Let’s be honest - it’s a bloodbath out there.

Layoffs & selloffs abound.

The Patriots are somehow already in the Super Bowl again (I think they will win too).

There’s just a lot of fear and frustration.

Much of today’s discourse revolves around the so-called “Great Displacement” of our jobs, our livelihoods, and our entire way of life (as we’ve come to know it).

In many circles, the boogeyman is AI. Thanks to our tech overlords, white collar America is experiencing the same outsourcing and off-shoring that blue collar America did a few decades ago.

While I can understand and appreciate the sentiment, I can’t help but take the other side of the doom and gloom. In many ways - I believe - we have more opportunity than ever before.

An early version of this newfound “opportunity” emerged in the form of the “creator economy” when anybody could post content, build an audience, and command attention-driven payouts. Sure, influencers are cringey, but they represented a profound shift in the ability to “make a name for yourself.”

No longer were you forced into a specific structure and archetype. Your iPhone was your ticket out - if you were willing to pay for it.

Of course, when I say “pay for it” I don’t necessarily mean monetarily. More-so: psychologically, mentally & emotionally.

It takes desire, discipline, self-assurance, and tenacity to take a leap and break the mold. To have the insane courage to learn the tools that allow you to build something for yourself.

That’s what I think today’s ai/tech/crypto/societal revolution affords us: the tools to build something for yourself. To me, it’s not displacement…it’s enhancement.

If you’re a visual creative or even just a normie with an idea you can’t escape who has never had the infrastructure or capital to materialize your vision, you can learn how to use Dream Machine and build it yourself. It’s easier, faster, and cheaper to study and learn the new tech than to break through bureaucratic gatekeeping systems of old.

Same with musicians. Always wanted to write a song? Download Suno and do it.

Marketer or Product leader frustrated or hung up by inefficiencies around your current work structure? Now LLM's remove roadblocks and increase your output - influenced by your vision.

Don't get me wrong - there's real beauty in making a movie with a team, slaving over an album with your bandmates, grinding on a product with collaborators. The community and memories you build are irreplaceable. That's the human part that matters most.

But here's what I'm really saying: this new world gives us groundbreaking ways to prove we're worth collaborating with in the first place. You can now build a proof of concept, ship a demo, create a calling card that attracts the fellow humans and communities you want to build new and exciting things with. You can achieve things you might have once thought impossible - not alone in your bedroom forever, but as a launchpad to find your people and do bigger things together.

The gatekeeping is going away and the abundance is coming.

The question isn't whether you'll get displaced. It's whether you'll learn the tools, build something that matters to you, and use it to connect with the humans who want to build alongside you.

We’re so lucky to have the opportunity to do so.

RP WEEKLY!!!!!