Future-proof is dead (future-forward isn't)

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The next 20-year run starts now

I don't believe anything can be "future-proof" these days.

So when I started writing this email, I got a little annoyed by the words coming out.

“Future-proof skills.”

“Future-proof services.”

“A business that AI can't touch.”

It just felt wrong.

Because nothing is future-proof. 

Twenty years ago, I picked a trend - Web 2.0 - and rode it for two decades. Search marketing. WordPress. Social media. Analytics. It has been a fulfilling career so far.

But even those skills evolved, shifted, and got commoditized. The market changed constantly.

And here we are again.

AI is coming for a lot of what we do. Maybe most of it. The labor market's going to change dramatically. You'll be able to do way more with way less. Same (or better) results, fewer resources, less wasted effort.

That's either terrifying or exciting, depending on how you look at it.

Here's the thing - I'm choosing excitement.

Not because I'm naive about what's coming. I see it clearly. A lot of jobs are going to change or disappear. Skills we've built for years might become irrelevant in 18 months.

But I also see something else:

This is probably the real Web 3.0.

Not crypto. Not NFTs. This AI-enabled world we're stepping into - this feels like the same kind of foundational shift that happened in the early 2000s.

Which means we're standing at the beginning of potentially another 20-year run.

If we position ourselves correctly.

You can spiral into doom-thinking about everything getting automated away. Or you can get curious about where the opportunity is hiding.

I'm annoyed I have to change again. I'll admit that.

I built expertise. I got comfortable. And now the ground is shifting under my feet and I have to learn new things and pivot my business model.

It's frustrating.

But it's also kind of exciting.

Because I've done this before. And the other people who leaned into the uncertainty from 2008-2012? They built incredible careers over the next two decades.

I think we're in that same moment right now.

Twenty years from now, you might look back and think "wow, we had a pretty good run." Or you might think "I wish I'd paid attention when things were shifting."

I can't guarantee anything is future-proof.

But I can guarantee this: the next few years are going to separate people into two groups. Those who saw where things were heading and positioned accordingly. And those who didn't.

I'm betting on abundance. On AI creating more opportunity than it destroys. On being able to build something meaningful over the next 20 years.

That's the choice I'm making.

What about you?

Doom or abundance?

To Your Measured Success!

--Jeff Sauer
Co-Founder of MeasureU

P.S. If you missed last week's video, I created a list of 99 services I'm predicting will be in demand. You can download it here. It's pretty comprehensive.

P.P.S. The workshop on January 22nd at 1pm Eastern is now open for registration. I'm offering it at a ridiculously low price just for newsletter subscribers - basically covering costs because this is our first time doing it and I want to have fun with it. If you've been following this series and it's resonating, grab your spot here. Can't promise future-proof, but definitely future-forward.

Coming Up This Week at MeasureU

Mastermind (MeasureMastermind)

Wednesday, Jan 14, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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