I have been a student of life and human nature for the past half-decade, I have learned to observe pattern. Though the future is unpredictable, I think I have a pretty good sense of where the zeitgeist is heading.
I have been banging on the same drum for ages. Today, I'm going to bang it one more time just so the message is crystal clear to you. This message is not just the message to embrace for 2020, but one to embrace for the foreseeable future.
In my book, I talked about the growing inequality we have in our society. You have the obvious inequality that everyone agrees is happening, wealth inequality, but then there's the growing psychological gap that's creating a whole new mental category of have and have nots.
Your psychology, the way you think the world works and your perceptions are so strong and binding that they might as well be scientific laws. You operate as if they were anyway. Society has continued to split into two factions -- people who see infinite upside and people who think the sky is falling.
This gap has been growing for a while. On the one hand, people are creating tailor-made careers, earning great money and having insane levels of flexibility. On the other hand, growth stagnates in many industries and people devolve more and more into a helpless attitude needing a villain and a saviour to cope with their living situations.
Even though a lot of people, by most objective standards, are living like royalty compared to past generations, they are caught in a psychological trap because humans have a hard time thinking outside of the comparisons they make in their immediate environment. You can see this clearly in America, where the people in our country are blind to the true plight of many parts of the world.
Anyway, I've given prescriptions about what to do in these times. Prescriptions that would've helped you had you been following them pre-2020 and prescriptions you should take seriously now:
Brainwash yourself
At this point, brainwashing yourself in a positive direction is necessary just to outweigh the exponentially growing levels of negativity in society. Self-improvement can be a life-saving tool in a society where mental health issues seem to be at an all-time high.
Build rare and valuable skills
When you have a multi-disciplinary skillset, you have the ability to adapt to uncertain times. I'd hate it, but if you stripped of all my income, network, and audience, and left me with my skills, I could still find a way to pay my bills without needing an employer.
Prepare for the unexpected
The 2008 financial crisis left an imprint on me as it happened when I was about 20 years old. Many people got blindsided, including my own parents, so it taught me to be on the lookout. I saved more money, made sure to have multiple sources of it and I knew never to get too comfortable.
2020 has been the best professional year of my life, amidst all the chaos. And I'm not going to apologize for it because I've been banging the drum for years about this mindset.
In your case, regardless of where you are at in life, understand that these prescriptions will help you if you implement them.
How to Navigate Your Journey to Success in 2020 and Beyond
As will happen at any time where you see inequality, envy and outrage will spike. It is not as popular to talk about self-improvement right now because many people are struggling.
People will try to shame you if you are still focused on your goals. They will make it out to seem like you do not care about the state of society if you are not constantly negative and outraged like them. You will be told that you are selfish if you try to seize opportunities during this time.
What should you do?
One, ignore them. But going deeper, understand that they live in an entirely different perceptual universe than you do. Do not get upset with them, because they genuinely believe the things they're saying.
Many people sincerely believe the sky is falling, society is crumbling, democracy is at risk, we're all in danger, and that evil is at an all-time high. They have their reasons. Let them have their reasons.
You focus on yourself. The good news? The results will pan out the way they pan out either way. If society crumbles while you're working on self-improvement and you end up in a gulag somewhere, it is what it is. But if you stay focused on yourself and the world recovers, you're going to be ten steps ahead of the game.
Not to dive too deep into politics, but the sad thing is, if you know who wins, some people will end up spending 8 years of their lives being miserable. Regardless of who wins, your life will more or less still depend on your actions and decisions anyway. Yes, laws affect all of us, and politics is important. Simple solution -- stay informed up to a point, don't bathe in outrage, exercise your civic duty when it's time, and go about your life.
Stay focused on your mission. I've gotten push back every time I write an article telling you to not to bend during tough times. Why? Because people are full of it. Everyone loves to talk about self-improvement when things are going well. Few stay consistent with their messaging no matter what.
Well, I'm going to stay consistent. I'm not going to let anyone guilt me into stagnation, nor should you.
Here's what to do from now on. Work on your projects silently. Do your self-improvement in the background. On the surface, act just like everyone else. Don't brag whatsoever because we are in an increasingly envious society. I talk about self-improvement in public because it is my job, but in my normal life, I understate everything I do.
Last, just remember that it is not selfish to want to first help yourself, your family, your community, and your tribe.
Win the war with yourself instead.
