High Five the 4th in the Face - By Angela Shearer

The words “4th Industrial Revolution” echo off almost every social media platform and every office wall across the globe. It means different things to different people, as everyone scrambles to find ways to keep themselves relevant and viable in the flux.

We find ourselves faced with new career choices, hovering on a tight rope of uncertainty as some roles become redundant, retrenchments increase, and automation creates punchy titles with vague descriptions. Old beliefs fly out the door while new ones pour in about what the future looks like. New theories arise about how we are meant to pivot and show up.  It’s all speculation, but one thing that is certain is that change is not coming, change is here!

The path is a narrow, untraveled one and affects us all in the short and long term. During the scramble there are so many questions hitting us in the face, so many new choices to make, and it’s become overwhelming, confusing and paralyzing to some. 

While doing extensive research on future skills and how to develop them, it became clear that we often lose ourselves and our sense amid the chaos of trying to keep up with life and its accelerated pace. We all have bills to pay and responsibilities to meet, we all have egos to sooth, goals to achieve, and dreams to build. What we really need to do is take a breath and just think for a moment about what is important to us as humans. Start there, make the right choices by thinking objectively about the following points.

Don’t fake it until you make it

'Fake it until you make it' is a popular saying in the corporate world and there was a time that I believed it made sense, but not anymore. I’ve learned that people know when you are faking it and it doesn’t serve you or them. It is better to admit when you don’t know, and rather demonstrate that you have the interest and energy to become what you aim for. Others are much more willing to coach and mentor someone who is honest about their areas of development. By pretending to be something you’re not is not being true to yourself. It will never nourish you and impostor syndrome will sneak up on you in the middle of night to niggle and cause nuisance. Be open to connecting with people, be real in your connections. Be willing to learn from them and give back to others when you can.

Mad about Money

The materialist, consumerist mentality is a sneaky beast that creeps up on us without permission. How easy it is to judge the choices, roles and titles of others while standing on a fragile high horse of our own. Making decisions solely based on money is almost never a good idea. It’s important to run the numbers, but make sure you get in touch with your instinct while crunching those digits. Too many of us sell our souls to masters we don’t want to serve. We’ve become accustomed to dragging ourselves off to buildings we despise, to bosses we don’t respect, to do jobs that we hate. The 4th Industrial revolution has changed that. New opportunities unfold every single day in the form of new jobs or micro businesses. New needs arise weekly and there are very few front runners blazing the new trails. Figure out what you are good at and find a way to futurize and monetise it. Read articles! Learn on line! Watch YouTube Videos! Create more social media profiles and get into the trenches where real people talk to each other and experiment with new ideas. Roll up your sleeves and smear some dirt on your face; it’s not about sanitized networking and fake smiles. It’s about connection, creativity and action.

Stop settling

Take a hard look at your beliefs around success and money. Get your kids and partners to do the same. Unpack and reorganize those beliefs so that you stop settling for the OK job, with an OK salary, and OK benefits, when what you really want is something that makes you feel alive, inspired and nourished. 

Work smart, not hard

Old school management gave kudos to time spent with your bum in a seat, but time spent does not equate to output or value. The brave new world requires something quite unique and different from us. The 4th Industrial revolution needs us to think for ourselves. We must research, design, create, play and develop new things all the time. There is spin off from everything that we create, digitize or produce, and therein lies the opportunity. 

We’ve been conditioned to think we must work long hours to earn respect, or deliver, or because it’s expected by some timekeeping ninja. The truth is that the timekeeper doesn’t know anything about leadership and is just guilty of restricting the free play of greatness. No one reaches their deathbed and says, “Damn, I wish I’d spent more time working.”

Stop putting your relationships last

To be successful in our careers we need to surround ourselves with people who support and motivate us. This includes the people who work with and for us, as well as our family and friends. When we neglect these relationships we end up with mediocre, shallow connections and deprive ourselves of true intimacy. Remember to give, to love, to care, for it is in giving that we receive.

Let go a little

Stop being a micromanaging psycho who expects everything to be perfect all the time. Learn to empower others and give them creative leeway to come up with solutions that work. This could end up giving you some new ideas. By changing our approach to how we do things and by letting go a little, we find some relief from our self-imposed anxiety.

Turn back around

The best way to connect with others is to look for opportunities to help them. Do it for free too. Have no expectation of return favors or payment. These types of ‘good turns’ pay off in the most unexpected ways at the most unexpected times. People who always put themselves first generally don’t get very far.

Value your happiness

You can’t put off happiness until later. Make time for the things that are important to you. Make time to be alone, to think and introspect. You matter! Set personal goals that will sustain and motivate you. Do things that inspire joy.

While the world is going full throttle, remember to take time out when you need it. The flux is chaotic and stressful, but only if you aren’t doing anything to meet it half way.

Stop hating and discriminating. Stop blaming and making excuses. Watch the words you use, for they will lay the path to the future that you build.

Before anything else, we are all human.