped my entrepreneurial character.<p>Why was I drawn towards the heroes and role models that I was - business and technology leaders, instead of rock-stars or athletes - who inspired me towards a particular path?<p>Sure, it has taken talent, drive, hard work, and sacrifice to capitalize on the opportunity presented to me. But perhaps it was the greatest luck of all - the lottery of birth - that gave me those gifts in the first place.