Ultimately Gen Y'ers are more grateful for people
than anything else.
The headlines are frequently full of stories of Gen Y’ers getting themselves into dire financial situations by recklessly acquiring material things. From the headlines alone, it would be easy to assume material things matter most to members of Generation Y.
Not necessarily.
When it comes right down to it, Gen Y’ers ultimately believe people matter most.
Esteban Contreras, the 25 year-old editor-in-chief of SocialNerdia in Dallas, Texas, says nothing else would matter without the people in his life.
“As a young married guy, I'm incredibly grateful for my awesome and beautiful wife and for every single day I get to spend with her for the rest of my life. I'm grateful for a family who cares about me more than I deserve or could ever imagine. I'm grateful for the handful of real friends who inspire and challenge me; their honesty and sense of humor make life much more fun. I'm also grateful for the many other people in my life, both offline and online, who have shared parts of themselves in order to teach, communicate, collaborate and express with authenticity, transparency and humility.
Things will perish, accomplishments are fleeting and pursuits are unsatisfying; none of these things should be of utmost importance. People are what we should always be grateful for and when I search deep inside me, I know they are what life is really about. And above people, I'm grateful for a God full of grace who I believe made me, saved me and wants me to make my life about much more than just myself.”
David Siteman Garland, 25, entrepreneur and executive producer of “The Rise to the Top” television program, thinks a conscious effort needs to be made every day to remember this gratitude for the people in his life.
“I wake up thankful everyday first and foremost for the ONLY thing that matters and that is my family. My parents did an amazing job raising me and their unconditional love and support has given me the confidence to follow a crazy business path. It led me to start my first business at 21 and then at the ripe age of 24 to follow my passion for entrepreneurship and create and host a TV show (with no experience) which has now led to so many amazing things it would take too long to list. Often overlooked, I'm truly thankful for kind strangers who become friends. Also, I'm thankful every single day for my fiancé Marcie. I never thought I would be so compatible and love one person so much.”
Read more about the people Contreras and Garland encounter in their businesses on their Web sites: Contreras, www.socialnerdia.com and Garland, www.therisetothetop.com.
For more on “Gen Y Gives Thanks”: Click here to read how the series got started and here to read all “Gen Y Gives Thanks” related articles. Join the #GenYGivesThanks conversation on Twitter and check out what the participants in the series are tweeting about with my GenYGivesThanks Twitter list.
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Comments
David Siteman Garland and Estaban Contreras both have their heads on straight and I greatly admire them for achieving all that they have--above all the harmony and happiness that come from having good families. There is no greater prize.
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