The NFL’s #1 Dual Threat Offensive Weapon, Art Work by Ryan Jones

The Dual Threat Solution

A 20-something’s Guide to Improving Opportunity

As they say, “When adversity rushes toward you, you have to outrun it. When adversity grabs you, you have to break from it. When adversity has you down, you have to outsmart it.” When pursuing upward mobility in today’s economic climate, you can’t remain static. You can’t wait for the “open receiver”, sometimes you have to keep the play alive. Or even better — you have to make a play with your legs. This economy rewards the overworking, dynamic player.

Columbus, Ohio — my family’s place of residence — is in the bottom 10 of the ranked 100 largest metropolitan areas. The ranking is based on the likelihood of an individual starting in the bottom 20% and finishing in the top 20% of income earners. Pretty bleak stuff.

According to a recent Harvard study, intergenerational income mobility in the United States is “lower than in many other developed countries.” The land of opportunity is still the foundation of the ‘American Dream’, it just takes a little maneuvering to achieve it.

10th from the bottom. A 10% chance that your child will be in the top 20%

The most upwardly mobile city. A 16% chance that your child will be in the top 20%

For recent college graduates, seeking normality or stability is the quickest way to lose. Within the confines of the law, an ambitious young worker has to outwork their expenses, inflation, lack of opportunity, and other hindrances just to beat the odds. The 8-5 mentality just doesn’t suffice anymore. This can be done with a focus on adaption and resilience rather than stability. With a proper education and a bit of ambition and energy, upward mobility is still a possibility.You can still climb.

I will use my family as an example. We have a five year old daughter who was born during my final year of college. My wife graduated just a few years prior. At the height of the recession, our combined income made it tough to get ahead. That uncomfortability was helpful. Why? All you want to do when you’re uncomfortable is change your conditions. By all accounts, our conditions weren’t ideal.

This is a common frame of reference for an entrepreneur. And without knowing it in the moment, your ability to focus throughout all of the changes makes that growth possible.

The notion of an “8 hour work day” should be discarded. With it, discard 10 and even a 12 hour notion of daily commitment. It will take more to keep up, even more so to get ahead.

The benefit of a college education has always been opportunity. No longer the case, the benefit of a college education is now the ability to think critically under duress. Doing so provides opportunity.

This may not be a popular remedy but un-glamorous tasks are typically the most fruitful. Entrepreneurship is not glamorous but it is a way up. The expectation has to be long days, long nights, and short rest.

10 Rules for Twenty-somethings

1. Find the right city. As you can see above, the difference between Columbus and Salt Lake City can make the difference. If you remain in a less dynamic location, prepare to work even harder.
2. Setup an LLC and start a business. Freelance at first, build a business next.
3. Overwork your day job and execute well in your entrepreneurial venture. That $30k job may not be a dream but it is your rock.
4. Do free work and prove your worth.
5. Study (real books, seminars, courses, magazines, people) harder than you did in college. The economy is changing with new technologies, practices, and demands.
6. Forget about the pursuit of material wealth and that goes for shoes, cars, and jewels. Put all of that monopoly money into the business practice.
7. Find great mentors. They may never give you a dime but their leadership is worth millions.
8. Stay healthy. As your body will break down under the stress, fitness keeps you out of the hospital.
9. Forget about TV and video games. You should not have the time.
10. Keep the faith. There will be days that you want to throw in the towel. Just remember, many others have experienced that pain, only to one day tell about it over a boardroom meeting.

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick is drawn above. The quintessential dual-threat of this era, he is special because his means of scoring seem unlimited. You never know how he will get the job done, you just know that he will. While everyone else doubles down on specializing, hoping that will take them to the top — understand that in some cases it will but in most cases it will not.

What works? Work towards one goal through various avenues. Out think, out throw, or out run — these are Kaepernick’s options every Sunday. For young entrepreneurs, this type of versatility should be the bedrock of any strategy. Work ethic, versatility, and endurance allows a person to bend time to their own clock. There is a way to transcend the places that hold us.