Samantha Massaglia

Something is going on.

This thought has entered my mind repeatedly over the last couple of years.

Usually, it occurs when I’m looking at research about consumer trends. Consumer research is, essentially, the study of people. It provides a window into the minds of individuals and communities. Lately, it's been telling me that...

SOMETHING IS GOING ON!

So, what is the something?  

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I was on Minnesota Public Radio recently, discussing how Millennials fit into today's workplace. You can listen to the broadcast here.

I guest lectured at St. Cloud State University recently and was asked to answer this question:  

Can advertising be a win-win for business and consumers?

This presentation is my response. (Hint: My answer is, Yes! Especially with the kinds of changes the Millennials and GenerationZ are driving!)

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I frequently come across useful articles and research about generations, especially Millennials and Generation Z.

This page contains links to them and is updated frequently.

This is Part 1 of 2 blog posts.  

I launched this blog by stating my belief that some sort of universal shift is underway (“something is going on”). In other words, the world’s equilibrium has been disturbed. And according to the laws of physics, when equilibrium is disturbed, something gets set in motion. In this case, it’s Millennials. Literally.

Picture this:

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Are we entering an era of virtuosity? 

Trying to connect some dots:

1.  In his book “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell created a ‘theory of success’ that says if you practice something for 10,000 hours by the age of 21, you will be a virtuoso at it. Or, as Jane McGonigal, director of game research at the Institute for the Future explains: "You will be as good at whatever you do as the greatest people in the world."

2.  Research says kids are abandoning multi-tasking in favor of mono-tasking, because they want to focus on being really good at one thing at a time.

3.  The number of kids being homeschooled has increased 75% since 1999.

 4.  Experts say kids who are home schooled are more articulate, purpose-driven, confident and ready to enter the world and contribute.

5.  Research says happiness produced by doing good or fulfilling your life's purpose "may literally be healthier for you than happiness that comes from self-gratification or pleasure seeking."

So! Here's where I think all this info intersects:

Millions of children are being educated to be articulate, self-aware people who are voluntarily focused on developing virtuoso-level skills that they intend to use to improve the world, enabling them to build lives driven by a sense of purpose, which will result in a greatly improved planet populated by a lot of genuinely happy people. 

Wow. If this does happen on a large scale (and I think the numbers suggest that it's likely), then the next 20 years could be amazing!

Imagine the impact of millions of people simultaneously using virtuoso-level skills to solve problems around the world!

Do you agree? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Send a message to me here.

This is the 2nd of two posts. You can read the 1st one here. 

Speaking of transformational youth, my second conversation was with Jessica Straus a spokesperson for the Millennial Trains Project (MTP), whose inaugural journey took place in August.

The group traveled on a refurbished train, described as a “retro piece of industrial hardware,”  from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.

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I recently had an illuminating conversation with David Burstein, Millennial author, film-maker, non-profit founder, scholar, and a lot of other equally impressive adjectives.

I was inspired to reach out to him after reading his book Fast Future:  How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World. 

In Fast Future, David puts his peers under a microscope and studies their motivations, challenges and growing success, while bringing into focus the kind of world they are working to build. (You can also check out his TedX talk from 2012.)

Chatting with David also led to clarity about something that has confused me recently regarding Millennials. 

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Are you a Global Citizen?  If you believe in creating a world in which disparity, especially economic, is unacceptable, you might be a global citizen. 

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“We are in the middle of a massive transformation.”

“We are creating our own reality.”

“I was overwhelmed with a desire to find meaning in my life.”

Source: Every Millennial I’ve interviewed in the last 9 months.

I started this blog almost a year ago, because I believe a major human shift is taking place, and that it’s being accelerated by the Millennial generation.

Since then, I’ve spoken with Millennials from the U.S., India, Europe and Africa, and while they were unique individuals, each of them expressed the same sentiment: 

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When it comes to building communities that shorten the distance between workers and their work, in order to attract Millennial employees and win their lasting loyalty, Mark Zuckerberg should follow the example of George Cadbury. (Versus, say, Fritz Lang...)

I talk a lot about how the world is re-making itself. As I study the changes that are occurring, I’m constantly reminded that the world outside the U.S. is vast. There are huge pockets of activity going on that don’t necessarily receive a lot of attention in the U.S., yet they are starting to define what civilization is going to look like in the very near future. 

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A few months ago, I wrote a post about Jagriti Yatra, a train journey that takes place in India every year. Its purpose is to gather youth (Millennials and soon, GenZ) who aspire to create positive social change and expose them to problems that need solving, communities that need help, and experts who can provide guidance and insight.

Many of the Jagriti Yatra participants have gone on to launch businesses and non-profits (250 in the last five years!) that are strengthening India’s economy and social infrastructure. Recently, I connected with two of them.

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We're in a crisis! That's good news!

Research (counter-intuitively) suggests that creativity flourishes in circumstances where resources are limited and there is more pressure to produce.

You might say, crisis inspires creation.

It's pretty obvious that in recent years, the world has been experiencing more crises, more frequently, and they've been more widespread and intense. (Financial meltdown, natural disasters, intolerance, civil wars, etc. etc.)

So...if crisis drives creativity, and we are in the worst state of crisis we've ever known, couldn't that mean we are about to experience the greatest wave of creativity humans have ever produced?

If that's true, then it seems like the best opportunities will come to those who can identify which crises are actually the next epicenters of ideation.

It also means that we need to get ready!

A 2009 participant of Jagriti Yatra, a 15-day train journey that takes young leaders 8,000 kilometers across across India to learn about enterprise and infrastructure, Vaishali Gandhi was born and grew up in Mumbai. 

Although her path and focus are unique, much of what Vaishali shared with me regarding her desire to create a life and profession founded on creating positive change mirrored what I’ve heard from every global Millennial I’ve interviewed over the last year:

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Please check out my guest blog for international Millennial engagement expert, Chelsea Krost's website:

http://chelseakrost.com/can-millennials-change-the-world/

What do you get when you combine a passion for reading, empathy for those less fortunate than yourself, and awareness that you’re part of a global community? You get Maria Keller, a 14-year old member of GenerationZ. She’s on a mission to provide books for children who don’t have access to them, and a lot of people are starting to take notice, including CNN, which named her one of its "Young Heroes" in 2014.

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I’m a member of GenX. Nobody talks about us much, because we’re a small group sandwiched between the Baby Boomers and Millennials. That’s ok. We don’t tend to seek the spotlight. However, there is a stereotype that has persisted for far too long, and I’d like to address it now:

I received a call from my sister early one Friday night. It had been a long week full of deadlines at work, errands to run, the house to clean, and attempts to remain connected to loved ones. It had been a long week filled with my life, in other words. So I was not prepared for the life-altering news my sister called with that sunny April evening.

Millennials are the biggest generation in history. Astoundingly, there are 1.8 billion globally, out of 7 billion people worldwide, with 83 million living in the United States alone.(1) Ranging in age from 20-35 years old, many are well into their careers and are influencing (if not completely re-imagining) virtually every social institution, including the economy. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Millennials not only have a different relationship with money than previous generations, they have redefined prosperity itself.