Nothing Actually Changed

I don't know if you experience it like I do, but the last couple of years have been crazy on all fronts: tech, politics, and the economy — everything is redlining.

Now is as good a time as any to remind you that the fundamentals haven't changed, and never will:

Money comes from value. You can sell snake oil, but you won't be able to do it for long — and you probably won't enjoy the karma from it.
There is no immediate future where humans won't be needed. AI leaders jump between "all jobs are going to be gone" and "humans will always be needed." Sure, we don't really need SOME of the tech professions anymore, but there's even more work now "upstream" — and every engineer I know is reporting that they now have MORE, not LESS, work. Today's AI rewards solo contributors more than teams, but this will change as soon as we more effectively crack cross-team context — and this will even out as well.
Call me old-fashioned, but the chances that the economy is NOT in a bubble are slim to none. This doesn't mean we don't have years until it pops, but it will. Even if I'm wrong, it's better to prepare accordingly. Not financial advice.

What does all of this mean for you? It means that nothing actually changed.

Sure, the players changed and the game changed — but not the fundamentals.

You still need to be smart, skilled, knowledgeable, prudent, and brave to make it. I know you were hoping AI might take some of that off your shoulders, but asymmetric advantage only works if the other guy doesn't have it.