Telling your story effectively is the most important skill you’d need in the 21st century.
As I sat back at my coworking space, my gaze was in the midst of multiple tabs open on my laptop. I took a few minutes to look at the stats on my newsletter.
The open rate was good. I was happy about that. But then the click and reply rate were just alright. To be honest, a lot lower than what I would like.
I began to wonder. Hmmm…am I just writing into oblivion?
Is anyone even reading this?
You know…the type of doubt that creeps in at work or in your business or while you’re creating an article or an art piece.
Resistance is a mutha..shut your mouth.
As I moved my mouse to close the tab, getting ready to get back to my other tasks, I saw a little red bar at the top of the newsletter. It was called “The State of The Creator Economy in 2024: Read it now”
I thought: “Hey, why not distract myself for another 3 minutes.” I clicked on it, gave it a read glance. My writer’s confidence was restored.
Uncertain Times
Lay-offs.
Global civilization.
Record profits.
Price of eggs….skyrocketing.
AI is taking your job.
Extra.
Extra.
Read all about it.
In case, you have not been following. The Times They Are a-Changing.
We need more Bob Dylans and less Elon Musks.
These organizations ain’t loyal. Not to you. Not to me.
The reality is:
Everyone is a one-person business
If you’re an employee, and you’re tied to one company, and you don’t run that company: you just have one customer.
People always thought being safe meant sticking to your employer.
But things are changing. OK, I said that already.
The only safe option is to have more options.
Gain Autonomy and leverage your creativity, emotional intelligence, and technology to connect with a global audience. Do this by writing, storytelling, and connecting.
Writing and storytelling is the number #1 skill you need to thrive in the 21st century.
Here are 7 interesting stats that show why embracing change is the only safe option.
1. Corporations are raking in record profit: less work for the laid off, more anxiety for those staying in
People can’t find jobs, but corporations are raking in record profits.
Isn’t this strange?
No it’s not. The corporations are only doing what they’ve been built to do – make profits for their shareholders. The top brasses are at their retreats vibing to Notorious BIG’s “Get Money.” So if you own the assets, then you’re good, vibe away.
But if you’re just a laborer, trading your time for money. Not so good. You need some Tupac in your life.
The returns on capital accumulate a lot faster than the returns on the means of production. The corporations have always known this. They were just nice when they offered crazy salaries and allowed people to work from home.
Now they’re cracking the whip again.
It’s an employer’s market. What more can I say?
Get with the program.
2. Global unhappiness is increasing
People who can’t find jobs are stressed.
The bills are knocking, phone lines getting canceled. Credit scores dropping.
Those that have jobs are stressed.
Long hours at work. Video call fatigue. No time to enjoy the salary. No time for the unlimited vacation.
A 2024 Gallup study shows that worker stress is at a record high, with managers saying that 64% of their employees were given additional work responsibility.
A sadder stat (shown above) is that global unhappiness is at an all-time high. This is not only linked to finances and income inequality. This increasing unhappiness is due to food insecurity, decreasing sense of safety, and fragmented communities leading to isolation.
Nawa for Gallup o. With their depressing stats.
A lot of us are alone around other people. Tapping on digital screens, looking for love and validation. Searching for ways to de-stress.
Happiness and self-soothing is an inside job.
3. No one has the answer
Searching for answers?
You ain’t got it. Just like Sway doesn’t have it either.
We are in a time of flux. Anxiety builds up when you zoom into the current moment. There are children dying in war zones. There are corporations that are not loyal to their employees, hyping up the greedflation. There are people hiding behind perfect profile pictures spewing hate online.
But then when you zoom out, there are bigger questions.
The main ones are how are we dealing with ecological collapse of the environment? What about technology disruption? What happens when artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and nanotechnology have a threesome?
Oh my my my…I’m feeling high just writing about it.
There’s a long road ahead, my friend. Stay calm. Ask questions. Be curious.
4. Self-awareness is needed now more than ever
What is a post with graphs without a fancy McKinsey matrix thingy? Not a credible post at all.
