No job is safe anymore. What are you going to do?

There is a commercial that I keep hearing on the radio that says something like “there is a 100% chance that your current source of income will go away” or something like that. I don’t remember what the ad was for, but that phrase resonated with me. The ad is right because over time (might be years, decades or centuries), the job you are in now will go away.

Even government jobs are at risk as the government has been shut down for more than a month with no end it sight. Automation is also reducing the need for manual labor. Technology is changing the way we live and reducing the need for retail sales, data entry, machinists, carpenters, and even health care positions. People have lost their jobs because of bad social media perspective. Entire businesses have even been shut down because of a misstep and subsequent social media firestorm.

As we get close to the end of the first month of 2019, I urge you to set a goal for yourself. By the end of the year, I want you to learn a new skill in order to reduce your dependence on the traditional “job”. It doesn’t really matter what the skill is as long as there is a market for it or you can create a market for it. This gives you a lot of flexibility in a fluctuating job market. It also gives you the flexibility to do what you want to do instead of what you have to do.

There are people out there making money because they know how to tie knots. Yup. Knots. They turn their knots into art pieces and there is a demand for it. There are other people who are making some really cool, yet simple, art out of bent pieces of wire.

One thing that I know is that there will always be a demand for something that is different, unique and appealing to potential customers. People will always want to buy something for themselves that has a story behind it. When you develop your skills, you are developing a story for people to appreciate and want a piece of.

Learning a skill doesn’t mean that you have to go invest thousands of dollars in equipment. You don’t have to start off learning how to weld, learning robotics, or learning the art of ancient Japanese woodworking techniques. But these are all amazing skills that I wish I had!

Your skill can start off simple. Here is a partial list of some simple skills that require very little equipment to start. I’m sure you can find lots more.

• Wood carving
• Crochet
• Sewing
• String art
• Paracord jewelry
• Drawing
• Painting
• Wire wrapping
• Palmistry (palm reading)
• Box making with hand tools
• Poetry
• Plant growing
• Baking and cake decorating

Anybody can do any of these things. The difference is in the time that was taken to truly develop the skill into something that is marketable. After all, a professional ball player didn’t just pick up a ball and start earning money. They needed to develop those skills over time and practice. I urge you do the same.

Remember that the ancient Japanese woodworking masters only had a saw, a mallet, and a chisel. With those few tools they could build anything.

A great resource to learn something new is YouTube. I am always in awe of the talent that people have and show off in their videos. The great thing is that they are willing to show you how to do it as well. Just be careful not to get caught up watching car crash videos and end up wasting the entire day!

The end of 2019 will be here before you know it. Start building your skills today.

See you at market!