A REWARDING CAREER REQUIRES A REVOLUTIONARY MINDSET
We are living in a new era. The advancements of technological innovation is putting unskilled laborers and entry level employees in a unique position. This could be seen as intimidating for some, but I see it as a challenge to rise into ingenuity, creativity and one’s unique realm of genius.
We are no longer allowed to be ordinary, complicit or lazy.
And victim consciousness will get you nowhere.
Where once, keeping your head down and checking off the boxes in a linear, ordinary life meant at very least security, it now signifies great risk to one’s career and well-being.
“Our culture has engaged in a Faustian bargain, in which we trade our genius and artistry for apparent stability.” - Seth Godin, Linchpin
Let’s go back in history for a moment to lay out the greater context underlying these shifts in the job market.
During the industrial revolution, business owners realized that highly skilled artisans and laborers were not necessary to manufacture high volumes of products. So, with advances in manufacturing, artisans were displaced and anyone who could follow simple instructions were safe. As long as you could be a steady cog in a well-oiled machine, you had a job and security.
Those rules no longer apply. There is a new game and to understand how to play you need to have an understanding of the rules.
We now live in a world where if your job is to follow simple instruction, you are easier to replace due to strides in technology. So, what makes someone stand out in the workplace when virtual offices, apps, AI and outsourcing could easily usurp your position?
Well, it is the very thing that the Industrial Revolution stamped out 100 years ago: artistry, poetry, emotional gifts, light, exuberance and warmth have not had a home in the American job market for generations. Well…we are finally allowed to say with fully backed business strategy, fuck that shit.
We inherit mental thought patterns that make up a deep, core aspect of our perception from our ancestry. The mental attitudes that worked for previous generations will not work for us. And it is time to shake off limiting beliefs about staying low to stay safe. It doesn’t work anymore. And it takes a little effort to shake off that old-paradigm grid structure.
From the perspective of evolutionary biology, there is a part of the brain called the reptilian brain. Its purpose is to keep you safe. This is where fear is held. Cavemen and women had to stay low, hide and keep all guards up at all times to avoid the hungry saber tooth tiger coming full speed, as just one example.
This brain wiring that once kept us safe now acts as a detriment to fully thriving in modern times. We have to transcend the reptilian brain and our fear of standing out, shining and being seen. To become an employee, partner, boss, artist or contributor that is known in their field or community as irreplaceable, fear has no place. This is a new era, and an upgraded OS is required (i.e. new consciousness). It doesn’t matter if you are a barista, scientist, secretary, nanny or content manager.
The light you put out, will be felt by all those people around you. The light you put out will cause others to see you as a leader and valuable. It will also cause you to be seen. And it is time we drop the fear curtain around this once held risk.
SHINING IS NOW YOUR SENSE OF SECURITY.
And no, I am not talking about selfies or narcissism.
Being an artist with your work means putting your heart and soul into everything you do. It means allowing presence, light, meaning and consciousness to move through you and into your work or contribution. It means offering those around you an emotional gift; this gift of light. It is not what you do, but how you do it that makes you an artist.
Janitors offer poetry in their countenance, attitude, exuberance, humility, generosity and kindness.
Hating your job and viewing life as a gray-screened burden riding your back until you die, will get you absolutely nowhere.
You don’t have to be wealthy, attend Ivy League schools or be beautiful with a powerful network to move forward.
You have to give more of yourself. And you have to allow that opening to give and cultivate the ability to receive.
I was reading the most recent copy of The Atlantic yesterday on the plane and fascinated by an article on the future of AI. What struck me in the story was a small example of how moderators in competitive chess capture data on moves made by robots vs. humans.
“At least in chess, creativity is already considered to be the trade mark of computers rather than humans!” -Yuval Noah Harari for The Atlantic, October 2018 edition
This fascinated me because creativity is something so innate to be a human, and also vastly suppressed in our everyday lives and how we live to rush and rush to get by.
It made me think about computers and robots. Artificial intelligence is a perfect computer system programmed to do x.y.z. It is a blank canvas unexploited by cultural conditioning, the oppression of limited mindsets and false beliefs. One could argue that this freedom cultivates creativity when looking at the data garnered by the competitive chess world.
