Adapt or Fall Behind in 2025
402: College, Corporate, and Wealth in a New World
These days, the cultural shift across the world isn’t just political — it’s a full-blown shift in society, the economy, and the very idea of success.
You go to high school, then college — for some, college was the first real shot at “making it” — higher education meant breaking into a better life. For others, it was tradition: your parents went, maybe even your grandparents. It’s just what you did.
Kids from rich families mostly went to college for the social scene — partying, frats, networking with other rich kids, doing drugs, and spending their parents' money — before walking into a cushy job (which, if you’re fortunate enough, hey, good for you lol).
But in my experience, it’s the people lower on the ladder who try to squeeze every drop out of college — and they’re the ones who often end up buried in debt trying to do it.
In its purest sense, where you went to college was supposed to correlate with where you’d get hired, how much money you’d make, and how your future would look.
As you’ll see today that’s not really the case anymore.
The plan was always simple and the boomers and many of our parents sold us on it — do well in high school, get into a good college, and you’re guaranteed to be set for life, you will buy your first house, be able to afford kids, be able to save a boat load for retirement if you invest wisely, and check out from the game early to enjoy life.
Post college in 2025 is entirely different than it once was — with a volatile market and political landscape, many companies are downsizing, automating, and outsourcing to cut costs. AI is eating up corporate roles at an alarming pace. The money printing and asset inflation we saw begin in Covid is driving social glass caps to unseen levels as young people struggle to generate wealth, buy houses, and have children.
The game has entirely changed. The world the boomers knew is completely gone:
Approximately 60% of Gen Z and Millennials report living paycheck to paycheck, with 30% not feeling financially secure (Deloitte US)
Nearly half (46%) of Gen Z adults (ages 18–27) rely on financial assistance from parents or family (Bank of America)
A United Way study found that 69% of Gen Z adults cite inflation and the cost of living as their top financial concerns (Newsweek)
The Class of 2025 faces a tough job market, with employers scaling back hiring plans amid economic uncertainties (WSJ)
Nearly 4 in 10 Gen Z adults say they're already facing a "midlife crisis," with financial pressure, mental health struggles, and career worries fueling the feeling.
The stage is much different in 2025 — making it harder to meet people, succeed financially, and attain the same stability as past generations. The advent of AI, automation, social media, high inflation, and other factors are drastically impacting millions and millions of people under the age of 40.
Simply put — you cannot play the same game our parents and grandparents played or you will likely lose. Things are changing faster than the majority can comprehend.
Today we’re going to talk through the following:
The old high school/college experience/how it is now
My first job and career/ the state of the job/corporate market now
My experience building a business and now working for myself
Why we live in an entirely different world now, which should be driving a severe amount of urgency
Some of things it’s going to take to “make it” moving forward for young people and maybe folks that are further along in a career or job role
The stark truth is — many people are stuck. They go to college because they think it’s what they are supposed to do. They’re faced with a harrowing job market post graduation. They’re working jobs that are not allowing them to outpace inflation or save a meaningful amount of money. They don’t like what they are doing. They’re frustrated they cannot reach major milestone like buying a house or having children because of the economy and high cost of goods.
In 2025 and beyond, survival and success will demand selling your soul — or finding a better way ASAP.
“And what are the realities of modern life? Well, the chief one is an everlasting, frantic struggle to sell things. With most people it takes the form of selling themselves–that’s to say, getting a job and keeping it.
—George Orwell