Author: Jules Schroeder

Here’s What Two Millennial Blockchain Founders Have To Say About Cryptocurrency

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard about the trend that everyone’s talking about right now—cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin jumped to a record $20k last week, which means if you’d have bought $100 of Bitcoin seven years ago, you’d be sitting on $75M right now.

While some are saying cryptocurrencies are bound to collapse, others believe it’s the beginning of a blockchain revolution. With so many different reports, it can be hard to make sense of the cryptocurrency landscape.

One thing’s for certain—Bitcoin is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many promising blockchain projects sprouting up with millennials leading the way. From 24-year-old Vitalik Buterin who founded Ethereum, now the world’s second largest cryptocurrency to 26-year-old Justin Sun, who seeks to reinvent how digital creators get paid for their online content with TRON.

Our generation is shaping the biggest wave of innovation since the creation of the internet. And it’s just the beginning.

I wanted to get to the insider’s scoop on the blockchain world so I invited Mel Gelderman and David Hogardd, the founders of TokenCard to join me on the Unconventional Life Podcast this week.

These two twenty-somethings raised 16.7M in just 6 minutes during an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) crowdsale. TokenCard is a mobile app that works worldwide allowing token holders to use their digital assets in real-time, in the real world, as real money.

On the fence about cryptocurrency? Check out what these insiders had to say about getting involved.

1. Crypto Is The New Paradigm. Hogardd and Gelderman stress that there is an incredible amount of opportunity in the Blockchain space right now. “The barriers to entry are quite low. For people looking to do something interesting with their life, blockchain is such a staggeringly opportunity.” Hogardd says.

If you want to begin learning the skills check out blockgeeks.com for technical tutorials and instruction on understanding cryptocurrency and the blockchain.

2. Here’s How To Get Started. While Hogardd and Gelderman believe that TokenCard will be the easiest point of entry for someone looking to get started with cryptocurrencies, their project won’t be released for another 6 months.

Alternatively, the best option right now is to sign up on Coinbase. They have an incredibly user-friendly interface that even beginners can learn to use quickly. One downside is your options are limited compared to the more complex cryptocurrency exchanges. Right now on Coinbase you can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and most recently Bitcoin Cash

3. Crypto Is Just The Beginning. Hogardd and Geldermann are betting big on the trend of tokenization. They see a future where anything that has value will be “tokenized.”

This could mean that one day with TokenCard you’ll be able to hold any number of assets including cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, something physical like gold, shares of company like Apple stock, or even a fraction of the Mona Lisa.

“We don’t think you even need to hold dollars or pounds in the future we think people will literally be spending with their Mona Lisa tokens or with their gold or with their Apple stock, only what they want to hold not what they think they need to hold simply because it’s the only thing that’s accepted. People will literally be able to walk into McDonalds and pay with their Mona Lisa tokens and that’s why we created this company,” Gelderman says

4. Don’t Be Afraid To Fail. Gelderman and Hogardd say they’ve always sought out the cutting edge because it makes them feel alive. The prospect of doing something new and exciting can fill you with a deep sense of purpose.

The problem with doing something new is that there isn’t a playbook. If you’re considering getting involved in this space, you’re going to make mistakes. The crypto market can seem unpredictable but there’s no denying that in the long-term it’s been steadily rising to exponential proportions.

If you do decide to invest in cryptocurrency, you have to notice the opportunities in front of you and be willing to take a chance. Sitting on the sidelines might protect you from failure but it robs you from the chance to capitalize on this opportunity.

5. Beware The FOMO-FUD Cycle. There is a ton of news and information being published 24/7 about cryptocurrency. How do you make sense of it all?

It’s important to know that the newscycle switches between spreading FOMO and FUD. FOMO is the fear of missing out that causes people to jump in and invest. FUD is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that gets spread around prompting people to jump ship and sell.

People who have been paying attention to cryptos know that this FOMO-FUD cycle is common so they aren’t as easily swayed.

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December 21, 2017
Millennials, Here’s Why Job Titles Don’t Matter Anymore

I can’t tell you how many times my Dad used to ask me about what exactly it was again that I was doing for a living.

