Our kids are in a paradox
Read time: 3 minutes
Welcome to issue #024 of Unicorn Parents. Each week, I share practical insights and reflections to help you build a profitable business without missing the magic at home. If you’re serious about winning at work while raising great kids, you’ve come to the right place. This is a community built for ambitious parents who want both.
The world is uncertain.
Things are changing so fast.
A notable shift is happening in how people think about college.
Many founders and investors in my network say they’re not sure it’s even worth it anymore.
Simon, my partner at Ethos Fund who attended Harvard, decided not to start a 529 college savings plan for his kids.
“I’d rather save one Bitcoin for each of my children,” he told me. “Who knows if college will even be relevant by then?”
Elon Musk says the same.
So does Peter Thiel.
Even Google—once the ultimate résumé validator—no longer requires degrees for many of its jobs.
It seems the world’s smartest people are questioning the value of college.
YET.
As the world becomes more unpredictable…
more students are gunning for a spot at elite universities.
Applications to Ivy League schools hit record highs again this year.
Test prep academies are packed.
College consultants are booked months in advance.
Why?
Maybe for the same reason adults cling to safety when things go crazy.
When the ground shakes, people reach for what looks safe:
a name brand, a big company, a prestigious school.
Parents sense the storm.
So they build academic bunkers.
Certainty is the new luxury good.
The irony?
The more uncertain the world becomes, the less these old symbols of stability actually matter.
An Ivy League degree won’t guarantee security.
A corporate job won’t promise peace.
But when the future feels chaotic, familiar brands feel like anchors.
Parents don’t mean to pressure their kids,
but fear has a way of disguising itself as love.
Safety is a moving target.
And the harder we chase it, the faster it runs.
Our kids, meanwhile, are growing up in a paradox.
We tell them to “follow their passions,”
but quietly sign them up for calculus camps.
We tell them to “think creatively,”:
but panic if they stray off the beaten path.
Maybe the real challenge isn’t getting our kids into elite schools.
It’s preparing them to thrive in a world where no school can guarantee anything.
The next generation won’t need more diplomas.
They’ll need more adaptability.
More courage.
More conviction in who they are when the map changes again.
So the best thing we can give our kids isn’t certainty.
It’s capacity…
…to navigate chaos with calm,
…to build their own definition of success,
…to create stability from the inside out.
That might just be the new “Ivy League.”
As the world spins faster,
the best thing we Unicorn Parents can do isn’t to double down on control.
It’s to teach their kids how to dance in the storm.