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Personal Musings - Get Off Your Backside!

Personal Musings - Get Off Your Backside!

I was talking to a young man the other day and I told him that if I wanted anything done then he would be the last person that I’d ask. He was a bit taken aback by the comment and asked me why.

I looked him in the eye and said, “Because you’re not busy.”

There’s an age old adage that says, “If you want something done then give it to a busy person.” The reason for this is that busy people put the item on their list and get it done while lazy people will get around to it one day.

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For example, the young man I was speaking to crawls out of bed around 11am each day, works at a local fast food place for maybe 20 hours per week and honestly believes that he’s working really hard. So what does he do with the rest of his time? Television, hanging out with friends and games are all high on the agenda.

I told him to get some pride in himself and to at least pay his parents some money for board each week. It’s fair to say that this didn’t go down too well.

For some stupid reason the current generation seems to think that everything should be served up to them on a platter and that the world owes them everything. The job of parents is to provide for their every need and their job is to expect that this will be done. I hate to rain on their parade but this isn’t the state of the real world.

In the conversation I discovered that he had some notion about starting his own business (he’d dropped out of university). The biggest problem was that he couldn’t come up with any ideas. So I rattled off about a dozen ideas that he could do immediately…that was a big mistake. He then told me that he would have to really think about which idea to go with. It was clear that I’d given him too many to cope with…..darn it!

Contrast this young man with a young girl I know. She’s studying to gain a qualification in an industry that she’s passionate about. In the time when she’s not studying she’s working at a part-time job so that she can be self-reliant. Although she’s half-way through her course she’s already applying for jobs and letting companies in her industry know that she will be available later in the year. Everyday she’s up at 8am and in bed by 10pm….she’s a girl on a mission!

As an employer, which of these two people would I employ? It doesn’t take rocket science to work out that the girl is by far the better candidate. You can build a business around a person with her kind of attitude.

So what do I need to do? Probably the first thing is to stop generalising about the current generation….there’s quite a number of them that, like the girl, have incredible drive. I find myself constantly looking for motivated young people as I find that they inspire me and often provide a fresh perspective on life.

I would encourage you to take a 20 year old nephew or niece out for coffee and ask them questions about life. You may suddenly gain a fresh understanding on the current generation…..or you may end up giving them a kick up the seat of the pants. Whatever happens, I'm sure that it will be an interesting experience!

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Michael Gilmour has been in business for over 32 years and has both a BSC in Electronics and Computer Science and an MBA. He was the former vice-chairman of the Internet Industry Association in Australia and is in demand as a speaker at Internet conferences the world over. He has also recently published his first science fiction book, Battleframe.

Michael is passionate about working with online entrepreneurs to help them navigate their new ventures around the many pitfalls that all businesses face. Due to demands on his time, Michael may be contacted by clicking here for limited consulting assignments.

 

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