Strivers in China and India are building their futures brick by brick, through education, ambition, hard work, and entrepreneurial energy. The rise of these markets—propelled by the millions of people who are intent on moving from have-not to have—is creating new possibilities while forcing painful change.
Reading from the book The $10 Trillion Prize, coauthor Michael Silverstein cautions members of the next generation against complacency in the face of such intense competition. Their world is being radically reshaped by global forces that will affect their career prospects and fortunes. Their competitors for a job, or their most important customers, may be in countries several time zones away, speaking different languages. The best of these new competitors and customers will be distinguished by their extraordinary drive and work ethic.
It’s a world that will be inherited by the energetic, the inventive, and the curious. Those who have the diligence and imagination to succeed will gain more than their share of a massive growth opportunity, while those who are idle, or who take too much for granted, risk suffering a relative decline in their standard of living.
For more on what the rise of China and India means for the rest of the world, visit our page on The $10 Trillion Prize.