The notion of Millennial burnout has been a hot topic, fueled by dozens of studies and articles exploring how and why the twenty-to-thirty-five cohort seems to experience discontent in their careers. According to research by Harvard Business Review, this type of burnout and angst in response to employment may have to do with what Millennials value.
Looking at long-term and short-term goals to determine what Millennials are grateful for, the researchers found that Millennials derive value from achieving the next step in their careers, possibly at the expense of their interpersonal lives and their emotional well-being.
“If we overlay gratitude with long-term and short-term goals, a picture surfaces of a Millennial mind that is mainly occupied with landing the perfect job and that is subject to a good deal of stress and anxiety,” says Harvard Business Review’s Ran Zilca.
Looking to Faraz “Fam” Mirza, founder of Mirza Minds and 1:Face, might help members of the Millennial cohort navigate their quarter-life crisis. At age twenty-seven, burnout doesn’t seem to be in Fam’s vocabulary. Here’s what Millennials can learn from him.
It’s All About the Journey
Born in Qatar, raised in five countries, and fluent in four languages, Fam has an unconventional background. Having spent five years in a third-world country, he recognized the opportunity he was given in the United States was remarkable, and he went to work exploiting it. By the age of twenty-six, as the CEO of 1:Face, Fam had built a brand that impacted more than a million people by aligning his designer watches with charitable organizations.
While many would consider his to be a resoundingly successful (if not young) career, he won’t have you thinking that. “I’ve never achieved success,” says Fam. “If you ever feel like you’ve found success, you’ve reached mediocrity.”
To that end, Fam derives value from the journey to fulfilling his aspirations, rather than achieving the next step in some unattainable desire for success. For him, continual growth and inspired goals are key. As with any worthwhile journey, Fam emphasizes the necessity of bringing people along.
Identify What’s Motivating to You
“Belief in inspiring the next person is what motivates me,” says Fam.
So, he’s built a business around uplifting other people — Mirzaminds is a branding firm that specializes in bringing entrepreneurial ideas to fruition, “from mind to market.”
But more than his business, an observer would have to look no further than Fam’s Instagram page to understand that fueling budding entrepreneurs is his lifestyle.
Fam is currently promoting an Instagram contest that will award an aspiring entrepreneur with $10,000 to bring their idea to life.
“An idea isn’t owned, only shared,” he says. “This contest is about believing in the power of an idea, and making it happen.”
Perhaps more valuable than the cash prize is Fam’s Board of Trustees (including recording artist 50 Cent), which he’s making available to the contest winner to instill the knowledge and resources needed to succeed.
Understanding that shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs is motivating to him allows Fam to continue finding satisfaction in his own journey, even if he experiences missteps along the way.
Failure is Just a Lesson on a Whiteboard
A serial entrepreneur, Fam knows that some projects will fail, but it’s how you respond to failure that counts.
“When something fails, people lose enthusiasm, and go into the next project with that feeling, and that’s what creates a failing attitude.” says Fam.
He emphasizes instead taking each failure as a lesson that you can learn from before quickly moving on.
“Wipe the slate clean every time,” he says. “Don’t leave streaks on the whiteboard.”
Fam’s attitude about failure aligns with his attitude about success. Taking the emphasis off of defining moments like the next career advancement or business failure makes it easy to take challenges with a grain of salt and appreciate the journey toward fulfilling a mission.
“Humanity is growth,” says Fam. Simple as that.
Originally published at medium.com