Millennials, Here’s How To Use Your Age To Your Advantage
October 17, 2017
As a 28-year-old millennial I often feel old. When I look at the success I’ve had in the last 10 years founding multiple six and seven figure companies, speaking on many international stages, singing and performing spoken word for influential global thought leaders, I’ve realized that my age has never been a factor.
When I look at how many young people are starting companies or accumulating millions of followers, like 23-year-old viral content creator Julius Dein, or 26-year-old founder of the worldwide fitness program BBG Kayla Itsines, it seems the age of success keeps getting younger.
It is clear that age is no longer becoming a barrier to entry like how it used to be in our parents generation. Millennials are quickly becoming the majority today, comprising 53% of the workforce, and setting their own standards for success.
The truth I’ve seen is—the younger you are, the greater the advantage you have in terms of standing out.
I spoke with one 20-year-old who is living proof of it. Meet Manu Goswami, a serial tech entrepreneur and innovator, UN Youth Ambassador, TEDx speaker, and LinkedIn campus editor. He’s a former Gary Vaynerchuk employee and the COO and co-founder of Dunk, a sports media company with 10M followers across Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat that works with top brands like EA Sports, Nike Basketball, Warner Music, and Gatorade.
Goswami was awarded the UN’s Outstanding Youth Leadership Award and Plan Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 Award, among other notable titles.
This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, Goswami shares about what it takes to create success at an early age and why you’re never too young to launch your career.
Below, learn some of the ways you can use your age to your advantage.
1. Successful People Want To Help You Out. “I got a meeting with Gary by emailing him every single day letting him know what I liked about his content that he posted… I bet you he didn’t care what this 19-year-old kid in Toronto thought of his content but he took note of the fact that I was engaging a dialogue and invited me to chat for 15 minutes,” Goswami says.
Goswami proves you don’t need to be ultra-successful to get a response from influential entrepreneurs and figureheads—you can just be a 19-year-old kid from Toronto who cares. Consider reaching out to those who you look up to and admire, because their insight can be invaluable. Even if they seem out of reach, they may surprise you, and in fact many will likely be willing to speak to you out of desire to help younger millennials
2. You’re At The Perfect Place To Build Good Habits. Goswami says he swears by a few daily practices to keep his mind in the right shape. First and foremost, start the day with an affirmation of gratitude. Rather than reaching for your smartphone before you get out of bed, like 46% of Americans do, take some time to deliberately check in with yourself and start your day on purpose. Goswami is also a huge fan of yoga, which has been shown to decrease stress and improve brain function.
3. You’re Directly Connected To Other Millennials. One of the advantages to being a millennial is that you don’t need to guess about what other millennials are currently finding relevant. While corporate companies have to dig for millennial trends and often miss the mark, you’re directly connected to and embedded within a network of other millennials.
Take a pulse for millennials and aim to stroke a chord of resonance with the collective. Take note of what others are finding interesting or relevant.
You might also consider striking up an engaging online conversation, like Goswami did with his “Let’s Get Honest Campaign” on LinkedIn, which encouraged millennials to talk openly about their vulnerabilities. “I noticed people were scared to talk about their failures,” he said.
4. You Have A Built-In Network. While you’re still young, you have access to built-in networking opportunities where meeting people is effortless. Goswami says one of the best places to take advantage of this is college campuses, and the best part is you don’t even need to be a student of the college; Goswami met his co-founder, a non-student, the University of Toronto. Look for an individual who has a complementary skillset to your own and whom you will be able to work well with long-term.
You might also consider attending events that bring diverse groups of people together in one place. That’s why I created my signature 5-day international business accelerators with my company Unconventional Life—I wanted to provide a space for collaboration.
5. You Can Provide Value To Others. You can easily create a win-win for someone to share their knowledge with you by offering to expose them to your millennial audience or publishing an article about what they share. Many people will be happy to connect with you because they want to get plugged into an audience of younger people. “Every transaction you go into you should provide as much value as you can. If you see every relationship you’re making in your professional life as a value exchange, you’ll be much better off,” Goswami says.
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