Dear friends,
Whether we want to or not, we are slowly being propelled into a different world. We’ve never been more digitally connected than we are now.
I’m personally questioning most of my action in a daily basis because of the way things are moving right now. We are left with absolutely no choice but to adapt, and evolve. In a lot of ways, this is the best possible time to do some mental reset. This article said it best, “Keeping our options open means developing generalist skills like creativity, rather than specializing in one area, like a particular technology. The more diverse the knowledge and skills you can draw on, the better positioned you are to take advantage of new opportunities.”
You can see it from spirit companies making hand sanitizers, the biggest car companies jumping into ventilator production, local restaurants temporarily tackling non-profit work to serve communities, hair salons selling kits to your doorstep (the onboarding for this is great) and these are just some of them. Undeniably, there’s a big shift that’s happening in almost all areas of the world. What this pandemic is doing is merely just accelerating that and it’s doing so in the most unpredictable (and perhaps, cruel) of ways.
This is not the time to take it easy, especially for a lot of us whose livelihood (and futures) heavily depend on our next move. I suspect it’ll change the trajectory of our lives, and we will see those effects long after this pandemic is over. Whatever that move is, it better be as future-proof as possible.
No one can predict what’s going to happen next, but we can design our lives to put us in a better position, with a lot more options than we think is possible. Yes, that would not be easy, no.
Seth Godin is right. “Given that everything is going to be the way it’s going to be, we’re left with an actually useful and productive question instead: “What are you going to do about it?”
Time is personal for all of us. What you choose to do with yours is completely up to you. It’s just for me, every time I find myself wasting it, I am haunted by this Buddhist quote: “The trouble is, you think you have time.”
Trivial things have never been distasteful to me, as they are now. Between figuring out what to do moving forward, and how to waste less time doing so, I definitely have my hands full.
What are you up to? Always happy to know.
Thank you for reading,
Nikki Espartinez
In case you’re curious, where I’m looking for answers:
Books
The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha — for work/careers
The Shortness of Life by Seneca — for living
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield — for courage
Podcasts
I want to know what you’re reflecting on, if you have been doing that. Essays, tweets, photos or maybe just personal notes you’ve been collecting during this strange time. I want you know you’re not alone. I’m happy to read them, if you want. Please feel free to write me back, and/or tweet me.
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