Coming from the “black and white” world of accounting on Wall Street, he wasn’t satisfied with my answer that didn’t fit neatly into a box like lawyer, doctor, or teacher. As the founder of an online community, I was proud of my work and wanted badly to convey to my Dad what I was up to—but he always seemed to respond with a blank stare followed by defeated resignation.

What I’m finding is that I’m not the only one having this problem. In fact, the majority of the millennials I talk to today are opting for work that’s not clearly defined.

The millennial worker today wears many hats—whether that’s copywriter, marketer, sales strategist, or bookkeeper. We’re adaptive to the shifting demands of a fast-paced work environment and the skills we need to learn are often just a Google search away.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, I interviewed one millennial woman who’s on the leading edge of nontraditional work and thriving.

Meet Tash Price, the business developer and manager of Engine House VFX, an award-winning UK-based 2-D, 3-D, CGI and VFX animation studio who has served clientele like BBC and Sony. Engine House VFX covers a wide range of projects within advertising, gaming, architectural visualization and film. Their work has been featured online, on TV, at events, and in films and games.

“You’ll get into the conversation of what you do for a living and you’ll say animation and people can’t quite seem to grasp it. They’ll quickly move on and they seem confused by it because it’s not the standard job role,” Price says.

But according to Price, the conversation doesn’t have to stop there. Rather than moving on, you can educate others about what you do in a way that promotes connection and redefines what it means to work in the 21st century.

I spoke with a number of other millennials who are finding fulfillment in nontraditional job roles, and here’s what they had to say:

1. Job Titles Don’t Reflect Lifestyle. In the past, jobs were much less integrated than they are today. Going to work meant punching in a time card at on office for a designated number of hours. Today, technology enables millennials to work seamlessly from their devices so that being “on” and “off” the clock is less rigid and more fused with lifestyle. Eric Termuende, an entrepreneur, speaker, and the author of Rethink Work, says, “With the capabilities of technology increasing so quickly, the ability to work form more places, using more devices, longer hours every day makes the job less about the seemingly limited title, and more about the holistic experience. In many cases, the title doesn’t encompass the life Millennials are living as a result of the job (or jobs) they are doing.”

Price’s animation studio is embodying this new “integrated” work model. ”Instead of having hundreds of people sitting behind a cubicle we have a small core team and we work with lots of freelancers who are based all over the world. It means everyone gets the lifestyle they want and we can hand-pick the artists we want for the job. We’ve got people working in Turkey, Sweden, Iran, the US, the Netherlands, Japan,” she says.

2. Job Titles Act As Constraints. Today’s millennial workers may have bigger ambitions than previous generations. Just a few decades ago, only a marginal percent of American workers held a college degree, and the majority of women preferred to stay at home.

As millennials tackle a host of global issues, both men and women are rising to the occasion with a shift towards businesses that do social justice. 92% of millennials believe businesses should be measured by more than profit. Undra Robinson, a millennial entrepreneur, says “Millennials believe our potential in life is limitless and want to change the world, and job titles only add constraints. They are polar opposites.”

3. Millennials Aren’t Motivated By Job Titles. On average, millennials would be willing to give up $7,600 in salary every year to work at a job that provided a better environment for them. While prestige was a key motivation for workers in the past, millennials are more interested in finding work that aligns with their values.

Jamie Molnar, the founder of Your Blissed Out Life, says, “What I find most interesting about the millennial generation is their demand for two core values in the workplace: authenticity and freedom. If these core values are not present, millennials will leave. For them, work is an extension of the self and therefore must fit within their approach to life.”

4. Job Titles Inhibit Expression. For millennials, finding meaningful work is about applying one’s innate gifts to the marketplace. Many millennials like myself identify as being multi-passionate, and we don’t want to just “pick one” thing at the expense of our other skillsets. I’m not “just” a speaker; I’m also a musician, singer, poet, and businesswoman.

Ana Wood, the founder of Try Love On, says, “Freedom is the name of the game for Millennials. We require the freedom to be expressed in all of our gifts, to innovate by weaving them together, to act spontaneously on our inspiration, to collaborate with others doing the same.”

