I met a young entrepreneur based in Australia 6 months ago, and he has since solidified my belief that the world and humanity are evolving positively for several reasons, both directly and indirectly related to his ventures. There are a few things about the world’s current state I feel he is leveraging particularly well.
This article will highlight the core reasons I think the world is headed in a remarkable direction both humanely and capitalistically. I will use Josh Brnjac as a practical example of an individual navigating the current state of the globe and the resources it offers to inspire others, build vibrant communities, and create the life of his dreams. Ideally, you will walk away with some practical knowledge and the understanding that, regardless of your current life situation, you have the tools to create a life you never thought possible for yourself. (This is not fluff, I am not trying to hype you up, I am simply illustrating logic in action). Most of what I highlight in this article you already know very well. That’s the part that is bizarre to me. It is available to almost everyone, but only a small minority leverage the resources at hand.
The combination of 3 core facts, in my opinion, have created an environment that is allowing people to thrive regardless of age, sex, race, disability, location, and socioeconomic status. Connectivity, open source resources, and low barriers are the conditions that are allowing for innovation and prosperity to thrive. Each of them magnifies the others’ potential impact. Connectivity allowed open source resources to reach the masses. Low barriers to entry created space for the open source resources to be acted upon.
1. Connectivity
There are hundreds of millions, if not billions, of absolutely remarkable people living on our planet. Dreamers, innovators, storytellers, scientists, activists, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, fathers, mothers, caretakers, creators etc. Like never before, we have access to a large majority of them via community groups and social media. If you admire a person, mission, or community and want to connect with them, you can do so simply. Josh identified Chris Burkard, an adventurer and photographer, as this person and diligently consumed every piece of content he created.
This fact alone puts a huge smile on my face; I wish you could see my grin right now. Take a second to think about how groundbreaking this is for humanity. Do you aspire to be a storyteller? Awesome. Go on YouTube and message all the creators you admire and ask how you can provide value to them. Better yet, just send them things you think they might find value in. Well, what if I don’t have any value to give? I am glad you asked…
Side note: There is a negative side to this – seeing lots of other people in situations you want to be in can make you reflect harshly on your current scenario and prevent action. You can’t let this happen. Leverage the system, but don’t become a victim of it.
2. Open Source
So you don’t have any skills?… think you can’t provide any value? No need to worry, mate! “In every life, we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double,” said Bobby McFerrin.
When Josh first started in photography, he knew little to nothing about creating a life for himself with his camera. All he knew was that he loved capturing beautiful moments in time. He went to YouTube and Google to search for photographers who were creating lives for themselves whom he wanted to model. He studied their process and slid into their DM’s when necessary to ask questions. His curiosity, forwardness, and tenacity when implementing learned techniques ultimately manifested a 6-figure business by the time he turned 16 years old.
Yes, I know it can be intimidating to learn that a 16-year-old kid is making as much money as a 2nd or 3rd-year investment banker. It may even make you reflect harshly on yourself. However, it doesn’t change the fact he used FREE resources you also have access to.
You can learn just about everything you need to know to start a business or build a successful career online. Here is a resource full of free courses outside of YouTube. Point is… if you are willing to put the time in, you can pretty much learn any skill you want. At least, you can learn enough to start selling your skills so you can invest more in yourself.
Still think it’s impossible or improbable? Good. Let me bury your excuses with my last point.
3. Low barriers
The barriers have never been lower for nearly anyone to build the life they want for themselves. Whether that’s learning skills to accomplish a dream, spending time with the people they admire, or simply freeing up time to spend with family, the resources for the underprivileged are growing every day.
Here are a few of the many services for entrepreneurs and freelancers:
- Stripe Atlas, a toolkit for founders globally to assist with starting an online business that includes payments services, help with incorporation, discounts on startup services, and much more.
- Freelance marketplaces (creating work for nearly any skill set you can imagine). This Fiverr service gives you an impersonation of a sports broadcaster named Stephen Smith and has 42, 5-star reviews.
- Low-cost e-commerce website builders such as Shopify. Anyone who can afford $25/month can set up a drop-shipping site to start selling products online immediately.
Josh has personally used a variety of freelance services to automate his e-commerce site, GNTLMEN. He has even created a series of tutorial videos to train his employees using a free service called Loom.
Health and prosperity are waiting for the people who are prepared to battle through adversity and open their heart to positive change.
4. Warm Communities
Yep, as I was writing this, I decided to add one more key point. Much of what I mentioned above are plain facts. Something else is happening that strikes me as more of a feeling. As online communities spread and more genuine individuals with positive messages develop a following, more people begin to feed off the collective energy. What do I mean? Let me illustrate it for you.
Josh is not only a savvy business owner; he is also leading a movement to provide aid to people struggling with mental illness in Australia. Josh is building a community for people who struggle with mental illness through his entrepreneurial and activist endeavors.
You can very quickly identify the communities of people you want to spend time with and inject yourself into those communities. If you know what excites you the most, you can fairly easily put yourself into those scenarios. So my advice is to aggressively experiment with things to find out what makes you tick the most.
“A roman Philosopher Seneca once said, ‘We suffer more often in imagination than in reality’ which has proved true countless times for me and anyone I’ve ever known, literally. It’s a natural human tendency we (mostly) have to fight against in order to explore the dark, gloomy great unknown in order to overcome the fear that we so dramatically overestimate all of the time.” – Josh Brnjac
Something is changing. I can feel it! Surround yourself with the right crowds, open yourself up to change, and I know you will feel the same way.
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