Why Right Now is the Best Time in History to Be Alive

“Times are tough. Our parents had it the best. We are alive during the worst period ever.” — said by all losers on social media.

I’ve had people try to tell me that right now is the worst time to be alive. They complain about the economy and about how life isn’t fair. They tell me how their parents bought a home for $50,000 and how you would only stay at one job until you retired. The neighborhood kids would come over on the weekend to do your chores around the house.

I don’t buy it. I believe that right now is the best time ever in history to be young. I had to write this article because I’m sick of seeing annoying posts popping up on social media about how bad we have it. I’m so thankful that I get to be alive in this era (not like I had a choice when I would be alive).

why right now is the best time

Such a funny meme. No, you don’t need an Olympic medal to find a job. I’m sorry that your useless degree isn’t affording you a life of luxury. You studied something that has no demand and now you can’t find a job. The world isn’t out to get you.

I totally get it. When going through college we think that we’re going to be flying around the world signing deals with CEOs when we finally graduate. That’s not exactly how it turns out.

Let’s get this little rant started…

Why’s right now the best time in the history of the world to be alive and young?

best time to be alive

You can make money through the weirdest ways possible.

A buddy of mine was bored with everything one year ago. Then I introduced him to freelancing and he quickly realized that he could make money from home. Now he’s making videos as a freelance editor and his business is frequently mentioned in the local media.

I drove for Uber for a month and got paid to drive. Then I wrote about it and got paid by Uber for referrals. There are people who review credit cards for big money. Every other person in decent shape on Facebook is a personal trainer. Matt quit his job to make tables for a living. I could go on with the examples.

How many of your friends have let traditional jobs to work on something totally out of left field? We all know someone that’s working a non-traditional job. If we were around at a different time, we would all just be happy with the same job for 40 years.

You want more proof? Go through our Do You Even Hustle podcast archive. We’ve interviewed dating coaches, fighters, photographers, and app creators.

You can start a business easier than ever before.

You can start a blog, get a domain, and be live before you finish a cup of coffee.

When I was in Colombia, I met a guy who runs a free walking tour for a living. He gets paid enough in tips to make it worth his while. As a result, I got my buddy Trevor to start doing walking tours in a local park in Toronto. After a few articles and a media mention, he had a few decent turnouts to his walks around a park.

weird ways to make money

That’s a picture of us from one of his walks this past summer.

It’s easier than ever for anyone to start a business and to make money on their own than at any other point history.

You can study on your tablet.

You don’t have to actually attend a classroom to learn something. You can take online courses. When I was in college, I took a few courses that were all online. This saved me lots of travel time (my college was a one hour commute) and money (bus fare and lunch).

This is the easiest time ever to earn a degree or to complete a course. Even if you’re busy with a job and family, you can still upgrade your skills. You just have to throw the excuses away. Studying online has made upgrading your skills and switching jobs easier than at any other point in history.

You can check out a place like Udemy where they offer courses on every topic imaginable. You can also teach yourself on YouTube. I follow this one channel for my Spanish lessons.

Every possible solution is available online.

I have used YouTube to learn how to parallel park, cook eggs, and iron a shirt. Imagine being around even 30 years ago? You had to hope that an older sibling or friend at school could lend you some decent advice. You had to go to the library and find a book on the topic if you wanted to learn about something or if you wanted to win an argument. I still remember my uncle going through an encyclopedia just to prove a point at a family gathering.

I’ll share something I haven’t put out there yet. In 2010 when I was single for the first time in a few years, I read an article on how to meet girls at bars and I applied those tips to score dates and to drastically jumpstart my love life. If you were around at any other point in history, you would be out of luck. You couldn’t go ask your mom for advice on how to get a number at a bar.

On that note…

Technology has made life ridiculously easy.

It’s so easy to do anything these days. I started a podcast by following the exact steps from a tutorial that I found online. If you asked me to do it again, I wouldn’t know what to tell you.

Here are some of the things that I’ve done with technology that I never could’ve imagined ten years ago:

  • Started a podcast.
  • Self-published multiple books.
  • Found dates through my phone.
  • Watched YouTube videos on how to fold a shirt faster than the common method.
  • Played around with an app that lets you design rooms in your home.

You seriously can do everything from your phone. Just look at that list. I figured out how to fold a shirt quicker and I looked at design ideas for my living room.

*Don’t feel bad if you met your current partner on a dating app because according to Aziz Ansari, over one-third of couples who got married in the US between 2005–2012 met each other on an online dating site. Here’s a list of killer first date ideas to get you started. You’re on your own after that.

Traveling is super simple.

Do you remember how strange it was when someone went on a trip somewhere unconventional?

Thanks to TripAdvisor you can read about every aspect of your trip before you leave home.

The world is so open right now. We’ve explored everywhere and you never have to worry about a lack of information on a future trip. I don’t even stress about accommodations or any of the details before a trip. I can read a million reviews about every single destination possible. There are even reviews about the activities on your trip. I can also book a room from my phone while at the airport.

