I haven’t written a blog post in a while. I missed it. I’ve been busy sorting some things out. Oh man life is wonderful. And difficult. I’ve had some thoughtful things to write about over the past several months. I hope everyone’s had a good summer and fall. I’ve written a few posts but didn’t publish them, and saved them maybe for later. I’ve observed the way this game works, this game of online publishing to the world. I’m honestly not sure about it. Is it a fad? Has “blogging” passed its prime? Will it just be a waste to invest so much time into writing articles? Only to rack up lots of hosting bills, garbage cans and hard drives full of drafts, and incoherent dreams?
Yeah maybe. But who cares! No one is truly successful without discipline and persistence. And it’s therapeutic to write. So here I am, writing more stuff. That’s right I’m writing. Woo woo woot.
Seriously though, I’ve been busy. Mostly just making sure my family is stable for our next big run. Have you ever had one of those rough patches in your life where things don’t go very well for a really long time? Like maybe you have several deaths in the family, you and yours have some major health problems, you worry a lot about money, you realize some of the flaws in those close to you, maybe you realize a lot of the flaws in society, and then you realize that those flaws are also your own flaws? Maybe you feel passionate about trying to fix that stuff, but you realize that you really can’t do much about those flaws because you are broke? Yeah that’s sorta what’s been on my mind.
But here’s the thing. That’s what life is about. The ups and the downs. I think we’ve all felt down at some points over the years. I know it can be easy to despair when things suck. The continued droning on of boring ass negativity feeds on itself, and just creates more and more angst. Mostly bad things happen in this state. Some people hurt other people. Some people hurt themselves. Some people die. Some people (a lot of people) make bad decisions. Sometimes it’s not even their fault. But some good things happen too. Fantastic fortunes, rags to riches stories, are forged out of the depths of despair. Bonds are strengthened. New ideas are tested, retested, show promise, deliver results and then lead the way forward to prosperity.
I’m in finance. I’m considering quitting my job, and trying something different. It’s not a huge change, still in finance, but I’m contemplating quitting a steady paycheck for a commission-only gig. My current job’s in banking. Old, traditional brick and mortar, main street type of banking. I think there’s a fair amount of rampant anxiety there. Morale is low. Regulations are crushing the bank, and its industry. Private capital is eating banks’ lunch. The leadership isn’t great but how could they be great with so many regulations? Regulations are like cholesterol. Some of it’s good. But too much regulation can clog the arteries, causing hyper tension and ultimately leading to massive failures.
It’s all about balance.
I think I have a lot to give. Regulations exist for a good reason. Maybe I’m not good enough to work to such a high standard. Or maybe I’m just not meant for such a regimented corporate setting. Or maybe I realize life is too short to live entirely in crushing anxiety-ridden businesses. Humans exist to thrive. And I think I could do better, I think I could thrive in another line of work. But what to do? How do I thrive? It’s time to start hitting the career path … hard.
Life’s a mystery. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. But we can guess. And once you have some decent guesses, then it takes some very hard work to position yourself for success. Of course, the best evidence we have to influence our predictions for tomorrow, is yesterday and today.
Here are some predictions, or maybe they’re just observations. They’re pretty random and all over the place. But maybe there’s a business idea buried in these somewhere. I don’t know. Anyway, here are a few things that I’ve been thinking about:
- The pace of consumer-level technological innovation will continue to slow down, or at least become less aggressive. The advances over the last 20 years have been great. I love my laptop, my iPhone, iPads, Pandora, Netflix, Xbox and the ability to publish these thoughts out to the world on a website. But how much of this stuff is really necessary? The way I see it, all you need to do in this life is live long and prosper (thanks Spok). All this tech is not actually necessary for survival. I certainly don’t need the latest new phone every year. Yes tech increases our productivity, and allows us to communicate more seamlessly, which could be good in emergency situations. But the connectedness could be a huge detriment to society as well. It’s difficult to judge the intensity of someone’s concerns by reading an article or a post on social media. It’s also difficult to judge a person’s authority on a matter thru their writing alone. This leads to a higher likelihood of jumping to a conclusion or being mislead, when the severity of the “problem” is not easily discernible. And now that they’re thinking of putting AI and robots in a position to take the jobs of millions (billions?) of people (and therefore put them at risk of peril), this will just lead to an intense backlash. What will stop it? Maybe it’ll be anti-trust efforts by the government. Maybe it’ll be a revolt of some sort. Or maybe it will just be a long slow decline of interest in these types of products.
- There is clearly a place for some technology, but it won’t be quite as overwhelming as it has been. New vibrant products and services will likely grow as a means to fill the void. Maybe old paradigms, good old fashioned conversations, exercise and clean and healthy interests will fill the void.
- The two party system in the US might collapse. The pundits on both sides have begun to make too much money, encouraging the divide to grow wider. A lot of people out there think you have to commit to one political party or the other, and that commitment is for life. Such bitter rivalry is literally counterproductive. And no matter how different the parties may seem, their underlying interests are really focused on money and power. Even if there are good political leaders out there, their party affiliation begs the question of what there allegiances really are.
- Positivity and moral virtue will make a comeback. Someone and/or something will unite people around this idea. For a long time now, the world’s been divided, angry and paranoid. I think it’s the result of social media, the biased “news” media, and the wealth gap. Widespread “in your face” narcissism fuels jealousy and frustration. It’s just time for everyone to relax. Who cares if you’re not a millionaire. You’re life is probably at least manageable. And the fact you’re alive today, and able to read this article means you’re really doing fine. Go for a walk outside. Take a deep breath of fresh air, and be thankful for the good things in your life. And while you’re at it, acknowledge that there are challenges in everyone’s life. If your angry, consider whether maybe you’re actually just worried that your skills aren’t up to snuff.
- China will establish itself as one of the leaders of the free world. And this is probably ok. There is actually enough room for multiple leaders on this earth. It’s very taxing to be the supreme power in the whole world. While it may be fun to think we could “let” another power lead the way in some topics, the truth is we may not have a choice. The US’ influence has declined for decades. It’s still highly capable of doing pretty much anything, but it is not the best in everything, nor does it need to be. And as for China, they’ve dramatically established vast towering cities and dominant global companies in a mere two or three decades. And whether this was wise or foolish, Western world powers actually played a large part in China’s growth thru finance and sharing of ideas.
So, I guess with this big career shift staring me in the face, I just felt like writing out some thoughts. With commission-only compensation, it will feel a lot like entrepreneurship at times. Freedom. Make myself useful. Build community. That’s basically what I’m looking for.
Anyway, it feels like I’m on the verge. Of what? That’s a good question. I’m excited. And I’m horrified. I hope I’m on the verge of success. Of greatness. I hope I’m on to something. I’ll never know until I try.