tapping away at their laptops through the magic of the information
superhighway. In fact, the opposite has happened. Wealth,
information, power, and opportunities have concentrated, as
innovation is a function of ideas having sex. Progress is typically in
person. Also, we are hunter-gatherers and are happiest and most
productive when in the company of others and in motion.^3
More than 80 percent of the world’s GDP is generated in cities,
and 72 percent of cities outperform their own countries in growth.
Every year, a greater percentage of GDP moves to cities, and it will
continue to do so. Thirty-six of the hundred largest economies in the
world are U.S. metropolitan areas, and in 2012, 92 percent of jobs
created and 89 percent of GDP growth came from those same cities.
And not all cities are equal—the global economic capitals are becoming
supercities. New York and London consistently rank as some of, if not
the, most powerful cities in the world. Developers are also keen to
invest in wealthier cities, where they can expand accordingly (think of
Manhattan businesses that are expanding to Brooklyn locations). It
appears that the lottery economy applies to real estate, too.
A decent proxy for a twenty-something’s success will be their
geographic trajectory. How long did it take them to get to the biggest
city in their country, then to the biggest on the continent? The
strongest signal of success will likely be those who moved to global
economic capitals, the supercities, versus those who stayed in the
relative hinterlands.
Pimp Your Career
Okay, so you’re emotionally mature, curious, and have grit, but you’re
not the only one. How do you separate yourself from all the other
bright young things? First, you need to push the limits of your comfort
zone by consistently pimping your attributes. First question: What’s
your medium? For beer, it’s TV; for luxury brands, it’s print. What
environment is ideal to express “you”? There’s Instagram, YouTube,
Twitter, firm sports teams, speeches, books (we’ll see), YPO, alcohol
(yes, it’s a medium if you’re good at it—fun/charming), or food.