Forget what I said about all Gen-Y posts about career advice being identical and useless—this one is like no other job advice blog post I’ve ever read before. Somehow this guy makes a case for the interrelationship between casual sex, video games and entrepreneurship. Here is my Cliff Notes version of his salient points:
- Fun: “My third year at UCLA was one big blur where I would wake up half naked every other night not knowing where I had left my jeans, shoes, or dick.”
- Productivity: “What does it mean to be truly productive with your life? Hanging out with friends and drinking alcohol all night is fun for the moment, but I always wake up in the morning vowing to never drink again. Same with video games. You spend all of your time leveling-up your character and getting new features, only to have your hard work made completely insignificant once the new version of the game comes out.”
- How do you want to live your life? “The best way to reach the point of self-actualization is to play your life as if it were an RPG (Role Playing Game)”
- Never stop learning: “In a video game, you gain experience by slaying monsters and completing quests. Therefore in real life, you gain experience by reading, keeping up with the news, and gaining internships and a high GPA.”
- Expand your network: “In a video game, the more people you talk to, the higher the chance you have of someone telling you a hint to complete a mission, giving you an item, or providing you with secret information.”
- Find the perfect relationship: “A meaningful and loving relationship will make you much happier than any one-night stand. As an entrepreneur with my personality type, it is much more productive to be in a serious relationship than to be single, and here’s why: If I was single, I would be out there chasing girls left and right. I would not be able to focus on my company because all I would be thinking about is who my next piece would be.”
Judging by these rules I should be a millionaire by now. Did I miss a step? Maybe because I never lost awareness of where I left my jeans, shoes or dick in college I missed out on that valuable career step? Maybe my video game play–while compulsive enough to render my hand numb for 3 months–just wasn’t sufficient to build the skills necessary to become a successful entrepreneur? Maybe I’m having too much sex now–albeit in my perfect relationship–and it’s preventing me from “striving for more” in terms of my career.
But here I am, 40 and still with the word “assistant” in my title; meanwhile, there he is, a year out of college and a (self professed) entrepreneur and management consultant.
My question is, when he and other the Gen-Yers’ career advice bloggers say that they’re entrepreneurs and consultants, do they mean they’re actually supporting themselves in those capacities? Or are they “consultants” and “entrepreneurs” in the sense that I am a “consultant”; e.g. yes, I can write—here’s my email address if you’re ever interested in hiring me for a project…and now it’s back to my cubicle where I sit for 8 hours a day so I can pay the bills and support my kids.
In theory I could brand myself as a thought leader, writer, life coach, marriage counselor, or social media expert…as in, I COULD call myself these things and, while it wouldn’t actually be lying because I could theoretically serve in any of these capacities, the reality is that I don’t currently earn a dime doing any of those things.
But that’s a whole other post on personal branding, a mainstay of Gen-Y blog content.
**P.S.** Sorry but I just went to his blog and checked out his response to one reader’s question “How does a student become an entrepreneur?” Hey–does step 2 sound familiar? “Move back home to save on cash.”
Gee, another Gen-Y blogger endorsing that cornerstone of 20-something career advice: move back in with mom and dad!
Sorry but when I think of a guy who lives with mom and dad, the image that comes to mind isn’t so much entrepreneur; it’s more Will Ferrel’s character in Wedding Crashers, Chazz Reinhold, screaming “MA! Meatloaf! Fuck!”
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