The Monday Muse #9
The end of jobs, why oatmilk is bad for you, and the 1 thing to avoid if you are burned out
Welcome to the Monday Muse, a short round up of stuff that I found interesting in the last week. If you have comments or ideas you want to share, feel free to drop me a message.
1/ The end of jobs?
Many of my friends are struggling to get jobs right now. Even my smart, qualified friends with master’s and PhD’s aren’t having much luck. They, like most people, bought into the story that a good school and degree = job. This is the story that most of us have been told throughout our school years. If you’re lucky to have built a career already and are still “in demand,” then milk it while you can.
Unfortunately, that has not panned out for most people. This is due to increased job competition, reduction in hiring, globalization, automation, the large supply of college graduates and not enough demand/growth in jobs, and I would argue the slog of the whole job search that’s extremely digital and automated…it’s exhausting. Case in point, as I was looking up a YouTube video right now, an ad for Zapier pops up, which starts with the CEO saying… “The only way is to automate it…”
And yet, despite the struggle, I have another group of friends who seem to be thriving. Who are they? These are my friends who are creators, coaches and entrepreneurs. They are the ones who took a big “risk” to do their own thing. You usually only hear about the successes and not the failures, and admittedly my sample size is biased. But they are doing something right. Through trial and error, many of them seem to have unearthed a niche that’s worked out for them. They are not talking about “getting a job,” but are excited about working on their next project, online course or building their next startup.
Over 15 years ago in his book, The End of Jobs, entrepreneur Taylor Pearson pointed out that stable jobs were declining and entrepreneurship was actually a safer choice. People are starting to realize this. A friend I met recently who spent a long time at one of the largest and most “stable” tech company’s in the world sees the writing on the wall and is planning her path to become an executive coach. Another friend is taking on social media gigs on the side of his full-time job in order to build his portfolio and go solo in the next few months. Heck, one friend is even moving to Thailand to start a business selling baked yams. If there’s a will, there’s a way!
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” ― Taylor Pearson
Once/if the situation becomes too dire and unemployment increases drastically, then universal basic income might become a thing in the future. But until that point (if that even happens), it’s really in your hands. And it all depends on the story you’re telling yourself: you can tell yourself that you’re a victim or you can throw out your assumptions and start over. If you’re feeling the struggle right now and a bit jaded by the economic situation and a career that hasn’t panned out, let me know in the comments below. Here is a video summary of the book End of Jobs that goes over the core concepts — and I of course recommend the book.
2/ Try to leave your favorite services…and get discounts
Want to save some money this year? Go and try to cancel some of your favorite services. Many services, from LinkedIn to Betterhelp, give you massive discounts and free subscriptions if you try and cancel. I tried to cancel my Recruiter Lite account on LinkedIn last week and they gave me a 50% discount for two months. That saved me $80.
Popular services that give you money when you try and cancel:
Audible gives you $20
Amazon prime - they’ll throw something in to lure you back depending on what services you use the most like “3 months free of kindle unlimited”
BetterHelp - free or massively discounted subscription for 2-3 months
LinkedIn - various discounts for cancelling recruitment and premium features
New York Times - 50% off for a month if you try and cancel
Sirius and XM Radio - variable discounts, talk to their customer support
Almost everyone except basic utilities (electricity, water, gas) can be negotiated. The key lies in how you approach it.
You: What is the cancellation fee for my account? (even if you know there isn't one.) By asking this question, you demonstrate that you are carefully considering your options and making an informed decision.
Them: Let me transfer you to our customer retention department.
You: Repeat your question.
Them: Why are you considering cancellation?
You: I can't afford it and have found a cheaper provider...
Them: Would you consider staying if we could...
The goal is to maintain calm and cooperative, ensuring that the phone representative will be willing to work with you. If unsuccessful, repeat the process.
3/ Why oatmilk isn’t that good for you
People choose non-dairy options because they are lactose intolerant or because they are vegan/vegetarian — and perhaps a few because they prefer the flavor. But many of the non-animal products are loaded with unnatural ingredients and additives to make them taste better or improve their consistency, texture and so forth. My wife made a shocking discovery recently about oatmilk. Apparently, most oatmilk is made with sunflower oil (and sometimes canola oil).
So what? Sunflower oil is an industrial seed oil that is a major source of inflammatory omega-6 fats in modern diets. Seed oils oxidize much faster than their healthier counterparts like olive oil or coconut oil. They’re heated in the process when being made, and even when not cooked, they start to quickly oxidize when sitting on a store shelf…or the countertop of your local Starbucks. My buddy made a good video about the danger of vegetable and seed oils here. Lastly, oatmilk is strained of its fiber during it’s processing, so it’s basically just sugar. (there are some oatmilks that don’t have any oils in them, so check your labels)
4/ Do NOT do this if you have burnout
I’ve been working on a book about my one of favorite topic nowadays — Burnout —and using Substack as a scratchpad and playground for some of the chapters (stay tuned for announcement on the book soon, as well as details of my writing process!). I’m also making some youtube videos to share these ideas in a short and digestible way, the first one below:
When I was in the thick of my burnout, all I wanted to do was chill on the couch, eat jars of almond butter and watch episodes of How to Get Away with Murder. Maybe a walk in the park. Taking the popular advice to go for a long run or HIIT at my CrossFit gym would have made things worse. Counterintuitively, one study found that exercise does not help with burnout recovery, and in some cases will prolong your recovery. When you've become chronically stressed to the point of burnout, your body is like an athletes who has overtrained. Your body does not need more stress from exercises. Instead, your body needs more sleep, to replenish vitamins, gentle exercise, maybe some yoga...and Rest.
5/ Quotes that made me think
"Here’s why combining allowances with chores is not good for kids. By linking money to the completion of chores, parents turn an allowance into an “if-then” reward. This sends kids a clear (and clearly wrongheaded) message: In the absence of a payment, no self-respecting child would willingly set the table, empty the garbage, or make her own bed.
It converts a moral and familial obligation into just another commercial transaction—and teaches that the only reason to do a less-than-desirable task for your family is in exchange for payment. This is a case where combining two good things give you less, not more.
So keep allowance and chores separate, and you just might get that trash can emptied. Even better, your kids will begin to learn the difference between principles and payoffs." (from "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" by Daniel H. Pink)
It’s unbelievable how many unhealthy extra in products that are marketed as good for you. I recently discovered that some of my vitamins have corn syrup and maltodextrin. What??? Read the labels!
Oatmilk blows! I was disappointed that pretty much every time I order a latte at Blue Bottle they ask "with Oatmilk?"