The wrong dream.
For all of my life, I’ve read, listened to, and watched various experts, politicians, and futurists make the case for automation on the basis that life will become easier, better, and with much more time for “leisure activities.”
Over six decades I’ve been fortunate to enjoy the development of television (it existed before I was born but only in b&w on three channels), the portable tape recorder, CD player, mobile phones, computers, the internet, smart phones, and much more – but find I work longer and harder than ever before, and certainly more than my parents generation did for the most part.
What’s more, as AI takes an increasing hold on many aspects of technology, and therefore on life generally, rather than being excited at its potential people seem increasingly scared of how it will affect them, in particular their job.
Given this, it seems that more “leisure time” isn’t as attractive as working longer and harder – or might it be that we’ve been sold the wrong dream?
One of my deep held beliefs is that everyone has unfulfilled potential, and at their core desires to achieve more. This viewpoint is the basis on which all my various business interests have been founded – to inspire people to fulfill their potential.
Of course the question to be answered is how to do that?
In one’s early years, say up to 40, it principally focuses on work and maximising earnings to hopefully both enjoy life and to create a platform for later years.
But the issue seems to be, what to do in those later years – and many, if not most people, don’t appear to have worked that out.
My sense is that retirement, defined by the Oxford dictionary as: “the action or fact of leaving one’s job and ceasing to work”, far from being desirable is a horrific prospect for many of us, the idea of being redundant is truly repugnant.
So instead of just working for work’s sake we need to redefine what the later years are meant for – and I argue that it’s far more than just “leisure activities”.
Perhaps a better dream is to continue to fulfil potential in the last chapters by contributing to the many issues we face?
There’s no shortage of problems at a personal, local, and international level, and if the culmination of all our working years is to enable us to make a meaningful contribution… well that’s a dream worth making come true.
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