For days I have been thinking about what I want to write for my blog post for the Generational Differences in the Age of Social Media blog then I awoke this morning with these wishes for my millennial and digital babies worldwide:
1. Learn about romantic love. While watching a movie recently it ended with a love song and as I listened to the words I realized that no one write words like that anymore. If they do, the music is not part of the stream of music I hear on the radio or in department stores.
Rather the air is filled with negative lyrics like Nicki Minaj’s “you a stupid hoe” a song that repeats that sentence over and over again. Now imagine your daughter listening to that pounding in her head over the headphones.
It is for this very reason that Taylor Swift is so popular today. Her lyrics are uplifting, filled with self esteem, and fun.
2. Revere your bodies and protect them. Thanks to the Kardashians and the media, women’s bodies have been reduced to pieces of meat offered up for consumption worldwide.
Young women are encouraged to get “boob jobs” and “butt implants” in order to be accepted as beautiful. Let 2015 be the year you learn what Mohammed Ali said to his daughters after seeing one oft hem dressed inappropriately:
“My father took a good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said something that I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You’ve got to work hard to get to them.”
He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.” Source: Taken from the book: More Than A Hero: Muhammad Ali’s Life Lessons Through His Daughter’s Eyes.”
I added it here in its entirety so that if you wish, you can share it with your daughters as well.
3. Get your degree in a field that will still exist when you graduate from college. I have noticed of late that many of the degrees being proided by universities are for professions that at no longer valid. There are new industries cropping up all over the world that academia has not yet tapped into.
I highly recommend that digital babies (if it’s not digital it does not compute for these guys) take a few steps back and rethink your strategy for your career. To help you figure it out, invite you to listen to my radio show for February titled “Is a College Education Still Worth It?” The show is “Find Yourself, Live Your Dreams, and Be Happy” which is what I wish for you in 2015.
4. Don’t just hook up. Go out on dates with the people you like. Many of you started “hooking up” at an early age and have no idea what a real date is. That’s when the guy picks you up, takes you out, and you spend time together talking and getting to know each other.
I recently watched an episode of the “Steve Harvey Show” where he tried to help an young lady with a date. The date was in a very nice restaurant, by the window, sweet view. She never noticed it because she spent her time texting with her friend about the date.
She even took a picture of the poor guy and sent it to her friend for her approval. Meanwhile, the guy was right in front of her and she said less than 20 words to him.
When Steve Harvey asked her what that’s about she replied, “I’m 23 that’s what we do.”
Look up once in awhile and know that hooking up with a guy damages your brand, your reputation, and eventually your self esteem.
5. Go for an enlightening, loving and joyous 2015. It’s time to create a new you. If you need some help with that, use the contact tab to send me a note. I will be happy to provide some coaching to get you started. I love you guys!
Your comments as always are welcome.
Known as a highly effective teacher, public speaker, and communicator, Yvonne F. Brown has taught seminars on team building, leadership, communication, & management in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Yvonne is proficient in a variety of management topics, including interpersonal, organizational, and intercultural communications, conflict management skills, and helps employees with their career growth.
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