Multimillionaire entrepreneur John Demartini, who was homeless as a teenager, says today’s youth can still get ahead
A multimillionaire entrepreneur who was homeless as a teenager says today’s youth can still get ahead, despite ‘the struggles’ of growing up in Generation Y.
John Demartini, who contributed to international best-seller The Secret, has travelled the world urging young adults to dream big. He now has Australian millennials in his sights.
The human behavioural expert said parents of the so-called ‘entitled to it all’ generation are often to blame for the ‘have their cake and eat it’ attitude of some young Australians.
‘If you have someone that overprotects you and over-supports you, you’ll probably end up working for other people,’ he told Daily Mail Australia ahead of his upcoming speaking tour dates in Melbourne and Brisbane.
‘If the parents are making it too easy, it’s wiser for you to go out and tackle your challenges whatever they may be.
‘You’ll go further in life and achieve more. I find that youths are receptive to that and they’re capable of doing it.’
John Demartini has travelled the world urging young adults to dream big. He now has Australian millennials firmly in his sights (stock image)
Though he found himself living in a tent and ‘close to death’ as a 17-year-old, Demartini thanks his father for ‘making him accountable’ at age nine.
‘When I was a kid I went to my dad and asked him for money and he said fine – if I mowed the yard, clean the garage and trim the hedges,’ he said.
When their was no more work to be done around his father’s home, Demartini started an entrepreneur business maintaining gardens in his local area.
‘My dad made me pay for the equipment and started to make me pay for clothing, rent and food,’ Demartini said.
‘It was so I would be learning about the real world instead of the fantasy world that many kids grow up in.
Demartini, 63, is now a world-renowned educator and public speaker who has published 40 books in over 30 languages
‘And I’m very grateful – I’m an entrepreneur because of it and I can thank my dad for making me accountable at a young age.’
Demartini later moved to Hawaii were he became homeless, describing himself as ‘a long-haired hippy sort of kid’ who loved surfing.
‘I met a man by the name of Paul Bragg at a lecture he was giving and my life was inspired that night to do what I am doing today.
‘Nearly 45 years later I’m doing what I saw in a vision that night. I’ve been a speaker a teacher and a researcher ever since.’
Demartini, 63, is now a world-renowned educator and public speaker who has published 40 books in over 30 languages.
The human behavioural expert is pictured with psychologist and social worker Ranes Sangha
He travels 360 days a year to countries all over the globe, sharing his research and findings.
He will be bringing his Inspired Destiny Programme for Young Adults to Melbourne on November 6th and Brisbane on November 7th.
‘Regardless of age, regardless of gender and even time through history, deep inside our human existence we have something that we want to contribute to the planet,’ he said.
‘We want to make a difference. I asked people even in prison – they all want to make a difference. They just don’t know the strategies to do it.
Demartini travels 360 days a year to countries all over the globe, sharing his research and findings
‘That’s one of the reasons the program can help people, particularly youths, because they deserve to be able to do something amazing with their life – it’s their life and the world is in their hands.
‘You’ve got to give yourself permission to do something extraordinary on planet earth. I lot of people don’t imagine they can. The truth is they can.
‘Once they make a decision to do it and start targeting the priories and actions that are proven and have stood the test of time, they can do something extraordinary with their life.’
‘You’ve got to give yourself permission to do something extraordinary on planet earth. I lot of people don’t imagine they can. The truth is they can,’ Demartini said