I'm not too young! Maybe...

Firstly, I need to get this out the way, this post is not an attack on Vusi Thembekwayo's post, it's another perspective at looking at things. Exactly what I hope my blog instigates. I also plead that you do not take this as cynicism either, as I too am a young person with ambition. Just a realist as well.

Just some FYI:  For those who don't know Vusi, (I refuse to accept any different) he IS South Africa's NUMBER 1 public speaker. I've only had the opportunity to see him speak twice, both times on very different topics, but each with very inspiring and uplifting effects.

And now, on with MY perspective: Being a relatively young person (not giving my age away, sorry for you), but been in the IT industry for a fair amount of time, I would definitely consider myself successful for my age. Not exactly Mark Zuckerburg or a young Bill Gates. No, no, no... Just above average.

A factor that has been hindering my success going up the conventional corporate ladder is... Age. Is it something that should be stopping me? Well, when I first started working, I was hoping to be CEO within 2 years. Ambition is great! But sometimes very unrealistic. For that exceptional, rare and unbelieve quantum leaps to successful requires a few ingredients. Without a doubt, an EXTREMELY important, if not most important, is pure luck. Right place, right time, right mindset, right customer(s), right "product" (anything you sell, is a product somehow)

Some might simplify luck in business as "the gap in market". Absolutely, if there wasn't a gap, there would be the basic economic concept of supply and demand. Your product would then be worthless. The luck comes in as marketing. Someone who'll listen to you, believe in your product. An investor, direct consumers or even a promotor. As a young person, I know how INSANELY difficult it is for people, especially elders, to believe in your personal brand. Without that believe, product is useless.

In my industry I've sold top brands that almost all of the fortune 100 would use. Yet it's a difficult sell because we don't have references.

But that's not it, to paraphrase Vusi a bit, he mentioned that experience should be revered, however experience will restrict you. That, to a degree is very true. Experience will teach you how to talk the language the big boys in business want to hear. Very few, if any, sane people will allow you to put their investment at risk. And that's what a lot of us young people do, we very often hope for the best outcome and expect the worst possible consequence not to happen. When you've got a thousand employees, it would be selfish to risk everything. And that's what the "balls to the wall" approach does.

As an individual, the only risk you have is yourself and whoever invests in you. That's where the luck comes in and the age plays a part.

All that said, nothing stops you from being lucky, except the inability to try. It's obvious you can't win the lotto without buying a ticket. Do you think that most lotto winners won of their first time buying a ticket? Of course not. The more you try, the better your luck will be.

Be young, be ambitious, but more than anything, try*.

*For all those Star Wars fans, if you mention Yoda "Do or do not, there is no try..." Believe you will succeed first time every time, it will get harder to get up every time you fall. Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst.