SoulPancake

@JessTheVagabond i agree, but i'd also like to add to what you say about the youth. they not only expect the "work less, get paid more" lifestyle, it's also encouraged. i'm 24 and i remember when i was in high school and college i heard from parents, teachers, and all the other adults who love to give their 2 cents when your young, that if you're REALLY smart, you'll figure out a way to "work less, get paid more." so it wasn't just some intangible fantasy i'd seen on tv, it was a promoted ambition. i was advised to strive for such a thing. luckily, despite all the sage advice, my ambition is happiness. but it's not just the media that are feeding kids these ideas.

i don't know that i've demonstrated true, world-changing ambition, but it's quite easy for me to avoid complacency. i never allow myself to forget that while i'm fed and housed and clothed, there are thousands who aren't. and i don't have to travel far to find them. there's a park right down the block from me and especially at night you'll see homeless people trying to find a place to sleep. i've begun giving to a charity that helps homeless youth (about 14-24) in downtown LA. my personal struggle right now is with the environment. i need to make a better effort at recycling. just yesterday on my drive home i was thinking what a shame it is that the view of the hills was tainted by the smog settling around them (which also means that's what the Valley was breathing. gotta love being able to see your air.) i sometimes try to think about whether there's some kind of charity or program or fundraising i can do to help solve the problem. but where do you start?

The issue is the mentality of these grads. We grew up with information all around us - instant gratification and once that is taken away we are completely helpless. People only desire objects and not ambition or to better themselves or the world.

I went and chose to get a BA in Art History because I like art. I almost chose Studio Arts - and was 2 classes away from the degree before deciding to go with Art History as I figured I could get a PhD down the road with Art History - and all that I learned in my Studio Arts classes only helped me explore new ways of making art and understanding the process of creating art. -- I've had to argue time and time again WHY I chose Art History, and it's so silly to me.

If you choose to get a degree in business - then all you care about is money. If you choose a degree in Art History - then you are crazy? Yes, not much money can be made with Art History. I cannot even teach at Community Colleges until I'm in a Master's program or have completed my masters. Once I have a PhD I can start at 75-80 thousand a year, maybe thats not a lot to some, but sounds good to me. -- I can study and teach 2-3days a week, have the rest of my time to make art and maybe have a family. That is my ambition. It's a plausible and realistic ambition to have.

Still there is a lot of work involved and generally - especially nowadays - people want to work less & get paid more for it. The current generation feels they are entitled to this lifestyle. They see fame and money on TV shows, billboards - celebrities and they want that lifestyle, they will even mimic it to pretend to be apart of it.

What's silly is that it doesn't matter. You are not defined by the clothes that you wear or label on your purse. It's hard not to get consumed by the mass consumption media frenzy of instant gratification and feelings of entitlement. I sometimes get caught up in it to, then jump back and realize that it's all nonsense. :)

I'm not sure the current generation of grads is suffering from a poverty of ambition. In fact I think they are too ambitious they could kill themselves for not getting their ambitions. Oh wait, I think I was talking about me :P

I agree with Obama. For us to become more successful, we should serve others.

"Poverty of ambition"? Ridiculous. I would elaborate, but I don't really feel like it.

The mixing of generations and attitudes that each generation has to determine "success" and "ambition" are more different now then ever.
The reality is that we have become very complacent hearing that we are in the best country and the strongest country etc.
We have to allow new idea, and while I'm not a Gen Y at all I really feel that we need to be comfortable giving up old "this is the way it is done" ideas and take more risks. And punish less for the mistakes that occur with those risks. Without mistakes we have no successes.

forget about your self, and maybe we will see something.... because what limits ambition is our unwillingness to take risks because of what we think people will say! Sad but true!

I think that we all have it so wrong. I think that the big problem that people have is the inability or lack of desire (not sure which one) to truly admit what their dream is and to go after it. We live in such a success-driven society that too many of us believe that failure is the worst case scenario. This is far from the case. The worst case scenario is not giving yourself the CHANCE to live out your dream. You have to go out on the limb and give yourself the opportunity to live out the dream. Fear of failure is far worse than the failure itself.

At this point in my life, if i can get the bills paid and still manage to explore the world around me and treat other people decently, it's close enough to "Living the dream" for me.