A Pivotal Time for Humanity: Why We Need to Re-Evaluate Our Value As A Species

When I moved off-grid in 2020 with my soon-to-be-husband, Justin, I had the opportunity to confront

the Self I had conjured in an attempt to fit in to the norms of being someone who is "successful", "happy" and "valuable".

We had relocated just after I launched a new mailing campaign which included a fully loaded folder

of collateral that included an introduction to myself and even these pretty cool cards that debuted

teammates and our offerings for the upcoming year;

I had already laid the groundwork for this campaign by introducing myself in person

and was excited to start relationships with local business owners and non-profit founders.

Before we had moved out of Reno, I was renting an office downtown and was applying for apartments

right across the street so I could walk to work everyday.

It was my idyllic city living scenario.

So while the move to rural Nevada was done voluntarily, I still was holding on to the hopes of making

a partial life in the city work - even if it meant I could only be there once per week with visits to businesses.

Off the grid, I had access to internet via my phone's data which, as you probably already know,

can get real impractical when you're barely scraping by.

So my second best option with one vehicle for the household was to bring Justin to work and use the wi-fi in nearby parking lots.

Keep in mind, since it was the height of COVID, cafes weren't allowing anyone to be inside to work anymore.

And the more I tried, the more frustrated I felt. Soon, I had to cave to the reality - having my own business wasn't working.

I really had a hard time accepting that. That was until one day all of the mailing campaign materials somehow fell out of the back of our car and I found them coming home one day scattered along the road.

I was devastated.

It wasn't just about the hours and money I had poured into these campaigns.

I could easily reprint these and try again.

It's just that, to me, it felt like it was the Universe destroying the last attempt I made to tie myself to a life in the city that no longer matched my current reality.

While it felt instantly demoralizing, I also felt a sense of relief like I could fully give myself to our new homesteading lifestyle, free of pressure to have a back up plan.

The next two years followed with a severe depression and existential crisis.

I'm talking a deep-seeded heaviness that would weigh me to the bed for most of the day.

I would get up to work on projects occasionally, but on top of some other emotional baggage I wasn't addressing,

the sudden implosion of what made me feel worthy of being alive was hard to take.

So what made me feel worthy of being alive?

It was the conveniences of the city - the air conditioning, being able to pop over to a friend's house on the fly,

grabbing a good cup of coffee or a tasty bite to eat when I wanted to.

Well, looking back, I guess what I just mentioned is what made me feel happy to be alive -

you know, being entertained in palette, social activities and the freedom of travel day-to-day.

But what made me feel worthy of being alive?

In the dead stillness of the desert I can now tell that the convenience of air conditioning and the city noise

happily distracted me from the reality that I was placing my worth as a human in possessions,

achievements and being busy.

If I was productive, making progress and doing, I felt worthy of being alive.

For the next depressing two years, all of the suppressed fight to be somebody, to feel important, to be happy -

it all flooded out of me. Until one day, I didn't have to fight for anything anymore.

I didn't have to prove myself. I didn't have to be worthy of anything or even feel happy;

I just had to be.

And when I approached business again, I approached it as an executive who was hosting a collective mission.

I allowed the work to flow through me, so business became about the mission itself -

not about achieving anything or making a name for myself.

And as I've been optimizing the Legacy Brand Leader Blueprint and learning about the advances of AI,

I'm seeing how critical it is for all of us to evaluate our value proposition as humans.

If we remain feeling we or others are valuable only because of what we do or achieve,

we are going to have a rude awakening once technology begins taking over jobs in mass quantities.

Some of us are already seeing this happen; first it was a few cashiers at a grocery store replaced by self-checkouts. Now, we're seeing writers being replaced by Chat GPT.

And that's just two examples.

Now is a critical time for humans to evaluate our value as human beings if we are going to be able to steward AI for humanitarian, wildlife and environmental advances.

Why?

Because if we can't substantiate our value of being, we're going to have a hard time feeling valuable when tasks are handed to machines at work or at home or when the money disappears.

Unless we value being human and integrate our value as human beings into our workplaces and our relationships,

we will only operate as the machines who will inevitably replace us.

And that leaves us as followers of technology, not stewards of it.

So, to whoever is reading this, ask yourself:

"If I were without money, without possessions and if all I had was my humanity; would that be enough for me?"

If you answer no to this question, then it might be time to find some meaning and fulfillment in your life as nature -

because that's what you and all of us are!

If you can answer yes, consider sharing your story to inspire others who might be struggling with the fast pace of AI and the changes it's brought to our businesses, workloads and homes.

No matter what your answer is, if you've read this newsletter and have been impacted in some way,

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.