As a general philosophy, those unencumbered by the bullshit of cultural conditioning, or those who are de-programmed from limiting beliefs are generally more creative and emboldened to act upon their creativity.
These people tend to shine. Their authenticity and alignment with light speak for them. Fear does not stop them despite its presence.
The rules have changed. A rewarding life and career require self-reliance and a true renaissance of the creative mind and soul.
Irrelevance, not exploitation is the new adversary for those who plan to just get by, barely making it through the system by following the rules.
In the past, entry level employees were exploited and still are. In the future, they will become more and more irrelevant as technology advances.
Is this a curse or a blessing? You get to decide. That’s what's so cool here and why I emphasize that simply offering the dull-blade bare minimum won’t work anymore.
Besides, it’s making you depressed and sick and doesn’t do anyone around you any good. I know… I’ve talked to hundreds and hundreds of you every day about it.
Well, guess what? You want more, then give more. And give what is sacred and valuable in a world of plastic and machine: warmth, authenticity and artistry.
The system is evolving, and some might say breaking down.
But it is cosmic law that states: breakdowns lead to breakthroughs.
For many, the future looks bleak. Be stronger than that, and never underestimate the power of perception.
The pressure upon the soul’s coal is so high that there is no choice but to shatter the belief in the limited human.
Let AI, or the government, or the economic system do what ill wills it will.
And know that your saving grace is your grit, creative intelligence, ingenuity and willingness to reach new heights.
In the future, the new sense of security will not stem from keeping your head low and checking off the basic boxes. Playing small will be your end. And if you teach this self-belittling plight to your children, they will have no chance. Your full-blown explosion into the extraordinary is the way forward.
You’ve known this deep down since you were born. Your parents and grandparents knew it.
Moving forward, the fear that barricades this knowing in the depths of the subconscious will be your undoing not only spiritually but economically.
The landscape of these inner-realm, murky waters holding pristine truths must be ameliorated. Take your uniquely crafted human hand and lift these truths to the forefront of your brilliant mind. Dive deep into the realm of intuition, the highest form of intelligence. Marry imagination. Embrace the staunch support of common sense beneath your feet like rock in the Earth, and by God, for the sake of all that is holy, read. Read for the future of humanity. Read the greats. Read the old. Read the new. Take the initiative to understand what is happening in our time; this most unprecedented and pinnacle moment in human consciousness.
PERCEPTION MUST BE UNRELENTINGLY BRIGHT AND POSITIVE
This is the deep work of the spiritual warrior.
The ignorant, sick, subdued, depressed, lethargic, hopeless, irrelevant and lonely are the easiest to control. With initial hints of authoritarian control beginning to parallel past eras of terror like rolling echoes, reawakened into socioeconomic narrative, policy and even subconscious - my friends, it is simply unwise to be docile.
I have never promoted a docile mindset.
Non-action as a starting point of creation; yes. I believe in the soul’s learning of acceptance and neutrality indeed, and I believe in using these states of being with discernment and wisdom. There is a time and a place for stillness in the Earth world of paradox. But even stillness is intentional.
Ignorance and docility are simply lazy.
Take your selfies. Discuss celebrity ass. All good… But know that this is a time for a revolutionary mindset. And it doesn’t have to be loud. It can be wise, quiet, regal, humble and knowing.
Consciousness and intelligence are two different things. Exploring your depths is what will separate you and cause you to stand out now and in your future career path of choice.
The first wave of machine rivalry competed with humans manually. Now, the reach is cognitive.
But we have consciousness, intuition, spiritual and emotional intelligence. These are the realms that will amplify creativity, power and uniqueness in the market place and in your everyday lives. So, we must now embody who we are meant to be as human beings.
Rise up or fall.
I say rise. I’ve always said rise. And I always will.
But then again, maybe I’m a robot, programmed that way ;)
Well, then thank God for that! Or whoever the heck created me.
// PS : That was a joke. It’s okay to laugh amidst intensity //