Dan Willis argues Millennials are missing out by dismissing Boomers. He says the tech revolutions Millennials face—VR, AR, AI—echo industry shifts Boomers lived through, and their decades-old networks can unlock business opportunities younger people can't access alone.
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Millennials need boomers. I said it. Stick around and figure out why. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Dan from millennialmotivator.ca, helping you learn how to create, engage, and inspire. If you're new to the channel, go ahead and click that subscribe button down there, little bell next to it. You'll get notified when my next video goes live. Putting out 312 videos here on the channel this year. Today what we are talking about is millennials needing the baby boomers. Now, this is a very touchy subject for a lot of people. Millennials feel slighted in many ways from the generation that's preceded us. We feel like a lot of labels have been put on us, and we've tried to strike out on our own. On the other side, baby boomers are starting to age out of the workforce, and millennials are trying to push them out as hard as we can. And for me, this is a really, really scary concept that hasn't been around for a while, but it's starting to become a reality in a big way. So today I want to look at why millennials need baby boomers and the value that they can bring to you as an entrepreneur and your business. Everything old is new again. It's all been done. There's nothing new under the sun. You guys have heard these catchphrases, these buzz token words that people throw out to help you realize that history repeats itself. There's another one. The reality is this, guys. There is nothing that hasn't happened in some form already that isn't going to repeat itself in a similar fashion. And I know that we're living in a millennial age where people are plugged in and we've got VR and AR and AI and all these great innovations. But the reality is these are modern interpretations of things that have existed in the past. There is nothing new— isn't meaning that there isn't innovation and technology and evolution, but there's definitely something to be said for similar revolutions, similar changes in thought, similar changes in industry having happened before. Now, this is the first time that 2 generations I've seen have been so much at heads, just butting heads, since at least the '60s. And that's a long time, that's a big gap given how far we've come. But having that understanding is the basis and foundation that we need to have as millennials to appreciating the boomer generation that's come just before us, realizing that they've been through a lot of similar changes in internet coming out, in the gaming industry finding its legs, in— they've been through all of these innovations in their own way, in their own generation. And that insight is invaluable. It is priceless to us. Why else do we need boomers? Okay, so they've been there. They've had that experience of industry-changing revolutions in thought and process. We had the Steve Jobs era where Apple just changed everything and Bill Gates changed everything, and that was a big deal. We've got our own in the millennial generation where we're looking at guys like Mark Zuckerberg or Jack over on Twitter, right? We've seen innovators in our own time, but each of us has leaders in industry that are huge. Now, for us to abandon all of the wisdom and insight that that previous generation has is so foolish for us as millennials. You look at guys that have been around forever, Dale Carnegie or Ford. These guys were massive leaders of industry, and just because They were from a different time? The wisdom and, and their, their perspective has no value to us? That's insane, guys. Stop if you are a millennial and think that anybody who's over the age of 40 doesn't have anything to offer you. Go look at Seth Godin's blog for 10 minutes and tell me that's true. You can't do it. There's no way. So what I want you to do is get that notion out of your head that just because somebody is 40+, they've got no value to offer you, it's detrimental, and you're holding yourself down by thinking that. Instead, realize that they've got value to offer and seek it out where it is. Reach out to boomers that are over the age of 50. See what insight they have to give you. See what experiences they can share with you, what brilliant pieces of knowledge they've gained from their failures and their mistakes, their successes and triumphs. It's so huge, guys. You can't discount the wisdom of the generation that's come before. Okay, last but certainly not least, it's network. Okay, the generation that's come before us has been around longer, and one of the key advantages to time invested in industry is you've built connections and you've built out a powerful network. If you as a millennial don't see the value in an entire generation that has dedicated 30, 40, 50 years to an industry and the massive network they've compiled, the relationships that they've built, you are missing a monumental opportunity. Monumental. To see the ability to create relationships with people that have been in industry for 40, 50 years and be able to tap into their networks and their, their realm of influence is massive. It is beyond value. And I know I've said that several times, how priceless this is, but I really want you to grasp as a millennial the value that the generation ahead of us can bring to what we are doing day by day. They've been there, they've seen it. They've built up wisdom through success and failure along the way that they can drop on us, and they have massive networks in their industry that you can connect to simply by building relationship with them. If you, as a millennial, do not see the value in building relationships with that generation, okay, I'm not gonna pull your teeth, because the reality is, I see it. That value is there, and as a millennial in business, I know many others That see it as well, and they're gonna engage, and they're gonna tap into those networks, and they will be a step ahead. Take the time, guys. Don't discount a whole generation just because they aren't you. That's my thought anyway. Let me know down in the comments below what you think. Are the boomers for you? Can they help you grow your business, or are they too old-fashioned to help you out? Let me know what you think. Share this out with anyone you know that's wrestling that same question. Catch you tomorrow with another great video. See you tomorrow.
