What Are You Afraid Of

When was the last time you openly shared your fears? Rational or not, we all have them; however, most keep them bottled up inside, pretending like they don’t exist.

 I am afraid of two things:

1 – Snakes (we don’t need to talk about it—I hate them).

2 – Ageism—I am afraid of being 42 and out of work.

It’s not my age as much as it is the perception that I might not have done enough to evolve, learn, and grow at a pace faster than the younger, cooler, more tech-savvy competitors who are entering the workforce every day. I look around at friends, clients, and mentors who were once subject matter experts in their field and who now find themselves struggling to understand TikTok and Twitch before their next job interview. This is in no way a dig against those individuals, I have appreciated their guidance in the past.  Today, I look at their current struggle through an empathetic lens and with a desire to help.

I want to help myself stay relevant for as long as possible—and assist others by sharing what I learn along the way. I do this by obsessively watching tech review videos, studying management best practices, reading voraciously, and polling Gen Zers about newly released apps like Houseparty and Marco Polo.  I then share these findings via the LinkedIn articles that I pen along the way.

I recently started a LinkedIn accountability group with my friend, Glenn Boothe, to help educate our 19 members on the benefits of LinkedIn.  I also created this to serve as a source of motivation for myself—and produce more content in the process.

After a recent interview with group member, Daryl Motte, where he shared some simple tips for creating LinkedIn video content, I was encouraged to start a video series that helps a broader audience #LevelUp their knowledge base. I took his guidance to heart and starting next week you will see me publish weekly content with the primary purpose of sharing what I have learned and showcasing emerging trends in tech and content creation.

With every LinkedIn connection I make and article I write, I am becoming less afraid of the unknown.

Let me know what you are afraid of, as well as any way that I might be able to help you get over that fear.

Michael