This is a big one for me, and many of you have heard it all before. This piece is for every millennial who just graduated college, or for the ones just starting/finishing their first internship, or their first job. This is for the up and coming creators and doers. The ones who are just starting to discover their perspective and would like to get ahead.
Please remember, I am not trying to be harsh, I am just trying to give you the truth. If you haven't seen my original advice, there will be a link to a related piece of content I did for DailyVee somewhere near the end.
Now there are a lot of people coming out of school going to their first job. And a lot of people will tell you, "You aren't worth s--t," but they're wrong.The market is the market, and if you are good enough you are going to win.
But no one is going to hand anything to you — you just have to go out there and take it! And understand that it takes time. Anything worthwhile does.
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So look, I want to have the real talk, right? When people razz on you guys, they're wrong. They're wrong when they're like, "You're just a kid," "Millennial," blah, blah, blah. It's all the cliches, over and over, and they're completely wrong.
But you're also wrong. Not just millennials — everybody. If you expect anything or feel entitled, you're wrong. Period. Nobody gives a f--k that you were the captain of your lacrosse team. What the hell does that have to do with anything? So when you enter the business world, you're at zero. You're 22-years-old and you're literally at zero.
That doesn't mean that being the captain of the lacrosse team is worthless, or hanging out every weekend and drinking beers in college with your friends has no value. Those things can actually enrich your life, they are part of your experience and they can be great things. But in business none of that matters. It's input and output. It's very binary.
What matters is whether or not you can add value to the bottom line. Can you complete the work assigned? Can you go above and beyond to help the organization? Can you work well with others? These are the things that matter.
I mean seriously, I meet 22-year-olds every day and people tell me, "Oh, I did this in college, I did that," and I'm like, "Dude, that would mean every number one pick at every single draft went on to become the best player of all time." Cool, I'm very glad that you were the head of your sorority, Susan and that you've got real leadership skills. Mazel tov. Now go f-----g sell a couple things. Show me!
And that's really what it's all about. Show, don't tell. Lead through action.
How do you actually win? By deploying constant effort, persistence and humility in everything that you do. Check your ego at the door and understand that you are no better than anybody else. You are just a teammate trying to play the game. You're the 6th man who plays one minute in the fourth quarter, but without you the team can't win. You deserve your seat on the bench but when it's time to play, you better leave your heart out on the floor, or the next guy will.
So my advice for "the kids" is to stop running your mouth and execute for 18 months and then stick it to everybody. If you put in the work, and you are good enough, you will win! I want to remind all the "kids" that I didn't say a single word to the world for the first 10 years of my business life. You gotta do it first. I just put my head down and built a successful liquor store.Then I came out and said, "I built this business." That's a lot more fun. I have no interest in what you're gonna do. Every person I've ever met has told me they're "gonna."
Forget gonna, just DO.
Good luck.
Gary Vaynerchuk, a four-time New York Times bestselling author, is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of VaynerMedia.
This article originally appeared on LinkedIn.
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