Why Individual Success Isn't Enough: Gen Z's Real Mission

Everyone's telling you to "break free" and find success. I'm telling you that's exactly the problem.

I just walked out of another day at the #1 business school in Asia, and something incredible happened during our "cheer day" yesterday.

Picture this: hundreds of students packed into a musty auditorium with no ventilation, singing chants about "freedom," "justice," and "liberation." We were all sweating, trying to touch each other but not wanting to spread our sweat. But here's the thing: I felt what it was to be human.

That room was hot, humid, uncomfortable as hell, but for one hour, we felt what humans are supposed to feel: connection, shared purpose, something bigger than ourselves.

It hit me: we really used to fight for freedom. That's why we have the privilege of relaxing now. But we fought against systems that entrapped us just to pretend there were no systems, when, in reality, they were simply replaced.

Here's the brutal truth: Corporate life became the new entrapment, and, unfortunately, many universities became businesses grooming us to be the best products in an assembly line so we can provide maximum value to shareholders instead of actual human value.

The Two Types of People (And Why Both Are Failing Our Kids)

When it comes to these corrupt systems, I see exactly two types of people:

Type 1: The Complacent Majority

These are often the smartest people you know. They go through the system, get great jobs, work for someone else's agenda, and accept it as "just the way things are."

They spend half their lives working jobs they hate, then project all their need for fulfillment onto their romantic relationships. When work drains every ounce of joy from your life, love becomes your only escape.

No wonder divorce rates keep climbing. You can't put that much pressure on one relationship when everything else in your life feels meaningless.

Type 2: The Individual Escapees

Here's where it gets interesting. These people see what the system really is. They recognize it's corrupt, soul-crushing, and designed to serve shareholders instead of humans.

So they break free. They find financial freedom, start businesses, do work they love. The self-improvement space is full of these people talking about "the matrix" and how they escaped it.

But here's what nobody talks about: They take themselves out but leave everyone else trapped.

They save themselves but abandon future generations to go through the same meat grinder. They put their individual freedom above the collective mission of actually fixing these systems.

The Real Problem: Individual Success Is Selfish

Here's what's happening on LinkedIn right now (and why this is just one example of a much bigger issue).

You've got all these "meat riders" and "kiss butts" posting soulless content, getting rewarded for it, and incentivizing more people to post the same garbage if they want to make money or advance their careers.

Most people just remove themselves from the situation. They see something stupid, make fun of it in their head, and move on. But that soulless content is still profiting, still being incentivized, and still setting the standard for how future professionals think they need to act.

And that's exactly the problem. Everyone's worried about themselves. Even people who see how broken everything is just focus on getting themselves out instead of breaking the system down.

The Data Backs This Up:

• 48% of Gen Z workers are pessimistic about their work situation, compared to just 22% of older workers

• 62% of Gen Z report dissatisfaction with their financial situation, versus 37% of older employees

• Only 44% of Gen Z with poor mental well-being feel their job allows them to make a meaningful contribution to society

Why Gen Z Has the Power to Actually Change Everything

Here's what gives me hope: Gen Z will be the oldest generation at some point. We're projected to make up 27% of the global workforce by 2025, and we're not just observers anymore—we're becoming the decision-makers.

But here's the key insight from that sweaty auditorium: we still remember what real human connection feels like.

We know the difference between authentic community and corporate team-building BS. We've experienced both, and we can tell which one actually feeds our souls.

If we can build a community and rise up together, we have the power in numbers. We have the courage to say "this is stupid, we should not be doing this anymore!"

The Real Question: Who Do We Want Running Things?

Think about this: when AI automates most of our work, who do we want running these systems?

Corporations that are far from human, soulless, with no connection to what it means to exist as a real human guided by connection, compassion, and togetherness?

Or humans who are authentic, who live and exist to create systems that actually serve people instead of shareholders?

The choice is obvious. But we have to choose it together.

What This Actually Looks Like

I don't know the exact method, but I know this: corporations follow money. If we change the game, they flip like a ship.

We can exploit that to make humans human again, because right now we're not human—we are merely pretending. Humans have been around for millions of years, and in the past 500 years we've seen incredible transformations.

Right now we're heading into the AI revolution. But before that happens, we should create a world that's true to what humans actually are, not what corporations need us to be.

Here's How We Start:

1. Stop participating in soulless systems - Don't post corporate propaganda on LinkedIn just for engagement

2. Call out the BS when you see it - Stop silently judging and start speaking up

3. Support each other's authentic work - Build economic power through community

4. Create alternatives - Build businesses and systems that serve humans, not just shareholders

5. Think generationally - Every decision should consider what world we're leaving for our kids

The Most Important Thing

Getting free is nice. Making money is great. But the reason we do all these things should be to support those below us, from an evolutionary standpoint.

We're must build something better for everyone who comes after us.

"Our children were not meant to be living like this, and we can make a difference."

Ready to Build Something Better Together?

If you're fed up with these systems and ready to do something about it, you're not alone. I could care less if you didn't join mu community. Make your own community at your school, among your friends. Start living for what is real. Be infectious, be rebellious. That's the only way we can break this systems down.

The question is: are we going to keep escaping individually, or are we finally going to break it down together?

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