The future is here, but it isn’t evenly distributed.
How do we fix this?
This is one of the big questions facing our society today. I think most of the issues we face stem, in some part, from the fact that huge swaths of our population have been left behind by the modern economy. You have people building AI, robots, virtual worlds. People building applications and software by themselves. People building businesses around their brands and interests. And then you have Steel workers in Indiana. And artists in Portland. And assembly line workers in Detroit. And Fisherman in South Carolina.
It seems like the growing divide between the digital natives and the technologically illiterate is the elephant in the room of all of our modern discourse.
And what is odd is that the aspirational path of wealth creation through technology entrepreneurship has never been more attainable. I’d go as far as to say that never in the history of mankind has the path to wealth creation been possible for so many.
So why does it feel like it is anything but for so many?
Nothing good comes from people feeling like they have been separated from their chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They feel disenfranchised. They find themselves growing resentful and disengaged. They resort to pulling others down instead of trying to pull themselves up.
That is why I am so excited about the future of work. I believe that it has the potential to ameliorate so many of the woes in our society by providing access to the modern technology-based economy to those who have always felt it out of reach.
To me, the future of work isn’t just about productivity tools, remote work, and the next evolution of B2B SaaS. It is about all of those things to a degree, sure. And those things are exciting in their own right.
But what really gets me excited is the potential that the future of work has to increase access to entrepreneurship. It can do this in a lot of ways. It can remove friction and barriers of entry for people. It can educate, upskill, and equip people with the tools and knowledge to build technology-based businesses and income streams. It can allow people to unbundle their work from their employment and it can even allow people to make money practicing their hobbies.
The crazy thing is that the tools are all out there. The knowledge too! That isn’t the issue. Access to the modern economy is not some secret guarded by technocrats.
Instead, it is a diamond hidden under a metric ton of shit.
Google “passive income.” Go ahead. I’ll still be here when you come back.
Hey! Welcome back. If you spend 5 seconds browsing how to build passive income on the internet you’ll get a bunch of lame slick-haired-used-car-salesman types in video thumbnails with sportscars and beach houses they rented trying to sell you products and courses you don’t want or need.
It has never been easier for someone with zero technological know-how to learn how to use no code tools or platforms like Shopify to build businesses online.
And yet, we get these seedy con artists selling us snake oil.
I am optimistic though.
The hard part is building the tools and platforms to provide access to the modern economy. That is happening. There are more and more onramps for the technologically unsophisticated into the modern economy each and every day. Here is the list I maintain of my favorite resources.
I am not sure what I am going to do in my career, but I know that whatever it is I want to be part of the solution to helping people build wealth through technology-based entrepreneurship. That is what I am really excited to build. Either by investing in teams building it or building it myself, I want to provide the tools and platforms necessary to build the mom and pop corner store of the future online.
The future of work isn’t about SaaS. It isn’t about productivity tools or remote work.
It is about access.
Access to a lifestyle and a way of building that has been locked behind the doors of technical, financial, and ethnic privilege.
Until now.
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