Pull to Eject

If you’ve been working in a corporate gig for more than a decade you get it. The wrong people get promoted and the wrong people get cut. There doesn’t seem to be enough rhyme or reason for many decisions. And today’s blended version of office and wfh is just exacerbating the lack of getting things done.

Have you finally had enough? The good news is that your work experience is invaluable in the marketplace of ideas. If you generate measurable results, there’s a good chance that could be turned into a product or service for many others.

Even better news: the Creator Economy is gaining momentum and the waves are just forming sets for the next decade. The platforms for creating, selling, and accounting for your services are robust and inexpensive. You only need a laptop, wifi and the computer skills of a 12-year old to turn your experience into income. It’s never been easier to start a new business.

The most direct route off the corporate merry-go-round is YOU. No one else is coming. Realize the value of your work experience … and get paid for it.

Now go launch something 🚀 

Modern Tools

I’ve changed tools so many times over the past 30 years that I’ve lost count. Sure, you can keep all the files on your computer and manage email, but there are much better solutions today - many of them are free to start. Here are 2 excellent choices for your new project:

• Notion - Infinitely configurable, so you can work the way you want, Notion can be used for notes, projects, documents, wikis, and more. Notion is the no code way to organize all your digital assets.

  • Some creators are actually selling Notion pages as products - download the PDF or Notion version of digital product

  • It’s a great communication platform for partners and clients

  • There’s an entire cottage industry selling Notion templates that might jump start your business

• ChatGPT - Everyone is talking about this chatbot. And it’s easy to experiment for free. Generate all sorts of marketing content with natural language prompts. Use the output as draft for your edits or ask it to regenerate a different version until you get something better.

  • Write detailed prompts targeting your exact target audience

  • Ask ChatGPT to write blogs for specific SEO keywords

  • Some creators are selling prompts as a stand alone product that you simply plug into your ChatGPT instance.

Old School Wisdom

John Carlton’s book: The Entrepreneurs Guide to Getting Shit Done - Carlton pulls no punches and may be the best sales thinker of the last 50 years. Re-read it. Thank me later.

Free Knowledge

Massive Open Online Courses (MooC’s) have been around for more than a decade, and plenty of free knowledge if you know where to look. The latest headlines about AI taking your job? Do you know anything more than just the gaslighting headlines? Spend a weekend learning what’s possible. There are thousands of courses, but here are 3 solid intros:

1. “AI for Everyone”, a non-technical course, will help you understand AI technologies and spot opportunities to apply AI to problems in your own organization.

2. Google's "Introduction to Generative AI" provides an overview of generative AI concepts, from the fundamentals of large language models to responsible AI principles.

3. "Artificial Intelligence for Beginners" - A longer Curriculum from Microsoft.

Visual Crapshoot

Do you know someone who should read the Launch Key? You know what to do