I’m a low-key introvert photographer and writer that loves to tell stories from behind the lens and on paper. As I write this, I’ve just finished a 9-hour photo shoot and the most memorable part of it was not the shoot itself to be honest, it’s the behind the scenes videos I took and shared on my social media platforms. I’d be lying if I said that it came naturally to me. No. It was me replicating what homo sapiens have done since we got out of the oceans, onto land, stood up straight, got out of the food chain, onto the agricultural revolution, to the industrial revolution, to watching Keeping up with the Kardashians online. I was adapting. Also, I never understood what people gain by watching others living their lives but to each their own.
Back to the future. On my blog last week, ‘Creativity in the age of A.I’ I insisted that to survive in the future of Artificial Intelligence, we’ll have to adapt especially in how we do business. A few years ago. We saw the Taxi industry disrupted in a way we never thought possible. Uber came like a thief in the night and shook the hell out of complacency. The smart taxi owners who jumped in from the get go were earning upwards of 50 dollars to 100 dollars a day. Not bad for one day of moving people from point A to B without having to bathe them or give low key foot rubs.
On a larger scale, Jeff Bezos it touted to become the world’s first trillionaire thanks to the world staying home and shopping till the cows come home. If ever you needed a sign pointing you to where the world is headed, there you have it. While most of the world is reeling in fear, uncertainty and anxiety, some are setting themselves up for world domination through touch screens and data.
So here I am, camera in hand, phone in the other, clicking and sharing my journey in the hopes of adding value to whoever is watching. There will come a point where no matter what business you’re in, you’ll need to scale your passion and business online. Gary Vaynerchuk is the best example of entrepreneurs who know what’s coming. Sharing 5-6 pieces of content everyday on all platforms including Tik Tok. I recently asked my guy friend Melvin if he’s on Tik Tok and he responded, “Nah bruh, I don’t have a Fallopian Tube.” I have not embellished that statement one bit, neither have I changed his real name because he deserves this. I digress. Check out Gary Vaynerchuk on YouTube for a glimpse of what you need to start doing right now if you want to stay relevant in the 21st century.
Yuval Noah Harari, author of ‘21 lessons for the 21st Century,’ says the two main skills we’ll need to survive the future will be emotional intelligence and mental balance. The resilience to overcome whatever life throws at you while navigating the emotional roller coaster that comes with it. Beyond finding out what our passions are, and figuring out how to make them future relevant, we’ll need the mental fortitude to face change. There will be more lay-offs, this will probably be the worst economic downturn since the 1929 great depression but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a way around it. With the right mind set, knowledge and tools, we’ll make it through this together.
Besides, what better time to reinvent ourselves than this. Sometimes, it’s the dark moments that give us our brightest insights.
Stay motivated, stay curious, because this is going to be one hell of a ride.
See you on the flipside.