New Year, New You? Creating your own path through curiosity & connection

I kicked off the year listening to the book, “The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business” written by Elaine Pofeldt in 2018, and if you watched me walk around my house as I listened, you’d see me nodding my head like a never-stopping bobblehead. The introduction hooked me in with this statement: “we don’t know yet what a world of increasingly independent workers will mean; we have never had as many free agents as we do today. As of 2010, The U.S Accountability Office says that 40% of US Workers have alternative work arrangements in their main jobs, meaning they are freelancers, temps, contractors, contract company workers, or part-timers…” 

Projections estimate that 50% of the US workforce will be independent gig workers by 2025-2030. I’ve followed this shift almost my entire career as someone who graduated college at the height of the recession in 2009. The gig life was how I survived professionally. In my late 20’s, I worked myself into a traditional job situation and eliminated my side hustles, thinking, “this is the dream!” That lasted only a few years before I realized, again, that I wanted something more. I wasn’t built for a traditional 9-5 job. I didn’t want that rigid of a schedule. I’ve honestly never wanted it. When I left my job in 2017, I had no idea how I would afford to freelance again as my financial status and responsibility had changed drastically from my early 20’s when I had very little financial responsibility. Imagine my surprise when within a few months, I was making significantly more money than I had ever made, and I’ve never looked back. The last two years, I took a financial hit because I decided to take off six months two years in a row to focus on other life things. There are moments when the anxiety creeps in because of the shift, and then I’m reminded how hard I’ve worked to buy back my time and the ability to even do that. 

Why am I sharing this? Because I’m excited to see the opportunities shift in the workforce and see more people taking the risk to buy back their time, flexibility, and, dare I say, freedom. This shift in the workforce was sped up by the pandemic, which seemed to enhance this craving for “something more” in people’s lives.

Over the past several years, there’s been a growing collective desire for our work to become more purposeful, and in the last couple of years especially–stateside at least–our personal lives have become more prioritized. For a long time, job seekers have felt like they are at the mercy of what companies create for them, which often causes job descriptions and 9-5 roles to feel limiting. There’s now more demand for restructuring as people desire more control and connection to their work.

The more I watch this shift happen, the more I’m noticing leaders feel the pressure to shift how they run their business because employees demand a different relationship and dynamic in their work life. 

So, if you’ve been feeling this itch or urge in your gut or heart or a piquing interest to get out of the loop of traditional career design, this is a great moment in time for you. 

This is an opportunity to explore and own your own path.

The key to unlocking new, exciting, and fulfilling opportunities isn’t another degree or certificate, a perfect resume, or a LinkedIn Learning Badge–though those things aren’t bad, they’re rarely what you actually need to shift your focus.

The real key is people. It’s about conversations with people to explore what’s possible. I’ve seen it time and time again. When you invest in making real human connections rather than accepting that the job postings are all that are available to you, the opportunities you can create become endless.

When you focus on making real connections with people you find interesting, you begin to discover what kind of opportunities actually exist out there (or what could exist), what they’re really all about, and you can start to identify what seems like a good fit not by determining if you can do the work, but if you want to spend your time doing that work.

It starts with curiosity and listening. 

Human connection opens opportunities we never could imagine, but it all starts with being curious. Creating your own opportunities, starting your own small business, or pursuing flexible gig work may feel far-fetched, but if you can begin by listening to what other people are saying, you’ll be surprised by what you can discover. As you actively look to connect with people in industries you love or positions you admire, practice active listening and begin to visualize how your unique skills and passions can fill in the gaps you’re uncovering.

What are people struggling with in their jobs or companies? What needs aren’t being met? Where can you step in with your skill set and interests to provide a valuable solution?

If you find that you have skills that can better people’s businesses, make their lives easier, or help them reach their goals in a new and creative way, that’s your opportunity to piece together your own kind of work—a gig, a business, a position—even if it doesn’t exist right now. Now, this requires genuine listening, not projecting your expectation of what you hope you can do for people, but listening for their actual pain points. It’s about making a genuine effort to connect with people you’re interested in knowing and taking the time to listen and learn from them.

Exploring new connections.

But what if there are no clear connections to the types of people you want to know? Let’s take a look at your social media habits. Are you using social media to your advantage? Rather than just constantly consuming it, there are limitless possibilities for making and fostering new connections on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok–really, wherever you spend time virtually, there are genuine connections to be made. And just because you’re not in someone's circle already doesn’t mean you don’t belong there. If you can extend yourself and ask a question to someone you would love to know more about, you'd be amazed by how many people actually want to connect with you and how many people are willing to build those relationships.

If you go in with the intent to find your people and lead with curiosity about who they are and what makes them tick, you may be surprised at the connections you can build and the opportunities that come from them. For example, I once got to help coordinate M. Night Shyamalan’s wife’s 50th birthday party in Costa Rica because of a connection I made on Instagram over tacos and bad dating stories…that’s a story for another time…but the point is, opportunities can come from the wildest of places when you open yourself up to the possibilities and connect from a genuine place.

My point is to keep exploring, be curious, and talk to people you’re surrounded by wherever you are, whether that’s on social media, at a workout class, a social club, a cohort, or at a party with people you’ve never met. 

It’s day four of a new year, and if you’ve been feeling the desire to design something that allows you to live the life you want instead of settling for the jobs that others create for you, you have to start doing things differently, getting out of your comfort zone, and letting your curiosity lead you to connection. You have so many options if you let your curiosity unravel, play, and lead you down an unexpected path. I’d love to hear what you’re exploring. My inbox is always open to you, so should you feel called to connect, I’d love to hear from you: lia@andhuman.space