The Power of Mobility

The Power of Mobility

The Power of Mobility

 

 

Today, your choices are so ridiculously plentiful, but are you scared?

It’s always good to follow successful people, no matter how you define success. Success leaves clues and if you dig enough, you can use those clues to help you along the way. It’s not about following someone else’s journey or being someone else, it’s about borrowing their compass or hiking map to make sure you do not get lost. In some ways, I hope this newsletter helps people with that very thing.

One tool that I find is vastly under-utilized is the power of mobility or choice. In fact, I would argue that many of the truly successful (my definition of success is below) people I know, do this single thing better than others. They leverage the power of choice.

Today, thanks to technology and human progress, we are presented with more choices and options than at any time in the history of this planet, and it’s not even close. Even more, the true risk of making a bad choice today is so far lower than it ever has been while the opportunity value is at an all-time high. Life is about properly managing opportunity vs risk and the ratio today is incredibly in your favor.

Let’s take something simple, but important, like your job or income. If you are not happy with either of these, sit back and really think about the options you have. It’s a global economy today with half of them working on Zoom. You can make a single post on LinkedIn or Facebook and tell 10,000 people you are looking for a job. You can search google for “best jobs in 2021” and have tons of options.

You can start a new online store, newsletter, or blog today. You can sign up for a stockbroker account, invest in Crypto, or invest in an automated solution such as Wealthfront in 8 minutes.

Think about how insanely simple this is compared to your parents at your age. What hoops would they have had to go through to invest in real estate and start a side gig publishing articles?

What about your network? The old adage is that your net worth is your network, and 30 years ago, that was a bit challenging to change. Today, you can literally join a new network on Clubhouse, LinkedIn, Reddit, or Facebook and be connected with people around the world by lunchtime. Even crazier is that you can hop on a Zoom call with someone in a far-off land and ask his advice on just about anything. Imagine the efforts Marcus Aurelius would have had to undertake to get the thoughts of an Asian philosopher. You can do that in 144 characters or less.

Need a change of scenery, how easy is it to move? People treat moving as if it’s the most difficult or riskiest thing in the world, but it’s not, at least not in the US. You can sell your house, buy a new one, move, and be in a new city by next week in some cases. Even more, you can come back (or undo) this decision just as easily. If you are living in a city that is trending downward or stuck in your small little hometown, what are you waiting for? Relocate to a city on the upswing and ride the wave of growth. There is a reason successful people flock to San Francisco, Austin, and Miami.

If your debt is too high, you can refinance with a phone app. If you want to remodel your kitchen, you can save thousands watching a you-tube video. If you want to open a business offering lawn services, you can write a check and Facebook will send this announcement to 10,000 people by lunchtime.

Do you want to visit a volcano, see the great midwest, or take a road trip across the country? Do it this weekend. How difficult is it really with Google Maps, AirBNB, Yelp, unlimited data cell phone plans, and 18 hours of podcasts to help you along the way?

In a lot of ways, people refer to this as taking action but ultimately, it’s about making intentional choices instead of making chit-chat. So many people talk a big game, talk about their dream home, and a dream job, in their dream city. Talk about what they would invest in, or how they would have no problem giving someone money for their startup. They live in the world of “I should”, “I would”, or “If I were you” instead of the world of “I did”. They keep thinking their hold up is a lack of knowledge when in reality, they just did not make an intentional choice to change, or they are too scared and can’t say it out loud.

We’re all gonna die and it will come soon no matter how old you are. Whether you believe you are heading to Valhalla, Heaven, Tom Cruise’s penthouse, or the home of the Spaghetti Monster when it’s all over, none of the “what-ifs” will matter then.

As promised, my definition of success. It’s not about money, or even happiness per se. It’s about doing what you truly want, with who you truly want, when and where you want to do it, how you want to do it, with no mental weight holding you down. That is what I deem as success.

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