PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with Mercedes-Benz to introduce you to ‘Grow Up‘ – a four part series telling the true stories of how unique people have ‘grown up’ differently and redefined traditions. Mercedes-Benz are constantly innovating and challenging the norm – they welcome these untold stories of challenging the traditional world with unconventional thinking. Head HERE to learn more.
Navigating the trials and tribulations of life in 2017 isn’t something you’d deem as ‘easy’. The advent of the Information Era has seen us constantly exposed to the successes of others (as well as what they’re eating for breakfast), and naturally, we can’t help but draw a comparison.
A lot of these people seemingly followed the beaten path: they went to a prestigious school, studied their asses off, went to a good university, ran coffee orders, climbed the career ladder, exchanged their soul for a mortgage, had a few kids, made millions, etc.
It’d be easy to assign Jamie Green to this sect of humans given his monumental success in creating two booming enterprises, but he didn’t. His career’s journey is anything but traditional.
Photo: Supplied.
Green dropped out of school in year 10 and began working at Crazy Clarks (a boy’s gotta eat). He started his first fashion business at 17, and by 24 he had four organisations under his belt (in addition to dabbling in property investment). Then, at 25, crap hit the fan. He lost everything. But being penny-less and hitting rock bottom didn’t stop him. In 2014 he launched One Night Stand Sleepwear – a range that contributes 50% of every product sold to combat youth homelessness. General Pants Co. picked up the line in 2015, which super-charged the business’ operations.
He moved to Byron Bay (where he’s still based) and began Marching Elephants, a portfolio of enterprises that help solve social and environmental issues. This more laid-back lifestyle allowed him pursue other hobbies he’d been interested in like photography.
Photo: Supplied.
If you’re looking for sound advice on defying the norm, pursuing your career goals in a way that best suits you, and living to tell the tale, then Green’s your guy. His answers throughout this article show that you don’t have to fit the mould in order to achieve success.
Green, being the sensible guy that he is, acknowledges he’s still growing up. There are, however, a lot of issues that plague young people when assessing their career path, and he touches on them while describing his owning coming-of-age experience.
“I had my parents telling me I could do anything I wanted, but then was a part of a school system that was constantly failing me,” says Green. “I got Fs in almost every class except for PE.”
We belong to a generation whose parents tell us we can be anything, a notion that’s then dismantled if we can’t excel in an academic environment. This juxtaposition in our teen years, as well as those ~raging hormones~ likely explain why so many of us choose to rebel.
With that in mind, what does ‘growing up’ even mean? Specifically, what does it mean in 2017?
Photo: Supplied.
The method of ticking things off on the adulting list like buying a house and starting a family just isn’t feasible anymore. Our current economic climate prevents most of us from ever achieving these markers of success.
A new ideology is beginning to emerge which embraces the idea that some folks simply won’t feel fulfilment from a specific job in their lifetime as we’re all led to believe. Some of us will feel complete by traveling the world. Others, by gaming all day. Hypothetically speaking, all we need to keep ourselves afloat is cash. What we do to create an income is entirely up to us.
“I am currently working on this new ‘career’ methodology that allows people to take a handful of things they enjoy and turn them into paid activities,” says Green. “It’s about creating a lifestyle you want, and living that lifestyle in the now – not in ‘out of work hours’.”“For example, I enjoy, photography, travel, fashion and being outdoors – I’ve managed to create a life where I get paid to do all these four things. Every day I wake up and I don’t feel like I am going to work. I just feel like I’m living.”
Photo: One Night Stand Sleepwear.
It’s all well and good to start pursuing interests and how you can create money from them, but actually getting them to a point where they’re generating an income is an entirely different story. There’s a strong likelihood that everything you’ve worked on creating will screw up entirely. Green’s been there, and his advice is to turn to the stories of others to get you through.
“I used other people’s stories. I listened to podcasts and read books about other entrepreneurs that had been through similar situations and I knew it wasn’t the end of the world. Going broke in our country is a breeze compared to being born in a developing nation or war-torn nation. We’ve got it good.”“I guess the real challenge is the mental issues that can arise with ‘what will everybody think of me?’. Guess what? No one really cares. They are mostly supportive and want to help you.”
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably struggling with pursuing a career direction that’s best for you. Green’s advice? Start looking at the whole thing differently.
“It’s all about beating the stigma of the ‘traditional’ mindset of what you are ‘supposed’ to do. There are so many people out there living a lifestyle of their choice – find them and read about it. Do it.”
And for those who don’t even know where to start with getting the whole ‘getting a job thing’? Keep on keeping on.
“It’s about experimenting with different things. Try a handful of activities and keep trying them to work out what you feel you like – it could take a while, but don’t stress. It’s apart of the process.
Lastly, Green felt compelled for those like yourself to be aware of one thing: “Every single ‘job’ on this earth is important, so be proud of what you do. We need bakers, chefs, creatives, doctors, farmers, construction workers (the list is endless). We are all apart of one big community making the world tick, so enjoy what you do.”
You know who else has a lot to say on the whole ‘getting a job’ front? Oh, just a little someone by the name of A$AP Rocky. We strongly encourage you to watch the video below and learn from his journey:
Head to Mercedes-Benz website HERE to watch more inspiring stories of the trailblazers redefining what it means to ‘grow up’.
Photo: Supplied.
