I remember a song from back in the day by one of my favorite Rap Groups, The Wu-Tang Clan titled C.R.E.A.M. The title of this song was an acronym for Cash Rules Everything Around Me! It was one of the hottest songs out at the time and many of us that were part of youth and young adult culture actually bought into that philosophy. As much as I believe that song would still be hot if it were put out today, I don’t believe millennials would necessarily agree with the sentiment of the song.
It’s not the CASH that rules everything around this generation. The cash is important and is obviously necessary, but millennials seem to have grasped the understanding at a much earlier age than their generational counterparts, that money is simply a means to an end of whatever it is they want to accomplish.
Millennials have dreams, and big dreams beyond just the typical six-figure job, a husband or wife, a house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and a dog. The dreams of this generation are much more diverse than what has been typically defined as the American Dream.
I guess maybe the American Dream has simply been redefined. This isn’t to say that many millennials don’t have dreams of being successful business people with a family; that still holds true in many cases. I also hear the dreams of being big time Hollywood stars, entertainers and athletes. I also hear a lot from my millennial all-stars talking about wanting to be entrepreneurs, or changing the world through philanthropy, or environmental initiatives. It’s not all about the CREAM; it’s more about the DREAM.
Even in the conversations that I have with those that dream about pursuing a more traditional path of business and/or entertainment, they want to do it on their own terms and in their own way and for their own reasons. None of these approaches or reasons of which are very traditional in nature.
I encourage all of my millennial crew to DREAM and dream BIG! Just remember in pursuing those dreams it requires hard work and effort.
It is not going to be given to you just because you want it really bad or because you’re really smart or because you want to make a difference. It requires the DISCIPLINE to make it happen. I hear a lot of great ideas, visions and dreams, but I don’t see a lot of the discipline required to make those dreams a reality. You have to force yourself to establish a daily routine that helps to exercise your discipline muscles. You may need to start running everyday, reading everyday or writing everyday. Whatever it is, you must develop a spirit of self-discipline to make your dreams come true.
I will leave you with this acronym for DREAM that you should think about whenever you think about how bad you want your DREAM to come true. Hopefully this helps to inspire you to make your dream a reality.
A DREAM requires Discipline – Resilience – Energy – Attitude and Maturity. I find that Discipline is often the toughest one of these attributes to apply. It’s not impossible though. Do something daily to exercise your discipline muscles and watch how quickly your dream starts to materialize.
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson