Grit needed, but privilege too
Yet another list shows 20something entrepreneurs who have struck gold — but the odds are stacked against most of us, writes Amy Walker.
WHAT distinguishes extremely successful millennials from the miserable, broke masses? Not elite education, familial financial support or even the superhuman ability to scrimp on Pret coffee and fancy vegan food. No, according to those who made it on to the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, it’s good old ‘‘passion’’, ‘‘ambition’’ and, most importantly, ‘‘grit’’.
Hear ye, Generation Rent: stop whining about earning less than previous generations, not being able to get a wellpaid job, or being unable to save enough for a small deposit. You ought to try wanting things more.
Among the annual selection of 600 North Americans published last week were people working across law, retail and finance, and some simply making ‘‘Big Money’’.
In Britain, there’s a similar glut of listicles detailing the riches or accomplishments of young people. Most influential is the Sunday Times wealthiest young entrepreneurs list, served up with the caveat that inherited fortunes are included in net worths. Among this year’s movers and shakers were siblings with a 7.47% stake in their father’s highstreet behemoth, Footasylum.
While celebrating achievement is important, such displays of early success are often deeply detached from reality. As social media platforms such as Instagram present us with extreme portraits of perfection, lists like these fetishise what is unattainable for most.
Of course, there are ways to make it to the top these days without having a small loan of $1 million from your father, as Donald Trump did. The richest entrepreneurs on the Forbes list, for example, secured funding from investors.
But privilege goes beyond having extreme sums of cash. With social mobility in the UK stagnating amid years of austerity, taking risky career moves is even further beyond the grasp of those who weren’t born into hotshot families. In July, 21yearold Kylie Jenner, reality superstar and daughter of an Olympic gold medallist, appeared as a cover star for Forbes’ ‘‘60 selfmade women in America’’ edition. An inevitable backlash ensued over the issue of Jenner’s supposed financial independence.
For the latest list, Forbes asked finalists to disclose whether they were an immigrant, where they went to school and the extent of their debts. But noone was told how this information would be used, Aditi Juneja — who made the final cut for leading an organisation that aims to engage young people with politics — told Vox. She also noted her family’s ability to pay some of her college fees to save her from crippling debt, and their efforts to ensure she had a good credit rating.
‘‘When holding people up as the hallmarks of success, we need to acknowledge that we don’t distribute opportunity equally,’’ Juneja said.
It’s not just that it’s nigh on impossible for young people to achieve extreme success — the process of trying to do that can be problematic too. Recent studies show that many young adults are spending more than six hours a day feeling stressed about their futures, and that 60% of 18 to 24yearolds are struggling to cope with the pressure to succeed.
More than 40% of the Forbes prodigies work 60hour weeks. But for mere mortals, overburdening ourselves is counterproductive. Researchers at Oxford University say we’re doing less necessary work and more needless tasks than in the past — and studies also show that working our arses off is likely to have negative consequences for both our wellbeing and careers.
On the flip side, young people needn’t be too demoralised. Stricken as we may be by economic factors, most of us will live longer. I’m in my early 20s, and, according to figures from the Global Burden of Disease project, based on probability, I should be alive for a further 64 years. I won’t get my state pension for another 45 years (although it’s likely to be longer than that as the goalposts move over the years). The UK already has the worst work/life balance in western Europe and as we’re in it for the long game, maybe we should rethink our priorities.
Grit, ambition and hidden privileges may work for the overachieving few, but the odds are stacked against the rest of us. We should not be made to feel bad about failing to set up multimilliondollar tech companies, or becoming floppyhaired indie film heartthrobs (like those on the Forbes list) by our 30th birthdays. — Guardian News