Surviving the Coming Times of Struggle

From:
Jason Stapleton
Scottsdale, AZ
Friday, 8:02 a.m.

Hello again my friend,

It feels like the world is broken. Everywhere you look you see turmoil and dysfunction.

This week alone we’ve seen massive flooding in Libya, Greece, and New York City.

Schools across the nation are literally collapsing as states like California, Maryland, Nevada and Pennsylvania try to find the billions necessary to provide the basic services to educate our children.

Across the country, big box retailers like Target are closing stores due to constant looting by teams of criminals who go unpunished.

The rule of law has broken down.

Sky-high gas prices plague the nation, cutting into the budgets of middle-class Americans already suffering from the inflationary effects of bad government policy.

And to top it all off, the U.S. Government narrowly avoided a shutdown this week because our politicians spent every penny they had and couldn’t agree on how they would spend the next pile of borrowed money.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the only sane person left on earth. I’m sure you feel the same way.

The 4th Turning

Since 2018 I’ve been warning of a massive upheaval in our economy and culture. I pointed to books like The 4th Turning that warned us in the late 1990’s that we would experience the period of disruption we’re in now.

You would think I’d be well prepared, both mentally and emotionally to weather the storm. Yet I find myself in the same situation as you. Wondering how much worse it needs to get before we turn the corner.

Sadly I think the answer is, “a lot worse”.

We’ve had it too good for to long. And just as the seasons cycle from summer to winter and back again, so does our culture.

Author G. Michael Hopf wrote:

“Hard times create strong men,
strong men create good times,
good times create weak men,
and weak men create hard times.”

We have raised weak children who have grown into weak leaders. They sit in positions of power as the heads of companies and governments.

To make matters worse they refuse to give up their power, allowing for a new, stronger generation to take over.

Senator Dianne Feinstein literally died in office this week at the age of 90. She refused to give up her seat even after months of hospital visits and near death misses.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has had two public incidents where it appears his brain shut off.

And don’t even get me started on President Biden who is determined to run for reelection despite the fact that he doesn’t know where he is half the time.

These power hungry seniors have overseen a national debt that has ballooned to 33 Trillion dollars.

That’s $99,023 per person in America.

And it’s increasing by $2 Trillion a year.

We are a nation with no way out. There are no good choices left. That’s why I say things are going to get worse. We’re going to have to take our pain, one way or another.

A New Awakening

Given all this negativity you might be surprised to know that I am very optimistic about our future. If history has taught us anything it’s that winter always leads into spring.

The hard times we face today are creating the strong men and women who will lead us into a new awakening where we will emerge stronger and better for the experience.

Technology advancements over the next 5 years are going to change our world so dramatically we’ll look back on 2023 as a kind of dark age.

I got a glimpse of what this future will look like thanks to Lex Fridman.

On his recent podcast, Lex visited with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the future of work and collaboration.

But this wasn’t just any interview.

Using VR headsets and hyperrealistic facial technology, Lex and Mark were able to have an in-person conversation with zero latency while hundreds of miles apart.

If you haven’t seen the interview you can watch it here.

But be warned. What you’re going to see is mind-blowing.

This technology, along with advancements in augmented reality (AR) will change everything about how we live, work and communicate with each other.

And we’re not talking about something that’s decades away. We’re talking about technology that will be available in the next 2 years.

The number of new industries and jobs that will emerge from this change can’t be estimated. What’s certain is that it will have a bigger impact on our world than the internet has.

How to Prepare for the New Awakening

How do you prepare yourself for such an uncertain future? A future of massive upheaval. Where occupations and institutions that have existed for hundreds of years disappear overnight.

You do it by ensuring you have options.

People with skills have options. The more varied and valuable your skills the more options you will have.

When you combine high-value skills with autonomy and mobility you have the greatest chance of thriving during times of hardship.

Now you know why I spend my life teaching people how to become Entrepreneurial Minimalists.

So you and your family can thrive during these times of struggle and emerge stronger for having had them.

Until next week,

Jason