It's no secret that there's a stigma against millennials. People just don't like us. Whether it's a lack of understand or a lack of consideration, a lot of people like to think we're lazy or ungrateful. I like to think of it as different. It's different because we don't see the value in wasting time. And what we deem as time wasters are very different than previous generations.

Regardless, these negative views towards our lifestyle don't go unnoticed. Personally, I think our generation is lacking in success, not because it's impossible for us to find success. Our struggle is that we secretly want to be successful in our parents eyes. We want to see the pride from previous generations, but we're not willing to lead an unhappy life to get it.

The difficulty in creating a life you love is not always because you are unable. It's because there are so many distractions getting in our way. There's the opinions from others, the opinions we have of ourselves, and the attitude we have towards life. These distractions are what I want to focus on once and for all. I want to face each and every aspect of what could hold us back.



We are all adults now, whether we believe it or not. We have every possibility to do everything we want, we just can't wait for our parents to say it's okay.

The reality is, coming of age in the 21st century is much different than the 20th. Unless you have parents that actually research with a certain level of empathy, they have no idea what's on the other end of your adolescence. There are very few things they can truly relate to with us. So unfortunately, it's not always ideal to take their advice and go with what they want for us.

I was a fortunate millennial who had parents that gave me the confidence to forge my own path. But when you see 1/3 of your peers struggling to move forward, it's easy to feel like there is no hope for any of us. Personally, I think if more of our parents encouraged us to embrace the internet, we'd have the following and connections necessary to do anything we want.

Regardless of all that, people are making jobs out of anything. The internet opens up doors for anyone who's willing to try. So, even if you're parents hate what you do, it's time to find what you love and do it no matter what they think.


The amount of times I've thought, "I can't do that. I'm not good enough to do that." are frequent and currently still happen. Maybe you don't think you're cool enough. Maybe you don't believe you know enough. Whatever your hang up, let it go.

The only skills required to start something are being passionate about that thing and then just doing it. Shia LaBeouf was not wrong when he made his goofy video. The only thing that makes some one else more qualified is that they started.

For me, I had to set a deadline. I gave myself a year to blog and see if I could do and like it. If I make it to a year, I'll know it's for me. I'll know that I was willing to do what it takes to make it happen and that is the only thing I need to qualify me for this work.

So go for it. Stop saying you're not good enough and do what you want to do. Even if you want to get paid to visit coffee shops or bungee jump, whatever it is. The internet is a magical place full of people doing whatever they love.


If you're waiting until everything is perfect, you'll never start. Don't wait until you have money to do it perfectly. Don't wait until you have everything you need. Just do what you can with what you have and improve along the way.

If you go and look at the beginning of most projects, you'll find they are full of imperfections and half ideas. No one really knows what something will turn into, even if they plan it to a T. 

Life is unpredictable. All you can plan for is what you know and have right now. If you wait for more, you could be waiting forever.


Getting wrapped up in the standard image of success is tricky. Of course we all want to be successful, but do we understand what success really is?

One thing I love is that our generation is starting to learn that being successful is not just based on the money you earn or the status of your career. It's not about the stuff you have or who you know. In way, it's kind of all of these things, but it's also none of them. Success it reaching a point in your life that you're proud of. Truly satisfied with because you love it. Not because your parents love it or your peers love it. Just because you do.

Still, it's hard to shake that traditional idea of success. The path seems to be paved for us, but for a lot of us that try to go down it, we end up worse off. It's because that path has been taken so many times and it was paved so long ago that it's become irrelevant. It wasn't made specifically for us, so it's time to let it go.

To create a life you love, you have to create your own version of success and be proud of it. Literally people can make millions of dollars playing video games and saying stupid stuff on YouTube. So that's proof that while your mom thinks playing video games is a waste of time, you could have been a millionaire who spends their time doing what they love. If only you never listened to what your mom thought success should be.


If there's one thing from this list you should definitely do, it's this one. Be honest with yourself, and be honest with the people around you.

Honesty is the leading force behind happiness. It is what helps people to learn what they love and what they don't. It shows the people around us who we are and sets us up to live a life without fear. When you're true to yourself, you don't have to worry about being what other people want you to be. You don't have to hide what you think or what you do.

As you move through life, just do you. Just be you and be you proudly. After all, that is 100% the best any of us can do.

Photo by Daria Shevtsova