There is a lot of change coming, and if you are not aware of it, then you are not paying attention.

We know there are changes to how we travel, changes to our workplace, how we shop, how we eat-out and how we interact with people in certain administration areas of our lives. 

Political and social upheaval is driving change. How we watch media… swallow advertising, pay for things – it is all changing.

There are many other changes coming.

Trust that this is true.

This has always been the case. Things have always been changing.

It was just a slow version of change. 

It was a comfortable change.

Evolution as opposed to Revolution.

But things were changing.

They always do.

We know that the current rate of change is being accelerated because of the pandemic situation, but it was always going to happen.

You can see the possible outcome of this super-charged-change if you take the time to understand the things that are under pressure now, why they are under pressure and what they might be like in a few years time.

What will turn to dust and what will turn out to be the diamonds?

This is worth doing.

The advantage of working in China is that I have been gaining this experience in an environment that has been changing so rapidly as a matter of course.

The market here is huge, people have disposable income and innovation is being pushed at a rate that is causing almost a weekly revolution.

Things move fast here.

It is almost impossible to get through the day without accessing your mobile device. QR Codes are everything here and drive so much simplification. There is always something to spend your hard-earned cash on and new and wonderful products that are framed as life-changing hit the market.

People move from their ‘hometowns’ looking for exciting work, people work from home… offices are mobile. Everything is mobile and school life is focused and means everything. Education is mobile. Transport is mobile, from the bullet train to the last mile home, bike for hire. Electric cars, scooters, bikes. Shopping delivered to your door in minutes. Anything you want to know, learn, buy, share, swap….. whatever it is. You can get it.

Halfway up a mountain, I can buy fruit from a stallholder using electronic payments. I can buy Art from a street artisan or donate to a charity or someone less fortunate than me – at a push of a button.

Take this and extrapolate it out many times and then ask yourself how will you generate a long-lasting career in such an environment…

The answer, don’t expect to.

If you are of a mind, then expect to be moving and changing all the time and as you do… pick up new skills, learn from the best people – seek them out on purpose, and broaden your knowledge.

It is time to be a generalist rather than a specialist.

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The three things you definitely want to put in place as you move towards this forced lifestyle/career choice are the following…

Protect yourself by never burning any bridges with the places that you will work and maintain great relationships and connections as you go from place to place. Share your skills and knowledge openly and keep the ultimate protection of having a stash of money in the bank to cover the down periods. All of this will reduce risk and build self-confidence.

Manage your costs by thinking of yourself as a business. This is the entrepreneur mindset… keep expenditures in line with your income streams (yes income streams, part-time work/gig economy will play a huge part in the future). In a world where roles will be constantly shifting with the revolutions in the various industries and job markets, what you earn will fluctuate. Manage your own business accounts and the balance sheet wisely and know when to pull in the waistband and know when to spend on some advertising. 

Educate yourself because knowledge is power… but not in the negative sense. It is your power… it will be the fuel for the engine of your changes. Constantly learning new things and learning relevant things is essential for the new age. Do not slack on this and squeeze your learning into the gaps of your day… this is an investment in you. This is much better money spend than the money you may spend on that new and greatest thing that someone will tell you that you just have to purchase.

You need to resits that purchase. That new thing is just not worth it.

Resist it!! 

Resist that purchase…

…because you can not resist the change, the change that is certainly coming. If you try, it will swallow you up whole and spit you out into old age, where you will be on your own.

Clueless.

So do it… do it all.

And resist what you must and embrace what you should.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Mark Twain

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