5. Job Titles Are An Incomplete Measure Of ‘Success.’ Whitney Cox, the owner of a dance studio in Colombia says, “You can have it all in the material realm but it makes no difference if your spiritual realm and purpose are not engaged as well. I think millennials define success this way, which is hugely different than generations before. The definition of success is broader now, and it involves mind, body, soul and purpose.”

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This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

December 11, 2017
5 Tips For Work-Life Balance While Working Remotely

By 2020, over half of all people will be working remotely. For millennials, the ability to work remotely isn’t just a “nice-to-have,” but for many it is becoming a career requirement.

According to a recent study done by Fidelity, the majority of millennials would take a pay cut if it meant they could find more purposeful work and better work-life balance. With such a rise of millennials prioritizing balance it is no surprise that the number of co-working and co-living places around the world is growing exponentially.

Millennials want to be able to wake up in a beautiful place around the world and have a reliable place they can get their work done, while being able to fuel their creative interests and passions at the same time.

That’s why Gabrielle Bonneville, the co-founder of Momentom Collective, a global network of entrepreneurs and artists who live and co-work in exotic locations like Bali, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, has gained so much international traction so quickly.

Momentom Collective believes that the key to professional and personal success is balance, which is why they’ve structured their work lives around travel, community, art, and movement. Below, learn from Bonneville how you can integrate Momentom Collective’s principles into your own life to achieve greater work-life balance while working remotely:

1. Tap Into Creativity For Inspiration At Work. Are you one of the seven in ten millennials who feels disengaged at work? Have you ever hit a plateau in your business, or encountered a wall in your performance? If so, Bonneville says the remedy is creativity, which science affirms is a wellspring for inspiration.

“Seek to find a balance between work and creativity, whether that’s taking the time in the morning to meditate or visualize where you want to be. Spend at least one hour a day doing something creative. You will find so much inspiration for your work,” Bonneville says.

Getting creative can help you generate novel ideas, as well as see things from an expanded perspective, which are valuable professional skills.

2. Engage In Mindfulness. Work can create undue amounts of stress and anxiety, so it’s important to have a practice to counterbalance these effects. Bonneville recommends doing yoga, which can help you alleviate stress and cultivate serenity. “Yoga is really about accessing your mind and the potential within it. My yoga might be somebody else’s trapeze or burlesque dancing,” Bonneville says. Aim to find a practice that both soothes and sharpens your mind in order to complement your work.

3. Choose To Co-Work. According to psychologists, one of the greatest risk factors for depression is loneliness. Unfortunately for many of us, our day-to-day lives don’t optimize towards social interaction and our direct face-to-face contact with friends is minimal. Studies show social media use has its opposite intended effect, making us feel more isolated.

In today’s digital age, it’s crucial to set aside deliberate time for engaging with friends beyond the screen. Better yet, structure your life in such a way that face time with friends is built-in. Momentom Collective’s members live and cowork together in a communal space, so social time is integral to their day-to-day. “The idea was to create a network of residencies where people who want to travel will be able to hop around, still have that lifestyle design of aerial and yoga, and be able to meet different people around the world, Bonneville says.

4. Make Movement A Daily Habit. One of the Momentom Collective’s core philosophies is self-expression through movement. Bonneville says, “If you’re finding you’re living this dull existence, find a way to express yourself and observe yourself in one breath.” Daily movement can provide a number of mental benefits (in addition to obvious physical benefits), including improved mental focus, memory, cognitive flexibility, and academic performance, which makes it a great accessory to work.

5. Take Advantage Of World Travel. There’s a reason the Momentom Collective has chosen Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Bali as destinations for their residencies—they provide a way to get in touch with nature’s beauty and the experience the world’s cultural diversity.

Seeing new parts of the world can infuse your life with more rich experiences to supplement the potential “dryness” of work. Similarly, learning new things can help shake up an old routine. The Momentom Collective hosts multiple workshops each day for its members, with member-contributed content ranging from tips to succeed in entrepreneurship to lessons in aerial arts. “You have to take a leap from outside your current environment,” Bonneville says.

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November 30, 2017
5 Ways Millennials Can Deal With Life Transitions

I’ve been hosting international business accelerators for nearly two years now, and I’ve noticed a pattern—over 90% of the people who come identify with being in a transition of some kind.

