Funding your big dream can be tricky when you’re young, lack a lot of experience and don’t have a enough of a track record to prove what you can do. But the good news is, besides raising money from friends and family (the most common), there are a range of different options growing every year. Crowd funding being one of the most popular new avenues.
If you’re looking to make an impact in the world, and are excited about the idea of supporting others dedicating their lives to noble pursuits, get involved by donating, contributing, investing. It’s amazing what a difference a few dollars can make to someone who is poor and ambitious, or working in an emerging market, or how a lot of people contributing to one cause can quickly add up.
Continuing your education is certainly a noble pursuit – but a costly one. Definitely worth the investment (or debt in most cases), but you’ve got to know where to find the money to make it happen. You can come back to us to make sure you’re studying the right thing for your career later. Or if maybe there’s a whole other route that makes more sense.
We believe everyone should study and practice a little entrepreneurship in this economy. You don’t have to start a business, but definitely learn to think like an entrepreneur and you’ll be all the more successful. Here are some of our favorite resources in the field, the very best we know. And we’ve been helping young entrepreneurs a long time!
Who are you? If you can’t answer that, odds are the rest of the world is struggling to define you too. How you present yourself these days, particularly online can make or break your chances of getting an interview, time on the phone with someone you really want to connect with, or getting access into more prominent circles of influencers. If you haven’t gotten smart about your own branding, best to start right now.
Who doesn’t love a little recognition now and then? If you’re a rock star at what you do, maybe you’re just the one a special program or competition is looking for. Don’t be afraid to tell your story to the world. A little healthy competition can push your farther than you thought possible. Getting acknowledged for your work builds incredible confidence and credibility so you can go on to do even bigger things.
There’s a very big world out there. How much of it have your experienced? Get going! If you’re broke, try couch surfing, take over someone’s pad, hit some hostels, or save up your money and stay longer, or join the jet setters who do it in comfort and style. There are plenty of resources for every budget and experience you can imagine. And of course, you can always make up your own.
Need a place to nest, surround yourself with other innovators, cook your big ideas, and really get down and dirty with development? Finding the right incubator might be the very thing you need to take off once and for all. Every great idea needs a bit of polish, and incubators give you immediate access to mentorship opportunities, funding, and help you develop a strategy to launch your idea into the marketplace.
We’re big fans of surrounding yourself with success. And the easiest way in the world is to hook up with a serious youth or leadership organization. Ideally, find a global one with a local chapter (or start one) that can expose you to people from dozens, even 100+ countries. Trust us, attend a global conference, and you’ll never look at your life and place in the world the same way again.