What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
Life seems bleak for Gen Z.
There’s always another challenge keeping you from what you want. Or a national emergency threatening to hold you back. Or the Fed printing more dollars to keep your necessities out of reach.
But there’s a lot in between your ears that can help you through it, too.
It’s just a matter of using it the right way. And some lessons learned won’t hurt, either.
There’s always more chances
I was raised on the path of put your head down, do well at school, get a high paying government job, and the rest will take care of itself.
Problem is: if something goes wrong on that path, life is “over”.
Gen Z seems even more skittish about their prospects. Even that it’s time to give up before life really starts.
Take employment for instance. There are still decent-paying, entry-level jobs out there. Especially in manufacturing and trades.
They don’t pay over 6 figures. But then again, you don’t need 6 figures in most places to make a good life.
Not to say you can’t make 6 figures eventually. You just need to treat that decent paying job as a springboard.
Never stop learning
Because the people who make it big find a way to add value to others’ lives. Your job is to find out what that value is and what you’re most willing to do to serve it.
And you’re not going to find which path suits you best unless you try a lot of different things.
Now, it may seem like learning a lot of different things seems like a distraction. After all, every guru will tell you the riches are in the niches.
But I want to introduce you to Bill McDermott, former CEO of software giant SAP.
When he was a teenager, he took on a paper route, grocery store clerk, and bussing tables all at once. Then he found a job at a deli that would pay him as much as the prior three jobs combined. Then, an opportunity popped up to buy the deli at a steep discount on a performance basis.
All of the time spent learning the service industry and getting in front of the right people opened that opportunity for him at a young age.
Try smaller things before you try bigger things
That brings me to my next point: small things you do aren’t wasted time.
Unless you plan to settle on those and never grow for the next 40 years.
But guess what? You can always pivot to something else. And you can learn what you like and don’t by trying different smaller things.
When you find something you’re interested in, choose to get better at it. You can always learn to add more value at higher prices.
Need a way to understand this better? Read Millionaire Master Plan. It talks about your special zone of genius that is most likely to make you money.
It could be hustling as a solopreneur to fill the unique void you serve. It could be finding financing to grow and overseeing others implement your vision.
But it’s yours.
A bigger picture sets you up to try the right smaller things
Because when you commit to becoming excellent at something you enjoy and people will pay you money for, they’re going to keep coming back to you. They’ll tell their friends to hire you.
You may even be able to find a dislocation in another market you never would have seen when you first started looking.
But when you get to this point, you can start scaling your business. Something that allows you to teach someone else to make a living doing what you’re good at while not having to do all the work all the time.
Read Millionaire Fastlane for more on how this works faster than sticking to the springboard job for 40 years.
When nothing’s working, try doing nothing
That said, there are times things will get dry. You’ll look for work, for inspiration, for a challenge, and find none. Or you’ll have spread yourself so thin trying new things that nothing comes out right.
Or you find yourself so worried that not getting something done will precipitate the end of your world.
When that happens, it’s time to sit still instead of grinding forward to make something happen by sheer will.
Why?
Your brain keeps working on the problem even when you’re not actively thinking about it.
And then boom!
You’ll be on a walk, in the shower, or on the couch and the answer will just come to you.
That doesn’t mean fill the time with extra things to think about or distract yourself with. You just have to sit and let something good happen.
Not so bleak
Yes, things are stacked against you. That’s never going to change.
But there is always something you can choose to do about it.
Learning about yourself and what’s out there.
Growing into bigger arenas.
Stepping back at the right time.
That’s the message I would leave for Gen Z as they look to get started.
Affiliate corner
Owning how you rise to challenges is as important as owning a small, productive corner that takes care of your needs.
That’s why you should come to the launch of Codie Sanchez’s new book Own or Be Owned this Friday, 9/18/26, at 11 AM EDT.
It’s free to attend and millions in prizes are up for grabs. Click the picture below for more info and I’ll see you there!
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There are more places to grow from here. Check out these related posts before you go:
Liberty Begins At Home 
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