Autonomy.
If there’s one thing I’ve tried to optimize my life for over the last decade, that’s probably it.
I want to control my time.
Not live by someone else’s rules or schedule.
I want to decide what I do, and when and where I do it.
This is very different from how most people live.
A mortgage ties them to the job that pays for it.
That job determines their daily routine.
And so on…
Now, I’m not saying this is bad.
But it isn’t for me.
Life is short and unpredictable.
I hate the thought of not being in control of how I spend it.
I also love that I can drop everything I’m doing at any time and hit the road, or hang out with Meg, or go for a walk.
I get to do things on my terms.
And that’s a privilege I only enjoy because I have autonomy.
So, how do you get it?
For me, the simplest route is getting a reliable source of self-employed online income.
Now, there are many ways to make money online.
But the “reliable” piece is trickier.
AI is making everything unpredictable.
It’s hard to think of many jobs that won’t be taken by it eventually.
And if you’re going to invest time and money to learn a skill, then you want it to have a future.
I thought about this a lot after my blogging business died.
“What should I do now?”
One option was to rebuild my blogs.
But my hunch was that AI will soon make content sites irrelevant.
I needed to pivot…
I knew I wanted autonomy, which meant working for myself online.
I knew I wanted to make good money and help people in the process.
And I also wanted to do something related to what I’d done for the past 6 years.
Eventually, I settled on what I do today:
- Help content creators succeed online
- Help people find more freedom and purpose (largely by becoming creators)
- Grow an audience and personal brand
Here’s why:
In the future, AI is likely to take most creative, administrative, and info-based careers.
For example, why would a client hire me to write for them if AI does it better, faster, and cheaper?
They wouldn’t.
But if I have an engaged audience who knows, likes, and trusts me, there’s always a way to monetize.
I could work with brands. Sell products. Promote affiliate links.
And so on…
Moving forward, I believe having a business, audience, and personal brand will be essential to making a living and maintaining a sense of purpose.
I encourage you to “future-proof” yourself by taking this into account.
(Especially if you want the freedom that comes from working for yourself online.)
Build an audience.
Develop your brand.
One day, it might be all we have left.
Thanks for reading,
Danny
P.S. For insights on how to build your audience and brand, consider joining my newsletter here.
