A New Lost Generation

The traffic on Los Angeles freeways is a bit lighter these days, for at least a couple of reasons. One is that the price of gasoline is approaching that of bottled water and the other is that most schools have released their inmates. Among those folks, the college grads in particular are the most eager, enthusiastic and fearful.

Sadly, I find that too many bright young men and women are emerging from distinguished and expensive educations without a clear idea of what they want to accomplish in their lives. I’m living with this old fashioned notion that knowing what you want to do and then learning how is one of the primary purposes of a formal education. The rocketing price of oil and the roller-coaster drop in the stock market don’t bother me as much as seeing a new lost generation. American poet Gertrude Stein actually coined the expression "lost generation." Speaking to Ernest Hemingway, she said, "You are all a lost generation." The term lives on and created a mystique around the writers and artists living in Paris in the 1920s and ‘30s. They seemed to be a generation going to great lengths and distances in search of themselves. Today as a business owner I interview people for jobs from internships on up and it saddens me to often encounter men and women who seem to be in a lost generation for the 21st Century.

Several decades ago I was flattered to be asked to speak a graduating senior high school class for the first time. Of course I was nervous about choosing a topic, writing the speech and practicing until it seemed almost spontaneous. Within the first few minutes I dropped a grenade into the proceedings by telling them that despite their bright eyes, eager smiles, loving parents and fresh diplomas, the hard statistics told an awful story about their prospects. The numbers predicted that about fifty years from their graduation date, out of one hundred students, one of them would be very rich, four would be financially independent, five would still be working and fifty four would be practically broke. You may have noticed that there are thirty-six unaccounted for. The prognosticators said that institutions and death would claim that group. Today, the numbers may be a bit more favorable thanks to 401-K programs and other forced savings vehicles.

If I was delivering a speech today to a graduating class, I’d say that I was privileged to begin my professional life during the century that clearly belonged to America and that they are starting their journey in a century that will belong to other world powers. America’s greatness was based on: a very good education system, a competitive economy and vibrant, diverse population. They worked, sacrificed and endured many hardships for the sake of a greater good. Today’s youngsters often feel entitled to the rewards they’ve seen others enjoy without taking into account what went into those benefits. There are rules to meaningful accomplishment and if you don’t know the rules or want to ignore them, you are truly lost.

Education is one of my passions and I view it as a lifelong process. For example, when I received my private pilot license decades ago, the instructor reminded me that it really was just a license to learn. I spend most of my time in a world populated by experienced functional adults, people with goals and pretty clear values, folks who accept the responsibilities of family and community. In an effort to give their children “something better,” too many unearned gifts have robbed them of the knowledge that striving is a big part of the joy of living and the key to great accomplishment. Many of the fresh faced flock of graduates are surprised to learn that business is as exacting as athletics when it comes to determining who gets to stand on the top step of the podium. Of course, those bright and eager graduates don’t have to remain lost because the knowledge and sparkling example are all around us. They have access to written history, mentor bosses and world-wide connectivity. The realities may not match their graduation day expectations, but in that reality there is a beacon of hope.


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