Iconic Lessons for Millennial women

“If it is not to make the world better, what is money for?” – Elizabeth Taylor Although many Millennials already have the instinct to make the world a better place, Elizabeth Taylor made it clear through her lifelong AIDS work that with fame and money should come a legacy. If you expect to have a legacy, whether it is just in a community or on a bigger scale, you have to look past yourself and work towards a greater good. “My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by buying the large sunglasses and the little sleeveless dress” – Audrey Hepburn Her classic beauty was un-doubtable but even Audrey Hepburn knew that any woman could step into her “shoes”. Her humble take on her splendor brought her out her classiness, encouraging others to believe in what she was saying. Millennials tend to follow trends but these cannot define the person in them. To be successful, believe in what is trying to be accomplished and present yourself accordingly for the desired position. “You believe lies so that you will eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes, good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” – Marilyn Monroe It’s hard to believe that bad things happen for a reason but Monroe knew throughout her scandalous fame that sometimes shit happens but it may be for a greater good. It’s important to believe first in yourself instead of others, and only then can you truly know what you are looking for (relationship, great career, or just a good time). “I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.” – Audrey Hepburn Hepburn may not be known for the drugs or scandals she was involved in but she did know that life is too hard to be taken too seriously. Laughing allows for people to connect and develop relationships based on sheer joy. Looking past what career aspirations Millennials have it is important to remember that life is no fun without people to laugh at it with.

Future teachers of the corporate world

Not all of us were education majors in college but that does not mean we cannot go out and teach. Gen Y has grown up constantly interconnected with one another. In Elementary School it was AOL, then in Middle School it was AIM and cell phones (Nextels if you are from the South), then in High School we all had cell phones and e-mail. Once we hit college text messaging and Facebook took over. We have never had a time in our lives were we couldn’t reach out to one in another through media.

Older generations are just now discovering how all of these can be used to benefit not only their personal lives but also their business strategies. This is where we can come in as educators because we grew up as experts in the realm of media. The hardest part of this is finding a manager or director who will listen and believe in what we have to say. We have always found ourselves on equal grounds with our peers thanks to the different media venues we grew up with but in the business world we crave empowerment and accountability.

A great tip was released in Bloomberg Business Week by Vineet Nayar (Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman at HCL Technologies), “We need to inspire today’s young employees as we do our own children—by giving them responsibility, rather than enforcing orders. To encourage them to create value for the business, we must give them control, rather than control them. Empowerment is crucial.”

As we continuously try to present our ideas and assist with development, these company leaders will inevitably have to take notice as 50 percent of the world’s population is younger than 25, so we can’t be ignored for long.

Oh you hate your job?

"Oh you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." – Drew Carey

I sincerely hope that everybody does not hate their job. I spend hours a day looking and looking and doing even MORE looking to find the job of my dreams or at least the entry level step to a future career, not just a job.

It is hard to imagine going through life hating what you do 40 + hours a week. That is 2080 hours a year that you despise what you are doing. Older generations wanted to be doctors, lawyers, teachers and business executives. But Millennials are one of the first generations to major in what we were passionate about, with the hopes of being the next great journalist, a distinct fashion designer or creating the next non-profit to truly make a difference. What stinks is many Millennials out there are working jobs that don’t fit their major because when the economy changed those dreamy jobs were the first to go.

But what I can provide you today is a bit of bright news…. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that, “Rates of entrepreneurship among people ages 55 and 64 have generally been trending up since 2007, whereas rates for that younger group have stayed relatively flat.” As our parents and maybe even our grandparents are finally getting to the point where they are truly passionate about (and own) what they are doing, they may be able to someday produce a position where we can put our enthusiasm to work.