The Times They Are A-Changing

There may actually be people reading this who have no idea where the title of this post comes from or even who Bob Dylan is. It's not surprising. I'm an old guy and Dylan may have been before your time.

Seth Godin posts some rather interesting things regularly on his blog. I've been following him for a while and his recent post titled "The realization is now" is no exception to his regular great content. Whether you agree with his positions and opinions or not only the ignorant or appathetic among us wouldn't find something at least mildly intreguing on his site.

In his most recent post Seth refers to new polling that shows Americans are generally frustrated with, and pessimistic about, the world and their prospects for the future. Seth says, "[Americans are] ...losing patience with the economy, with their prospects, with their leaders (of both parties)" and he goes on to claim what is "...actually happening is we're realizing that the industrial revolution is fading. The 80 year long run that brought ever-increasing productivity (and along with it, well-paying jobs for an ever-expanding middle class) is ending."

Seth's look at the current situation is something I've thought about for many years. As a boomer myself, I've been expecting significant changes for several years now. If you think about it, there has not only be rapid increases in knowlege, technology, and social change, but many of the things we boomers might have actually trained for have long gone from the general jobs market. People from my generation studied, and expected gainful employment from, carburators, vinyl records, eight track tapes, and so many other things that are hardly even part of our vocabulary anymore.

Generations past could expect almost any job they trained for to be there for their entire working life and, most likely, for their children to follow in their parents' footsteps if they so chose. Today it is more likely you will have to retrain at least once, and probably several times, throughout your career. It's even more likely you will have to completly change career paths at least once.

It no longer matters that you have earned a specific degree or trained for a specific task or skill. The work place, as it was when you started college or university, will more than likely be entirely different when you graduate. It is even possible a career you train for over several years of higher education may not even exist when you begin seeking employment.

The problem goes even deeper. The disparity between the reality of the new workplace and the fantasy of our political leaders and the regulators they employ, is wider than ever before. Politicians at every level, but especially state and federal law makers, are simply out of touch with reality. They have moved too slowly and they have responded with old ideas. They hinder more than they help. It isn't so much that they don't govern as it is the way they do govern. They have become a meaningless sham more interested in scoring talking points on cable news than in actually doing meaningful work. They look good. They deliver nothing of purpose.

What Seth calls "the new normal" is, in fact, the new opportunity. The Internet coupled with cheap personal computers and mobile devices and smart phones, offers more opportunity than ever before for entrepreneurs, work-at-home professionals, and e-commerce providers. The days of the solopreneur are upon us and a whole new bread, not just a new generation but a large sections of existing generations, including we boomers, are smartly taking advantage of it. Like never before, the individual is truly offered a level playing field. In fact, the wind direction may actually be in their favor. Individuals are beating out many bigger, established, companies and the days of the traditional company structure may, in fact, be over.

There isn't time to wait for traditional generational changes to come about. There isn't time to spend four or more years obtaining a degree -- it may not matter anyway! There isn't time to wait for college courses to change or catch up. There is hardly time to wait for the books to be written and published. It is truly time to embrace the best of the new technology and move with the future. It's here right now.

In his blog post, Seth finally says, "Whining isn't a scalable solution", and he is right. If you sit back and whine -- heck, if you even sit back -- you will lose this wonderful, powerful, opportunity. If you currently do business online, or if you have been thinking about creating your own online business, NOW is the time. NOW! It is time to make the necessary changes in your existing business or to put your new plans into action. The Online Sellers Association is both ready and committed to help you succeed.

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