3 Pieces of Advice for Millennials That Most People Get Wrong

It’s no secret that people love giving advice—especially to younger people. If you’re a millennial, then you’ve likely heard all three nuggets of wisdom we’re about to explore.

Hearing the same advice over and over again can be irritating. This is especially true when the advice doesn’t ring true.

You should always take people’s advice with a grain of salt. After all, what qualifies them to give you advice? Just because they’re older doesn’t necessarily mean that they know what’s best for you.

With that in mind, there are three specific pieces of advice that I want to discuss. This includes advice that you’ve likely heard but never really understood. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll gain the clarification that you need to succeed.

Discover three pieces of advice that most people get wrong and one piece of advice that rules out everything else.

You Need to Dream Big—Within Your Limits

You’ve probably heard the saying, “You need to dream big”. As with most phrases, people will say this to you without having any idea what they’re talking about. They don’t realize that there are limitations to what you can achieve.

When someone says, “You can do anything that you put your mind to,” they’re making a false statement. One person can only do so much.

Simply encouraging someone to dream big isn’t sufficient advice. There are certain details that go along with this statement that need to be addressed.

First, you should have big dreams. Having big dreams is great. When you dream big, you almost always succeed on some level.

For example, if you decide that you’re going to paint a masterpiece, there’s a good chance that you’ll become a better painter. Even if you don’t paint a masterpiece, you’ll likely achieve some success.

This same concept applies to almost any endeavor, but it’s equally important to know your limitations.

When you understand your limitations, you will be better equipped to work with others and receive help when needed. Again, if you want to paint a masterpiece but have trouble mixing colors, then it would be beneficial to take a painting class.

If you are trying to run a business, but know nothing about online marketing, then it would be beneficial to outsource your marketing.

Basically, you need to dream big while paying attention to your limitations. Be ready to ask for help or know when it’s time to take a step back and improve your skills instead of pushing ahead.

You Need to Defy Expectations

Another piece of advice that you may hear is that you’ve got to defy expectations. If you want to succeed, you need to surpass what is expected of you. This is also a true piece of advice that needs a little clarification.

What’s expected of you? This depends on your job. That’s all. But, in all aspects of work or business, you should attempt to exceed expectations.

For example, if you work retail, you should be willing to do the chores that everyone grumbles about. The same applies to business. Say you do start your own company: one of your primary goals should be to exceed the expectations of your customers.

So, how can you exceed expectations? You can do this by focusing on what you can change. You shouldn’t worry yourself with unrealistic expectations. Instead, determine what you can change or influence and do everything in your power to exceed.

You Need to Do Your Own Thing

The final piece of advice is that you need to do your own thing. That if you want to start your business, you need to just get on with it. Otherwise, you’ll get stuck in the rat race. You’ll find yourself employed instead of working towards your dream. That is completely untrue.

You may be told that you need to create. If you have an idea, you need to create it. Make it happen.

While some people can succeed at their dreams by going for it, most people will need to put in hard work while working for someone else.

Doing your own thing is great, as long as you do it on your own time. Honestly, it’s highly unlikely that you’ve already developed all the skills that you need to succeed. So, use employment as a path to help you learn these skills.

For example, say you want to be a successful stock broker. Before anyone is going to trust you with their money, you’ll need to work with a brokerage firm to learn more about the market. You’ll need to put in the work to show that you can do it.

If you have something that you want to create – congratulations. But, don’t assume that you can just create it and have it be a success.

You need the education, training, and skills that go along with your specific area of interest. Don’t be afraid to spend the next 5, 10, or 15 years working for someone else, even if your goal is to run your own company. You can learn new skills and techniques that someone going it alone wouldn’t be able to develop.

The Only Piece of Advice That You Really Need

In the end, I’ve given you more advice after saying how irritating it is to be given advice by someone else.

How do I know that you need to realize your limitations, or exceed expectations, or put off your creations until you develop the right skills? Common sense. That’s why.

Over the years, you’ll develop an invaluable skill called common sense. This is the ability to make sense out of things using common knowledge.

It’s common knowledge that most people have limitations or won’t be able to create a masterpiece. It’s common knowledge that you need to exceed expectations to get ahead in most situations. It’s also common knowledge that you can’t always just create something without knowing what you’re doing.

So, if there’s one main takeaway from all this advice that I’ve thrown at you—you should always take a moment to reflect on major decisions and determine whether you are using common sense.

Good luck out there. I know that the future is hard to predict, but if you use common sense, you’ll be better off than most.