Is your future probable or preposterous?
Last week I covered the different work 'models' from which you can create your ideal work life. Maybe it's because I've reached the middle of my 'film', but I'm keenly aware of how fast the time has gone. Or maybe it's I have a daughter who just completed her first year of college! I remember my first year of college. Then, the future seemed so distant. Time seemed almost unbounded. And then I blinked and here I am! I know I'm not alone in this observation. Every youth is plagued with notions of immortality which come crashing down sooner or later. One can not lament but embrace their vitality. Comparison may be the thief of joy but so is woulda shoulda coulda.
Can you imagine your future without using a crystal ball?
So let's talk about the future. The future is something I think about often except when I'm working on being 'present' :)
While none of us have crystal balls to predict the future, we can influence our own by thinking intentionally about it. You can't wait for the future to happen. You can't expect someone else to create your future either. It's on you. And it's on you how you navigate the obstacles popping up willy nilly along the way. Do you leap over, stumble over or crash into them?
With the notion of planting the 'future' ball in your court, I want to share three different futures with you. Recently I learned about Mike Maples, founder of Floodgate ventures who has a no-nonsense take on this subject. He talks about the need to find and connect with seers if you're not one yourself. These are the people that can 'see' into the future. Even if they don't have a crystal ball, they are tuned into where things are going. They anticipate the possibility of technology. And thus they achieve breakthroughs.
If you solve today's customer pains you're just living in the present. You are incremental and not creating a breakthrough.
That's not necessarily a bad thing by the way.
Think about your future. Imagine one that's probable. One that's possible. And finally one that's preposterous.
If you wonder who imagines preposterous futures, just look at Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. They imagined and created preposterous futures. DeLorean failed at building a new car company where Elon has succeeded. And even if Tesla fails, he's moved the industry forward far faster than it would have without him.
In the spirit of building in public, humor me a bit while I imagine three different futures for Own The Cow. Yes, this little newsletter that has reach 50 issues since launching last July. This is the first time I'm trying out this exercise. Most often I swizzle such thoughts around in my head. Let's go.
The probable future
I'm enjoying writing this letter and have never been so consistent at shipping. Even if I'm a day or so past my Monday ship date, I've missed one week since launching. For me, that's a win! Makes me want to keep going. It's serving to find my voice and show up as a professional. It's forcing me to move from thinking to doing. With that frame, what's probable? Most likely what I'm already thinking: adding a blog, focusing on organic traffic to build an audience. Growing slow not fast. Being consistent at decoding the future of work, iterating based on feedback from you. I'll build a modest audience and create a course for branding yourself and navigating the future of work. I'll attract and nurture a modest audience of 1,000 - 5,000 and earn enough for this to be a decent side hustle. Those that take the course report significant upside and find it money well spent.
I'll add a note here that this probable future requires me to up my game significantly on what I've been doing to date which has been more exploratory!
The possible future
Let's go up a few notches. I'm seeing my audience grow and I'm motivated to double down on what I'm actually capable of. I've found a strong voice that's attracting significant word of mouth. I have a significant subscriber base to my free newsletter of 50,000 - 100,000. Own The Cow has some merch and a few digital products that generate $1,000,000 annually. It's a solid one-person (which some contract help) media property that helps many people redefine how and where they work. On their terms. Readers and customers enjoy several times their investment in personal and financial growth.
The preposterous future
This one is hard. While some may consider me a dreamer, I'm also practical and grounded. I find it hard to think about what's improbable. This is where moonshots are launched and I've never fancied myself a moon shooter. But hey, that's likely all in my head. Limiting beliefs.
For something to seem preposterous, it has to be crazy. And one needs a little crazy to think they can achieve it. Yet consider those that have come before. So what's the preposterous vision for Own The Cow? Some of you may even think what I believe is possible is crazy. Mindset plays such a big role.
Preposterous for me is creating the Lambda School for work https://lambdaschool.com which serves many thousands around the world, generates millions in revenue. Or the Lynda.com. There are many examples of things that started small with little ambition to scale Mt. Everest that did.
Tomorrow I might be able to get more preposterous as I sit longer with the notion. This also shows that one's level of preposterous is relative. Clearly, Elon Musk is on a different level than most.