I had the most interesting impromptu conversation last night with a group of friends. The topic was basically that 'there is no rush...you'll get there when you get there'. And I think its something that I needed and something a lot of us in our generation need as the future leaders of Africa and the world as a whole.
This ties in with something that I heard at a conference this past week as well. An Interesting statistic that the average age for successful founders of startups in silicon valley is about +-34 years , and all this time I had been thinking that it's just a bunch of 20 year old hoodie-wearing straight out of varsity (if they even finished) kids that are running the show - yes these people do exist but they are not the majority.The issue is that the media does a great job in telling us about the Marks, Bills and Steves of the world. Personally every time I hear about another 15 year old Summly-creating kid I think "what am I doing with my life?.
And it is this media-frenzy that contributes heavily towards one of biggest problems experienced by the 'first-world' youth of today. Cause now we get out of varsity and we expect everything to just fall into place, we want to be those CEOs that we read in the news, those high rolling executives that we see in the movies or those kids with IPOs coming out of Silicon Valley/Israel .There is nothing at all wrong with that but...you don't want to end up comparing apples to pears. And the more we compare ourselves to others, the less we feel we are doing with our life. Who knew a UCT graduate living in Cape Town can come out of varsity and feel like they have accomplished absolutely nothing in life, firstly cause it's much harder to get a well paying first-job in the modern day and age, secondly because +300 other people in the country are graduating with the exact same degree as you are and thirdly because we don't even know what it is that we want from life at this stage.
And then people speak of Passion : another big debate in itself, "what should I be doing with my life"?, "what do I love", "what does my soul long for"? This was also mentioned at this dinner table discussion, basically the dilemma is - "I'm about to graduate and I have no clue what my passions are, I might know what I'm good at...but do I know what I love?" And I can relate to this fully, I think we all can, both old and young alike. The cognitive dissonance emerging from the inherent feeling that from day 1 you should make a career out of your passion, heart-felt desires and interests.On the one side of the coin we all know that this is more than possible because it has, is being and will be done for years to come. But on the other side of the coin, the side we commonly refer to as reality, the truth is that you have debts to pay off, family to support, food to put on the table, car repayments to complete and an unemployment line to avoid, so money needs to be made one way or the other.
Another problem is that there are expectations set by our parents and those around us to be these perfect finished products by the time we leave varsity and these are the dreams we are sold...
Dream Formula : [Study a good degree] + [get a good job]
= [money]
= [financial stability]
= [happiness] 4eva!.
This puts a lot of pressure on us and overtime we too tend to adopt and enforce these expectations as well and when these dreams aren't actualized, our self-worth, self-value and dignity depreciates drastically. As you live out this equation, when you tend towards the end of the 'get a good degree' part your world starts to shake beneath your feet because you wonder what the rest of your life holds for you. And honestly in a world were everyone is receiving an education (now a 15 year old can learn the equivalent of my degree online in a few months), the economy is struggling and job security is a myth - this can be a very daunting and emotional period, so instead of just worrying about your final exams, you are wondering about your future, you're wondering about your life. Personally my 4th year at varsity was the most stressful of my years at UCT, and no not because of academics - that was the least of my worries - I was too concerned about what will become of me after I receive that much coveted degree... what does the future hold, where, who and what will I be? - questions that I am still trying to answer to this day...
With all this said, how does one overcome all these hurdles, obstacles and challenges, that life (and ourselves) place in front of us. Well if I had all the answers I wouldn't be as concerned as the next person :D but I don't have the answers cause life is not a theory exam, the memo isn't in a drawer somewhere and no you won't be marked out of 100 when you die. Life is dynamic, ever-changing, hella confusing and extremely interesting (if you give it a chance to be).
What tomorrow holds I don't know - But I do know the following:
1. It is a long journey and it is my own journey, my own story and my own life.
2. I know I need to figure out myself as a person while I attempt to figure out my place in the world.
3. I need to realize my values, my dreams (not the medias dreams ) and my ambitions (not my families ambitions for me) .
4. I need to assess my skills, interests and abilities going forward.
5. I need to chill the fuuuuuck out. Honestly if there is anything I have learned from my eclectic religious expeditions and daily meditations is that when you listen - the universe speaks. And yes... as cliché as it sounds life tends to direct you when you allow it to, trust me it really does.
All in all its a good mixture of self-confidence, self-belief, ambition, humility, perseverance, constant introspection and of course a bit of good ol' luck as always. Honestly we don't know what the future holds and as Oasis beautifully puts it in Morning Glory -" Tomorrow never knows what it doesn't know too soon".
So remember that there is no rush... but with that said -> keep in mind that God/The Source/The Universe doesn't help folks who don't help themselves B-).
Over and out.
T4aM.
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