Owning Your Career (Instead Of the Other Way Around): Lindsey Bell’s TEDx Talk

There’s as much “you should make your own career path” advice as there is “just go back to the office, it’s how it’s always been” talk these days.  

It’s extra muddy. 

There are no obvious career ladders anymore, and AI is either a boogie man or a personal jesus. 

Hearing Lindsey Bell’s TEDx on the shifting landscape of how we talk about work - I had this thought:

What if the 9-5’ers of the past 100 years are just the modern ‘49ers?

Everybody can’t work from home and AI won’t replace all jobs overnight. BUT

Do we really think people are going to punch in and out factory-turned-office style, in every job, going forward into… forever? Into 4-eva? Into forever-ever, forever-ever?

Do we really think people will stop chasing shiny objects to either give their big company an edge OR to get themselves rich quick (neither of these work, fwiw)??

Do we really think laughing about the gold rush ‘49ers will be all that different than the boomer-industrial workforce career ladder collapsing under the retirement crisis post-COVID 9-5ers???

There is no shortage of people thinking about the revolution of work. 

Taking it back to the way it was, proactively being inactive about “whatever that means,” and biding time for a mythical moment called retirement that occurs after you trust somebody else’s system to do the thinking for you.

Revolver.

There is a shortage of people thinking about the evolution of work.

It’s not going to be completely different, but it’s also not going to be completely the same.

Never was, never will be.

Take 10 minutes and watch/listen/pick up the receiver to this TEDx to make you a believer. More importantly, share it with a younger person. The world is changing and this can even be exciting if you’re willing to lean into the changes:

Want more? Check out Lindsey’s writing at The Shift, and don’t forget to watch her and Guy Penn get philosophical about work and purpose on this Just Press Record: