We are living in a period of massive, unbelievable, and relentless change.

It’s been said before, but it’s never been more true than it is right now. Ok, that has been said before too, but believe me, things are changing in monumental ways right now as you read this book.

Over the course of this book, you’ll realize why these opening lines are actually understatements.

To put it more bluntly, we are living in the period of the most rapid change ever seen by humanity. And, if the past is any indication of the future, this pace of change will only continue to accelerate more and more in the coming years.

Do you want to survive this change? If so, the only solution is to radically adapt to the changing landscape.

You need to Disrupt Yourself.

Think these changes only impact the younger generations? Think again. Still-working Baby Boomers and GenX-ers will have to adapt or will be forced to leave the workforce early.

Your career is being disrupted.

You need to act now to Disrupt Yourself.

A graduate in the 2010’s will work for an average of 2.75 companies in their first 5 years of employment compared to 1.75 for a graduate during the 1980’s (LinkedIn)

A millennial or GenZ-er is estimated to have almost 3x as many jobs during their career as a Baby Boomer or GenX-er.

It’s easier than ever to start a business. Even if you aren’t planning to start one yourself, this increase in accessibility and entrepreneurship will impact your working career (if it hasn’t already).

The competitive barriers that once protected large, “stable” companies are crumbling. No company, no matter how competitive it is today, is ensured to exist in even 10 short years.

Even the CEO of the most valuable company in the world (Jeff Bezos; Amazon) said recently: “If you look at large companies, their lifespans tend to be 30-plus years, not a hundred-plus years.”

If the most valuable company in the world is predicting its own demise, how can you put unwavering confidence in the company you’re working for to be around for the duration of your working life? You can’t and you shouldn’t.

Even if you aren’t working in a very clearly declining industry like Newspapers or Movie Rentals, you may be surprised that automation has already begun disrupting industries like:

• Port Operations (-58% since 2007)
  
• Professional Employer Organizations (-48% since 2007)
  
• Savings Institutions/Retail Banking (-46% since 2007)
  

These industries and many others have rapidly shed half of their workforce while the economy has been in the longest period of growth in history. Imagine if our economy was in a downturn, these industries would have collapsed even further.

Industry disruption has already come and you need to get ahead of it by Disrupting Yourself.

A slow progression upward through the ranks at a nameless mega-corporation with an obligatory home purchase and 2.5 children in the suburbs no longer meets the definition of “success” for Millennials and Gen Z.

Success to these generations looks much more like a strong work-life balance, great work amenities, unlimited vacation, tiny houses, and frequent leisure travel.

Because of this changing definition of success, companies are changing, benefits are changing, and cities are changing.

There is no longer the guarantee of a 9-5, 40 hour per week job. There is no longer a separation between “work” and “life” with tools like Slack, Google Hangouts, and collaborative tools. 

 There is no longer the guarantee of retirement.

Millennials and Gen Z-ers are already planning to work longer than previous generations, bumping the expected retirement age up to 70 from 65.

Between the elimination of pensions, the unstable future of Social Security, and Millennials’ poorer saving habits, early retirement is looking less and less likely.

With all of this change happening everywhere at a faster pace than ever before, how can you possibly keep up? The truth is, there is really only one way: You need to continuously Disrupt Yourself.

If you stay the same, much like the companies (and industries) that have disappeared over the past decade, things won’t end well.

In short, you need to disrupt your career, you need to build your brand, you need to become a life-long learner, and you need to invest.

Sound exhausting?

Don’t worry, I’ll be with you every step of the way to help you achieve success in the new economy.

Let’s dive in and start disrupting.