By the Ocean
Sunny 69 Degrees
6:46 a.m.
Value doesn’t disappear, it just moves.
Take the current A.I. craze. Things that used to be obstacles in business building no longer are. Writing a salesletter is a good example. I charge a lot for that service. These days, I don’t really mention it.
Why? Because the value of the problem for certain people has changed. People have been trained that A.I. can do this very well, quickly, for cheap (the truth is irrelevant with human beings, at least in the short term).
So even though the writing is lifeless, with no “grit” and way too full of adverbs…and even though customers and clients can probably feel the difference below the level of their conscious mind, business owners will still use it. In fact, they’ll love it. They’ll attend seminars to learn about it. Great. Whatever. Who cares!
So that “problem” is solved for a lot of people. Unfortunately, this creates new problems.
Because while the number of tools to do things in business is exploding, it is helping to bring into focus an even bigger problem we’ve all been faced with this entire time:
All the tools in the world are no good if you have no idea what to use them for.
And that’s why you see more people than ever in business rather lost, confused, not sure which way to go. Isn’t that odd?
Constraints used to provide direction. That’s actually extremely valuable. Because fewer choices means faster progress. As constraints are removed, you realize you’re out there floating in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight.
The obstacles to moving any one way are quickly dissolving, which means it’s really easy to go 100 miles in the wrong direction.
It’s a blessing and a curse.
Now the opportunity is coming online for people to ask more of the real questions:
- Who am I?
- Do I even like doing this business?
- Is this really what I’m here to do?
- Does this business I’m building have any real meaning for me or the world?
- If I’m making all this money, why do I go to bed at night feeling so empty?
The opportunity to serve is always present. The form that takes is always evolving. And unless you’re just lazy, this is always good news.
Some problems go away. New problems emerge. As far as I can tell, there are more ways than ever to become valuable.