I was reading a bit of news last night and a number jumped out. It shocked me, and it should shock all of us.  

In the UK, they had a Government-commissioned review looking at young people and why they're not as active as the generations that went before them. 

Where's the go-get 'em? 

Where's the win the morning, win the day? 

Where's the rattle your dogs and make-it-happen attitude?  

Britain has the same problem New Zealand has, which is the same problem loads of developed countries have, which is kids not in school, or a job, or some kind of training.  

Britain has a million of them.  

We have a youth unemployment rate of 17%.  

These aren't the numbers that caught my eye.  

The UK report had survey results.  

Just 27% of Britons believed success depended mainly on work.  

Half of young people think their generation has fewer opportunities than generations that went before them.  

The shocking part is that people believe this even though it's blatantly, categorically false. 

You need not go too far back into history to realise food was hard to come by, work was what you made it, and daily life was a struggle.  

Milk came straight from a cow's tit, and you had to actually milk it yourself.  

I'm not saying the job market isn't tough at the moment. No doubt.  

But the difference between those who will succeed and those who won't is whether or not they believe they can. 

That's attitude.  

And somewhere along the way, now that milk lives in the fridge and dinners are delivered by men on scooters, we've lost it. 

Why? And how do we get it back? 

I was reading a bit of news last night and a number jumped out. It shocked me, and it should shock all of us. &nbsp;
In the UK, they had a Government-commissioned review looking at young people and why they're not as active as the generations that went before them.&nbsp;
Where's the go-get 'em?&nbsp;
Where's the win the morning, win the day?&nbsp;
Where's the rattle your dogs and make-it-happen attitude? &nbsp;
Britain has the same problem New Zealand has, which is the same problem loads of developed countries have, which is kids not in school, or a job, or some kind of training. &nbsp;
Britain has a million of them. &nbsp;
We have a youth unemployment rate of 17%. &nbsp;
These aren't the numbers that caught my eye. &nbsp;
The UK report had survey results. &nbsp;
Just 27% of Britons believed success depended mainly on work. &nbsp;
Half of young people think their generation has fewer opportunities than generations that went before them. &nbsp;
The shocking part is that people believe this even though it's blatantly, categorically false.&nbsp;
You need not go too far back into history to realise food was hard to come by, work was what you made it, and daily life was a struggle. &nbsp;
Milk came straight from a cow's tit, and you had to actually milk it yourself. &nbsp;
I'm not saying the job market isn't tough at the moment. No doubt. &nbsp;
But the difference between those who will succeed and those who won't is whether or not they believe they can.&nbsp;
That's attitude. &nbsp;
And somewhere along the way, now that milk lives in the fridge and dinners are delivered by men on scooters, we've lost it.&nbsp;
Why? And how do we get it back?&nbsp;

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Ryan Bridge: How do we get back work ethic?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/cbd4580e-9230-4c64-9e98-b4aa012df30d/transcript