Finish school, get into a good university to study a course with good job prospects, graduate then secure a role in a reputable company and soon enough purchase a property and then find a marriage partner, attend social events, go on regular holidays and generally live a good life. This process must be quite familiar and the aspirations not particularly different to any other young person growing up in the UK.
My challenge is that as a generation this appears to be the extent of our aspirations. Yes entrepreneurs step out, yes we progress to influential positions in large companies. But i’m calling out for trailblazers, for those that are willing to tread a new path that will raise the bar for our measures of progress and definition of success.
Lets look back just 1 generation, in August 1972 the entire Indian population of Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin. They were given 90 days to leave the country or face being put into concentration camps.
As with most migrants, their first challenge was to build a sense of security and stability. A steady job, a home to keep the family safe and to provide for the future of their children. In such difficult times, people come together out of necessity and find meaning in their collective struggle. Decisions were often made without the luxury of alternatives. Aspirations were defined by immediate needs and compromise was assumed.
As a 2nd generation, British born and educated person, I often look around to what’s next for me. I’ve had the opportunity to work for large professional organisations. I’ve exercised my choice to leave work to go travel, volunteer and even remain idle. I was able to do all this with the firm knowledge that I always had a secure home to return to and the likelihood of ever going hungry was negligible.
The challenge for most people of my generation unlike just 1 generation back is not ‘can I afford a car,’ but ‘which car do I buy and when do I upgrade it.’ Yes job security is challenging, but we have a lot more in terms of qualifications and mobility to know that we can secure another job reasonably easily.
This post isn’t just about job security. This post is about redefining aspiration and the willingness to take risk and work tirelessly to overcome the challenges inherent in uncertainty. This isn’t simply to overcome challenges that we see, but more difficult is to overcome the challenges to come, those that we can’t see. To ask ourselves the difficult questions about what the rites of passage of the next generation will be? What are we doing now, preparing and planting, that will give our children richer more wholesome lives – that have the balance of physical, material security and a deep sense and awareness of who they are. That awareness will give them the belief that they can make a difference in the world and they will do so rooted in their cultural and personal values. The aspiration is for a new breed of principled leadership.
My challenge is that as a generation this appears to be the extent of our aspirations. Yes entrepreneurs step out, yes we progress to influential positions in large companies. But i’m calling out for trailblazers, for those that are willing to tread a new path that will raise the bar for our measures of progress and definition of success.
Lets look back just 1 generation, in August 1972 the entire Indian population of Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin. They were given 90 days to leave the country or face being put into concentration camps.
As with most migrants, their first challenge was to build a sense of security and stability. A steady job, a home to keep the family safe and to provide for the future of their children. In such difficult times, people come together out of necessity and find meaning in their collective struggle. Decisions were often made without the luxury of alternatives. Aspirations were defined by immediate needs and compromise was assumed.
As a 2nd generation, British born and educated person, I often look around to what’s next for me. I’ve had the opportunity to work for large professional organisations. I’ve exercised my choice to leave work to go travel, volunteer and even remain idle. I was able to do all this with the firm knowledge that I always had a secure home to return to and the likelihood of ever going hungry was negligible.
The challenge for most people of my generation unlike just 1 generation back is not ‘can I afford a car,’ but ‘which car do I buy and when do I upgrade it.’ Yes job security is challenging, but we have a lot more in terms of qualifications and mobility to know that we can secure another job reasonably easily.
This post isn’t just about job security. This post is about redefining aspiration and the willingness to take risk and work tirelessly to overcome the challenges inherent in uncertainty. This isn’t simply to overcome challenges that we see, but more difficult is to overcome the challenges to come, those that we can’t see. To ask ourselves the difficult questions about what the rites of passage of the next generation will be? What are we doing now, preparing and planting, that will give our children richer more wholesome lives – that have the balance of physical, material security and a deep sense and awareness of who they are. That awareness will give them the belief that they can make a difference in the world and they will do so rooted in their cultural and personal values. The aspiration is for a new breed of principled leadership.
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