Well, there you go.
Artificial Intelligence is about to automate a lot of things. It’s like electricity. It’s a general purpose technology.
There are things that will go quickly: repetitive tasks. But some will be here for a minute. The things that will take some time to get disrupted are the soft skills: creativity, social and emotional reasoning.
The stuff in the image that stretches out to 2070.
Competence is going to be commoditized. The time for being an effective widget in a cog is over. The time for being human is once again.
Things are changing. Go within. Tap into social intelligence and creativity.
5. Find your anchor
“Give me a firm spot on which to stand, and I shall move the earth”
That’s my guy, Archimedes, with the bars.
The most important thing you can do in flux is to anchor yourself.
The best way to do that is to know thyself.
Understand your inner reality in relation to the word outside. Meditate, pray, write. Whatever it is you do to build your inner resilience, do it.
Writing has been a practice I use to clear my mind.
It’s a good way to understand your world and develop your own philosophy. The added benefit of writing is that you can share it with others. It gives people a sense of what and how you think.
It attracts people to your philosophy. You can use it to anchor yourself and then change the world.
Write to find yourself and people you want to attract.
6. The Rise of the creator economy
Money, Money, Money! Honey, Honey, Honey! Let’s talk about it. Keep running, running.
Oh it’s a rat race, my friend. Catch your breath for a second, let me tell you about another race on the other side of the track.
It’s the creator economy: the intersection of your personal knowledge, creativity, and technology.
It’s going to be half of a trillion dollars by 2030. Cha-ching!!! So when next you want to judge that young aspiring creator, just remember: you are just in different industries.
Perhaps, get inspired because anyone can join this new and growing industry.
You just have to believe in yourself and unlearn all you learned in the industrial-education complex.
7. Short videos out, writing is in
“Say OVHoooooo”
“Now step this way.”
“Step that way.”
Sorry, just adjusting my camera for my next TikTok dance.
OK. I don’t have a video for you. But apparently short-form videos are trending downwards according to the creator report.
Videos have always been the most engaging format to inform and educate people. As much as I like writing, I love watching videos. It’s just a lot more immersive.
But from the report, we might be seeing the rise and fall of short-from videos – dropping by half from the year before.
But guess what’s trending now? You’re reading one: emails and newsletters.
So if you’re camera-shy, just write to reach your people.
But if you want to go the video route, that’s cool too. With the video trending downwards, that’s less competition for you.
Attention will always move around. Find your anchor and ride the wave.
Just remember, writing is the foundation of all media.
8. Don’t sell your soul on TikTok, just your services
Brand sponsorship used to be the way creators made money.
Not anymore.
The number one way creators make money is to monetize their knowledge. You’ve learned a lot through experience. You have expertise that you can share. There are people in the journey a few steps behind you.
Educate them. Be helpful.
Have you switched careers? You can teach someone how to manage the transition.
Have you built a business? You can teach someone about sales and marketing.
Have you sold digital assets? You can teach someone how to get into web3 and Blockchain.
Have you started a newsletter? You can teach …..you get the idea.
Follow an interest. Set a goal. Go for it. Document your learnings along the way. Share what you learn. Attract people.
Start an independent consulting service.
9. Do it on the side, then go full-time
But where is the time to do all this?
I don’t know. I don’t have the answers.
But there are 24 hours in the day. You choose how you want to spend it. If there is something important to you, you will prioritize it and make time.
Do you get a full-time job and do stuff on the side?
Do you go all-in on your business?
That’s up to you and what you want to do.
The moral of this story is: go find more than one customer because your only customer ain’t loyal.
Build a resilient life where you are not just stuck to the decision-making of one customer.
That just increases your risk.
Build for more autonomy
Rewrite your script…
The number one skill you need to thrive in the changings of the 21st century is writing. It will help you increase your self-awareness, boosts your creativity, and allows you to attract like-minded people and customers.
Don’t let the changing times get you down.
Rewrite your own reality.
Yours truly,
Nifemi
