YOUNG PEOPLE WANT IT NOW NOT LATER

 Imagine if you asked a young person what their dream was, and they answered- "To have lots of money so I can enjoy life" It would be easy to think that they are just joking and maybe they have another real answer. Well, let me surprise you! they are damn serious about it. To make it even more interesting would be if you asked this follow-up question, How they plan to have a lot of money so they can enjoy life. The answer will be even more surprising.... A dead silence and blank stare followed by a few incoherent ideas that have no basis in principles of work or business. 

This what we get all the time during the personal coaching and development sessions. In the first meeting an engagement that our Managing director had with a twenty something young lady- He started with basic debrief. This session mostly is where a participant is allowed un interrupted 30 minutes of self expression. They speak about their ambitions, goals, desires, challenges, opportunities and everything in between. The twenty something lady could not speak consistently for 7 minutes about her, what drove her, what she wanted to accomplish, the challenges and opportunities she had. In brief- She could not put her past, current and future into context. When the Director asked her what she wanted to accomplish- She said, "I want to have enough money, to start a children home and help many children in need." She also made it clear that she wanted to be HAPPY. According to her- Enough money= to Happiness

On the surface, this conversation with our MD would look like one isolated case of a young lady who lacks full comprehension about what life is all about. Unfortunately, that's not the case, many youth in Kenya look at life this way. According to a white paper for consumer financial education strategy on capital markets published in February, 2020 young people were the biggest victims of get rich quickly schemes, that majority were likely to be involved in activities like betting, pyramid schemes and not likely to seek professional advice when it comes to investment and wealth creation. The paper sums up the youth idea of wanting it all today and not later. No wonder in a separate survey, majority of youth indicated that they would not hesitate to take a bribe if it was offered to them or they had an opportunity to participate in corruption.

Where does this come? From our continued  engagement with youth, we have picked  ideas that point towards the education system that condition them towards terminal success. Success that is not anchored in a process of consistent development but rather, the end justifying the means. Also, the role models around the youth in Kenya seem to be mostly glorifying material wealth and often without clearly explaining the process of acquiring such material wealth. The politicians especially flaunt and package themselves as being successful and able to solve all societal problems. The online marketing influencers too flaunt big cars and large than life lifestyles sometimes meant to market the products or services being offered- This dangling of half truths about success and wealth tends to have young people imagining that it can all happen in a one moon season.

But someone would ask, what is the problem with wanting it now and not later- If they can make it happen, then why not? The problem is, non of them is making it happen. Instead, they all end up depressed, stressed and broken, they all end up in a place of thinking that processes are wasting time, schooling is a waste of time, finding a job and working step by step is a waste of time, building a solid business that has proper structures is a waste of time. They just want everything they touch to flip into overnight success and wealth. So they keep trying the magic key- just one more bet, and then the next, followed by one more....This perceptions and attitude hinders and affects many youth programmes and funding opportunities to turn into long term solutions for youth empowerment.

Despite all these challenges, with programmes like Personal Coaching and Development (PCD) that are helping youth to come up with a five year life plan. There is hope that youth will be grounded and all investments made in them will go into structured, solid five year personal plan. The PCD helps young people to organize their ideas into broad goals that can be achieved in five or more years. The goals revolve around Family and personal well being, Economic wellbeing of an individual, Professional and Career growth and mental wellness and spirituality. We believe helping young people to anchor their life into a perspectives of where they are coming from, where they are at the moment and where they would like to go over time, one youth at a time, we can shift youth mindsets away from wanting it now to embracing the processes. PCD offers them opportunity to learn networking skills, public speaking skills, negotiation and many other inter-personal skills that put them on a path of true success.

To know more about PCD and how to enroll a young person, email;  consultancy@plomuna.co.ke

Article by Plomuna Projects Investment Team.