So here's the deal: Lord knows there are plenty of reasons available in today's environment to bitch, moan, complain, kvetch, and hell, just toss it all in.
For the glass-half-empty crowd this has got to be the closest thing to Nirvana we've experienced since...well, since the last time the economy went in the tank only a few years ago, and a few years before that, and a few years before that. There are however hopeful signs on the horizon and right at hand.
I recently started working with one of Canada's leading wineries. At the same time I've begun to volunteer with the Community Foundation of Oakville (CFO). And, of course, I'm still a work-at-home Dad raising my now 16-month-old son Gabriel.
What do these all have in common and why the photo of the newest book by Don Tapscott?
In both the case of the winery and the CFO we're challenged to broaden our market to include a younger demographic. In this circumstance what many call the Millennial generation. Learning about these young folks has been illuminating as all get out. They are in fact very little like you might expect. If your image is of a group of self-absorbed, narcissistic gamers who care little about anything save themselves and their ability to enjoy life with little commitment to anyone or anything - you couldn't be more wrong. This is a generation of people who actually think their parents are pretty cool and that their grandparents are especially cool. Their role models are not Britney, Jessica and Madonna but Bill & Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, Oprah, Barack Obama and George Clooney. They are civic minded. They value friends and family and they want to participate positively in improving life conditions for their families and people around the world. They may well be the first truly global generation. I encourage you to visit www. takingitglobal.org to get a real glimpse into how they are transforming what our generation and others almost wrecked.
On that last point, the following is a short excerpt from Tapscott's greatly insightful book.
"Comedian Jon Stewart put it well in his frank commencement address to the 2004 graduating class of the College of William and Mary: "Let's talk about the real world for a moment. I guess this is as good a moment as any. I don't really know how to put this, so I'll be blunt. We broke it. Please don't be mad. I know we were supposed to bequeath to the next generation a world better than the one we were handed. So, sorry. I don't know if you've been following the news lately, but it just kind of got away from us. Somewhere between the gold rush of easy Internet profits and an arrogant sense of endless empire, we heard kind of a pinging noise, and uh, then the damn thing just died on us. So I apologize. But here's the good news. You fix this thing; you're the next greatest generation, people."
So there you go. Amidst all of the pissing and moaning there is some good news and a highly motivated generation who are ready, willing and able to help us bail out this sunken ship and refloat a new world of hope and glory.
I refuse to succumb to the gloomer and doomers. Get a grip people and let's work together to move this thing forward in a positive fashion.
Oh, by the way...get involved in your local community foundation or volunteer somehow to make a difference. And...buy Tapscott's book. You'll learn - ALOT.
No comments:
Post a Comment