In fact, I find the vast majority of millennials I talk to these days are “in transition.”

That’s because we’re waking up to the fact that we want more out of our lives. The hunt for happiness has shifted away from seeing success as the possession of material things or status to success as a measure of fulfillment and quality of life.

What do you do when what once served you no longer “fits”?

If anyone knows about graceful transitioning, it’s Trevor Barran, a former Wall Streeter who left behind the city for the “pura vida” in Central America. He’s a former aerospace engineer turned 14-time serial entrepreneur who holds a Ph.D from Princeton.

Barran is the CEO of Lionheart Capital and the owner of Aqua Wellness Resort, a stunning Nicaraguan wellness resort nestled in a secluded beach and jungle cove. Aqua places a strong emphasis on nature, with its guestrooms perched high atop the jungle canopy in luxury “eco” treehouse suites where guests can interact freely with native wildlife.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, Barran shares about the keys to embracing change. Below, learn from Barran five strategies for thriving inside a life transition that can help you access peace and identify your next move.

1. Embrace New Experiences. New experiences are perfect for transitions because they capitalize on the fact that you’re especially open to seizing new opportunities. Try something you’ve never done before, and it may end up leading you to your next destination. The best experiences provide a “pattern interrupt” and get you out of your comfort zone, whether that’s visiting a foreign location or gaining experience in a new industry. If you’re not one for planning, consider attending a curated event.

When Aqua was still in its development phase, Barran decided to uproot his life and relocate to Nicaragua, though he didn’t know much Spanish. “I have always been motivated by experiences. I think time is the most precious thing we have,” he says.

2. Consult Friends. When you’re not sure where to go next, friends can help point you in the right direction. Friends provide a different vantage point and can see your blind spots. Those who’ve known you for a long time may be able to suggest a new path that’s suited for your interests and skillsets.

While North American culture emphasizes independent action, in some ways it can be limiting. Barran says Nicaraguan culture is heavily focused on relationships, which offers the benefit of a collective mind. “Nicaragua is wired a completely different way. It operates in this very familiar, tranquil, harmonious way, because people highly value their interpersonal relationships,” he says. Psychologists agree that shifting from a “me” to a “we” mindset can help you see a fuller picture.

3. Be Willing To Let Go. Sometimes, a life transition takes the form of a role that’s no longer viable or fulfilling. Is your current role in your job or relationship still serving you? Change may seem threatening, but it’s often just a gateway. “It’s important to know when to let go of things, to be honest with yourself when it’s time. Plan your exit from your responsibilities, because that allows for a much smoother growth beyond you. Much of the trials and tribulations in these founder/entrepreneur experiences occur when there’s a natural transition that the founder isn’t able to see,” Barran advises.

4. Invest In Something You Care About. Shifting your perspective to invest in long-term gain can generate anticipation and excitement. Is there something of grander scale you’d like to see come to fruition? Now could be the time to start laying down the foundation.

Barran says Aqua was a long-term project that was worth the wait. “Dan, the founder, had this vision to create a wellness resort,” Barran reflects. “He had a very compelling idea for creating this resort that connected people with nature, that integrated the jungle into its design. I found it very compelling. We said well, if we’re gonna invest in something that is unknown to us, it might as well be something pretty special.”

5. Restructure Your Priorities. Have you ever climbed to the top of the ladder only to find it didn’t provide what you thought it would? Lack of fulfillment at work is a common source of transition for millennials. Often, what we think will satisfy us—whether it be a promotion, a salary raise, or an esteemed award—doesn’t fit the bill.

Barran recommends shifting your priorities towards things of greater substance. Instead of pursuing self-recognition, seek to share the spotlight and serve something greater than yourself. “If you create a company in your own image it will never be larger than you,” Barran says. “I think business is so much more rewarding when you have a crew of people who are building success with you. You don’t want to go through life being #1 and having no one to share it with.”

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This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

November 23, 2017
Millennials, Here’s How To Use Your Instagram Account To Travel The World For Free

I’m what you call “late” to the Instagram bandwagon.

I just created my first account a few weeks ago and I’m beginning to see why so many millennials are obsessed. Not only have I been getting more engagement with Instagram than Facebook, Twitter, or other social platforms, but it’s also helping my business.