*You still need to deal with work visas and issues like that. You can visit pretty much any destination that your heart desires.

You can do anything that you want to do.

It’s easier than ever to do any wild thing that you could possibly imagine. You don’t have to start a business. You can use your spare time to take part in anything that you want to. In the past few years I’ve participated in everything from grappling classes to Spanish lessons.

The final thing that I need to address is the one area where I’ll conceded that our generation doesn’t have it the best…

You don’t NEED to buy a home.

The one negative about our generation is that real estate prices are high. That sucks. Your grandparents bought a house 80 years ago for $10,000. You won’t be able to do that. It sucks. Get over it. The other thing is that your grandparents also made like ten cents an hour so you don’t have to feel guilty about how little they paid for their home back in the day.

What can you do? You can’t buy a mansion in the downtown core. You might have to rent a little longer or stay at home until you save up enough for a down-payment.

The good news is that you don’t need to buy a home. This isn’t the 1960s where everyone’s telling you to buy a home. There’s mainstream information out there about how it’s okay to rent. It’s not the end of the world if you rent.

You may not even know where you plan on living next year.

Some closing thoughts…

You have nobody to blame but yourself if you racked up debt or aren’t happy with your current situation. I’m not here to judge you. Life isn’t always perfect. I just don’t believe in complaining about how the world isn’t fair constantly when there are opportunities all around

We live in a time where you’re one swipe away from your soulmate or a few clicks away from a great business idea. The reality is that we have all of the opportunities around us to create a great life for ourselves.

This isn’t a college course. I’m not going to calculate inflation and compare interest rates. I’m sure you could easily find numbers that make current wages or tuition rates look drastic. This article is about forcing you to wake up. You can continue sharing memes about how bad we have it or you can open your eyes to see how amazing times are right now. Cheers to getting the most out of life.

What do you think? Is right now the best time in history to be young and alive? What era would you rather be living in?

13 thoughts on “Why Right Now is the Best Time in History to Be Alive”

  1. Hey, Martin! I couldn’t agree with you more! Just this weekend I was in Jacksonville for a home show on-stage presentation, and in between my 4 talks, I literally opened Google maps and traversed damn-near everywhere!

    I thought to myself as I was driving to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the nation (on my way to meet an old friend), “This wouldn’t have been possible years ago.” Traveling is so easy. You can go ANYWHERE. Today brings a freedom that people didn’t have many years ago. I’m mind-blown! But what’s crazy is that there are still so many traditional people that don’t realize the freedoms and opportunities that exist today.

    Glad we have figured it out. 🙂

    1. Amen to that Serena. When I was in San Diego I used my phone to get around and to find a local grappling class. Good to connect a few weeks ago.

  2. I completely agree with you that it is one of the best times to be alive. I, similar to you, love traveling, creating and experiencing life that is making it really easier with technology. We can meet virtually anyone we want to and go to any part of the world with relative ease. We have access to new skills and can converse with anyone from any language. Great piece.

  3. It blows my moms mind that I make a living blogging. She would have been amazing at this if it were an option 30 years ago. And it would have made her life so much easier! Completely agree, great post.

  4. Great article. You are 100% correct about life before the internet. It sucked to not know how to do everything and have limited means to get knowledge. How tos on you tube have jumpstarted all my home repairs and car repairs. I have learned photography and public speaking. I look forward to a life that is so much richer because of the ready access to knowledge.
    As a kid of 20-something in the 1980’s I was clueless and making bad choices. If there were advantages for my generation they were squandered on me. Now my life and my wallet are richer for all the reasons you list. I am so glad for all the opportunities that exist today. Thanks for your great article. Best wishes, Aperture.

  5. You nailed it, Martin! People have been planning for the apocalypse forever but it never comes. The future just keeps getting better. Never been a better time to be alive!

    If and when the apocalypse does come, guess what? It’s the apocalypse – you’re dead! Plan for a better tomorrow and enjoy today!

  6. Hi, I love the passion, but I simply cannot agree with this.

    And I know because I used to think like this.

    I’m a graduate, I earn a quality salary and even more so from dividends. I work hard, but I volunteer at my local food bank sometimes and what I see really opened my eyes.

    At this foodbank I see people that have to look after elderly parents, children or simply trying to get out of a rut. Are you saying that these people are to blame for their own misfortune?

    And what of the nurses and teachers that love what they do but still rely on foodbanks because their salaries are lowering in real terms year on year.

    Also, a lot of what you have described you need access to the internet and an education to know what is available

    P.s. I’m not a troll

    P.p.s. Not being rude/patronising, I just know that after the stories I have seen from people on the front line of poverty, my views took a sharp turn…

    1. Thanks for bringing in this perspective. I don’t have much to add. Some people definitely do have it worse than others and it’s unfortunate. I wrote this with a sense of optimism to try to inspire folks.

    2. i understand where your coming from but we truly are in the best time to be alive. Poverty is decreasing at an astounding rate and is lower than ever. Nothing’s perfect but they’re better than ever.

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