Tag Archives: Future of work

Life is a Flywheel: Building Momentum for Lasting Success

In the ever-evolving experiment that is life, it’s essential to understand how our actions and efforts contribute to our overall progress. One powerful metaphor that encapsulates this idea is the concept of “life is a flywheel.” This analogy highlights the significance of consistent effort and the momentum that builds over time, leading to substantial and lasting success.

Understanding the Flywheel

A flywheel is a heavy rotating wheel used in machinery to store rotational energy. At first, it takes considerable effort to get the flywheel moving. However, once it gains momentum, it continues spinning with minimal additional energy. This mechanical principle can be applied to various aspects of our lives, illustrating how small, consistent actions can lead to significant progress.

Building Momentum in Life

Just like starting a flywheel, the initial stages of any endeavor often require immense effort and patience. Whether you’re learning a new skill, building a career, or starting a business, the beginning can feel slow and demanding. Progress might seem incremental, but every small push adds to the overall momentum.

The Power of Consistent Effort

Imagine giving the flywheel continuous, small pushes. Over time, these efforts accumulate, and the flywheel spins faster and more efficiently. In life, this translates to daily practice, regular exercise, or continuous learning. Consistency is key. By making steady progress, we build a strong foundation that supports our long-term goals.

The Compounding Effect

One of the most exciting aspects of the flywheel metaphor is the compounding effect. As momentum builds, the effort required to achieve greater results decreases. This can be seen in personal growth, relationships, and professional achievements. The energy invested in the beginning pays off exponentially over time, leading to accelerated success.

Sustainability and Resilience

A well-maintained flywheel can store energy and keep moving even when new pushes are infrequent. Similarly, good habits and foundational skills help sustain progress during challenging times. Life’s unexpected setbacks won’t derail your journey because the momentum you’ve built will carry you through.

Embrace the Flywheel Mindset

Understanding that “life is a flywheel” encourages us to embrace patience, perseverance, and consistency. Every small action contributes to the bigger picture, and over time, these actions create unstoppable momentum.

Skills for the Future of Work

The flywheel concept is especially relevant when considering the skills needed for the future of work. In a rapidly changing job market, adaptability, continuous learning, and resilience are crucial. Just as with a flywheel, building these skills requires ongoing effort and dedication. By investing in personal development and embracing lifelong learning, you can build momentum that will help you thrive in the dynamic future of work. At Life is a Laboratory, we believe in experimenting with different strategies, learning from our experiences, and continuously pushing forward. By adopting the flywheel mindset, you can transform your life into a series of meaningful, progressive steps towards lasting success.

For more insights and strategies on effective goal setting, check out our courses and resources on personal growth. So, the next time you feel your efforts are not yielding immediate results, remember the flywheel. Keep pushing, stay consistent, and watch as the momentum builds, propelling you towards your goals with increasing ease and efficiency.

Future Jobs Post Covid-19

For the past number of weeks I have been updating my online course Future Skills 2030-Prepare for the 4th Industrial Revolution. As a part of this updating process I have been thinking and reading a lot about the future of jobs post the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article I want to share with you the key things that I have learned.

Covid-19 and the future of work

The first thing that I want to say is that technological change is relentless with or without the pandemic. In the online course I cover the major areas of technological change occurring in the world. I discuss technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, nanotechnology and biotechnology. In fact I cover 17 key areas of technological change. I also look at how technological change combines with other major changes such as climate change, globalisation and population growth. In 2020 we have an additional unprecedented driver of global change – the corona virus pandemic.

Change

Before the pandemic came along change was happening anyway in the world and at a rapid pace. A future of work largely defined by an increased prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and digital adoption was always anticipated. In March 2020, more than a third of humanity was in lock-down to prevent the spread of the virus. According to the United Nations the COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion learners in more than 190 countries and all continents. From the start of the pandemic, it was clear that digital businesses and organisations would be among the few winners. And so it has proved. Lockdowns have encouraged a remarkable acceleration in digitalisation across many sectors. These include online retail and digital finance, online entertainment, telehealth, remote working and distance learning.

Lifelong learning

Skills and lifelong learning are crucial for long-term and sustainable growth, productivity and innovation and therefore a key factor for the competitiveness of individuals and businesses of all sizes. In particular the twin green and  digital transitions are reshaping the way we live, work and interact. Covid-19 is an accelerator of change. We live in a time of transitions. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey data 2020* shows that nearly half of all workers will need reskilling by 2025. Therefore we all need to reskill and upskill on an ongoing basis to remain relevant.

Taking action

We cannot reply on our employers to provide the reskilling and upkilling that we need. This may or may not happen, therefore we need to take charge of our own learning. Right now I am working to upgrade my own skills for the future. I am undertaking the Cyber Security Specialisation on Coursera which is taught by the New York University. One thing that I have learned is that cyber security is a key cross-cutting issue in our digital world. In the coming years more and more people and things will be connected to the internet of everything. As this happens cyber security will become ever more important and this is an area I am interested in. How about you? How will you re-skill and upskill to prepare for the future of jobs post-covid? A future of work that is now accelerating faster towards us due to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

Best wishes,

Tom

PS. If you would like to learn more about the future of work , the technologies and forces driving change in our world and how to reskill and upskill, please check out my online course for the sale price of only $13.99 (90% off): Future Skills 2030-Prepare for the 4th Industrial Revolution. The course has been updated for 2021. The course is also curated as part of the Udemy for Business programme which includes top business courses selected from Udemy.com

As you prepare for 2021 you might be interested in my Goal Setting course for only $12.99 (82% off) : Goal Setting 101: How to Set and Achieve Goals 2021. Make sure and set yourself a learning goal for 2021.

Please note that the above course offers expire on 15/1/2021.

*World Economic Forum – The Future of Jobs Report 2020