In today’s digital world, having a big Instagram following is akin to having a prestigious resume—it’s an instant credibility boost.

Just the other day my friend Virginia Salas Kastilio, the CEO of a media firm, posted to Facebook a job offering for a speaker at an all-expenses-paid event on a private island. The only criteria? A minimum social following of 100k+.

As my friend Zach Benson put it, “When you’re at a networking event and the person you exchange business cards with sees you have a following, of everyone else they meet, they’re gonna remember you.”

Benson is himself an Instagram connoisseur, the CEO and founder of the Instagram management agency Assistagram, which has served high-end clients like The Ritz Carlton and The Four Seasons. Benson has engineered viral Instagram campaigns and boasts the ability to reliably build massive accounts from scratch in a short period of time. In the past year alone, he’s stayed at over one hundred exotic hotels for free in exchange for exposure to his Instagram travel network of 12M+. Not to mention, he’s also a professional dancer and a TEDx speaker.

For the average person, building a following on Instagram might seem like a daunting task. But to Benson, it’s all a matter of simple algorithms.

This week on the Unconventional Life Podcast, Benson shares his method for building Instagram followings fast, and leveraging your following to travel the world for free. Below, learn from Benson how easy Instagram can be and how you can enjoy its travel benefits.

1. Join An Alliance. One of Instagram’s algorithms for ranking content is based on how many comments a photo or video gets soon after being posted. Benson says you can boost your photo’s visibility exponentially by combining forces with a team. Every time you or one of the members of your “alliance” posts a new photo, ensure that each person comments on the photo immediately, because a post’s first ten minutes are the most crucial for gaining traction and determining how extensively it’ll reach beyond your current following. Aim to form teams of 15+ people and it’ll help your photos perform optimally.

2. Follow The Golden Rule. According to Benson, “content is (and will always be) king.” Quality content should always be your first priority, so dedicate yourself to taking high quality, vibrant photos and pairing them with engaging captions or a call to action. For best results, coordinate your content to adhere to a complementary color scheme so that when your followers scroll through your feed, your body of photos reflects your “signature” style and is visually beautiful.

For inspiration, consider modeling your profile after top Instagrammers’ feeds. Take note of the kinds of color palettes they’re using and their content ratios between photo, text, and video

3. Hashtag Smart. Instagram allows you to see how many users have used a particular hashtag before adding it to your post. While it’s tempting to use hashtags that have been used millions of times, it’s not very effective. These hashtags are highly competitive, meaning you’re unlikely to rank among the top. Instead, use hashtags that have been used between 100k-900k times. If you’re unsure of which hashtags to use, Benson suggests digging through the posts of the top influencers in your niche and using the hashtags they’re using. Make sure to max out your hashtags—you can use up to 30.

4. Monitor The Health Of Your Account. Benson says there’s several common behaviors can damage the health of your account that you should avoid at all costs. When you do these behaviors, they trigger Instagram’s algorithms for lowering your engagement and your potential to gain new followers. These behaviors include posting inconsistently, changing your display picture or username, using an automated posting tool, and doing too many actions (like mass-liking photos or following new accounts).

5. Partner With Brands. Once you have built a sizeable Instagram following (at least 50k+ followers), you can approach hotels with offers to expose them to your audience in exchange for a free stay; Benson regularly scores VIP reservations at luxury hotels. “If you have a big Instagram account you can use that account to pretty much get anything for free, because big brands want to pay you for exposure” Benson says.

6. Speak Their Language. According to Benson, hotels have a huge gap in their content and marketing needs, which makes it a perfect opportunity for Instagram influencers to fulfill. Offerings that will appeal to them include photos, videos, blog posts, article features, graphic design, SEO, and website design. Learn these skills and reach out to them via email to propose a trade.

7. Differentiate Yourself. Remember, big hotels get dozens of email offerings a day, so it’s crucial to differentiate yourself. “I usually say ‘VIP Reservation’ in the subject line, and then I got straight into my accomplishments. Explain why your offering is different than others and explain what you can do for them,” Benson says.

For more extensive information, consider downloading top Instagrammers’ free guides, which you can usually access in their bios when you visit their profile page.
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This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

November 20, 2017