Three Tips for Millennials Charting Their Career Path

When YouTube started, no one could have imagined Lilly Singh becoming the highest paid female YouTubers in 2016, raking in $7.5 million. Though some of her revenue streams are attributed to tours, her book How to be a Bawse and her Bawse lipstick, it is the social media channel that gave her rise to fame. In a country where such success is primarily for the whites, a brown female now in her 30s being able to garner an audience that large and millions in revenue is one for the books.

Women like Lilly and other millennials achieving amazing fits leave us in awe. It also leaves some restless. This state of tension is often attributed to the awareness that there is more we could be doing but are clueless as to how to start. Great ideas perish before they see the day of light. A child support help center run in an area where the law isn’t strict or offering a virtual experience to juniors to spark their creativity; there are attainable we just often shy away because we haven’t seen others succeed.

Who could have thought making comedy videos could potentially earn someone millions of dollars with no major network backing them? If you have a brilliant idea you have faith in and one that will transform the world, use this as your starter pack to getting started.

Stick to your guns

When doing something that’s never been done before, even people who love you might end up discouraging you. Developing an attitude of “thank you, I will put that under advisement” is one way to keep nay-sayers voices from infecting your vision. If you believe in it, even when no one thinks it will work, is what will help you pull through. Will you get discouraged sometimes? Yes. Will you want to quit when something doesn’t seem to work? Yes. However, it is staying your course and making a way where there is seemingly none is what will lead to a breakthrough.

Don’t walk it alone

Every story has the one or two close friends or parents that encouraged us to pursue our dreams. Not everyone is that fortunate. Instead, you might have to find people to walk with from history and between pages. Biographies and autobiographies of pioneers will help instill in you a sense of camaraderie that you’re not in it alone. Learn from them and remain encouraged. If they could do it despite all odds, so can you.

Don’t be afraid to let it morph

Being flexible and accommodating market needs is another way to ensure you remain afloat when things go wrong. If there is strong pushback or lack of interest, consider taking a different route. Oprah said it best, whether or not it was her original thought, that mistakes are a redirection. Instead of being bummed out, look at other alternative paths that you can take to get to the same place.