A New Road

2024-11-04

Last week the road in front of my house was torn up and replaced with new asphalt. It was interesting watching the workers use various industrial machines to do the physically demanding work. I respect their knowledge, skills, and endurance but it is not a profession I would choose or be good at.

As I watched them replace the road its symbolism was not lost on me. My old ways of thinking and my old goals no longer work under the current world circumstances. It's time for me to reevaluate and make new goals based on my values.

Relationships

Last month I spent a lot of time reflecting on my past experiences with family, friends, and previous work associates. I used to waste my time attempting to help people with their issues by providing support, suggestions, ideas, and advice. The reward for my time and effort was people acting impatient and demanding while disrespecting and insulting me. The old saying is true, "No good deed goes unpunished".

The only time people call me is when they want to bait me into a debate or they want me to do something for them. No one contacts me to see how I'm doing or because they missed me. So moving forward I'm focused on myself. I will no longer offer help, research, support, ideas, suggestions, or advice for free because I have bills to pay.

Technology

I'm streamlining the technology I use daily. There are a lot of cybersecurity attacks going on that non-technical people are unaware of. Reducing the number of devices and online services I use while following security best practices should keep me relatively safe.

This means I won't be providing tech support to anyone for any reason. Read my post No More Tech Support for more details.

AI Hype

The corporate world I used to work in has gone insane with mass layoffs due to ego and greed. Companies view specialized workers with college degrees and years of experience as an unnecessary expense. They would rather hire a cheaper person to use generative AI to do their complex technical work.

In my opinion, generative AI is a more advanced form of auto-correct. It can be a powerful tool in the right hands. But for non-technical people, it's merely a fun toy. The current AI bubble will eventually collapse because most of the AI companies are unsustainable. They use too much electricity and water to power their unique hardware. Most of them are operating entirely on venture capital and are quickly going broke.

At some point, AI companies will be forced to pass their expenses on to their customers. The monthly subscription will be more expensive than hiring educated and skilled employees to do the work. That's when the AI hype will end.

Solo Business

In my business, I'm focused on the fundamentals of online marketing. Which includes data-driven research into my customers’ issues and what they are willing to buy. This is a time-consuming process and there is no easy way out. I have to put in the work to get the results I want.

It's a numbers game to convert leads into paying customers and hit monthly sales goals. This is easier said than done and I'm sure it will be a struggle.

I would rather run my own solo business and fail than waste time trying to get hired at another irrational corporate company. Attempting to get an interview is impossible right now due to the overwhelming amount of people looking for work. Even if I managed to land a job they will inevitably let me go when they're done using me or it saves them money.

Captain America said in Avengers Civil War, "The safest hands are our own." I will never put my financial fate into other people's hands again. So my only option is to make my solo business work. That's what I am spending my time doing.

Wish me luck!