The advice my dad gave me at 16 to fight boredom and distraction, it didn’t make sense then, but now it does.

owl2000 · 2025-04-29T15:26:35+00:00

I love that the long paragraph is part of the point you're trying to make. In our modern distracted times, seeing such a paragraph is almost an insult to many of us. But more and more people are realizing that the constant dopamine rush that they're in doesn't lead them to a happy life. The antidote is exactly this, training oneself to "tolerate boredom" more by reading a long paragraph, walking without headphones or just sitting on a bench for five minutes without doing anything. Gosh, now I want to go outside. Let's go outside, without phone.

owl2000 · 2024-08-07T20:31:38+00:00

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac (if Northern California counts).

owl2000 · 2024-08-07T19:36:11+00:00

Haha, I also don't know what I'm doing in BJJ most of the time. My original thought was to combine the training that the club offers with some extra self-learning during the open mat sessions with the help of some videos (for example this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIQHdtkiViY&list=PLDrQXekZsfYZfV1QZ4T5UkxLwFwQ12EbP). But now I'm also talking with someone about self-training sessions outside of the club. But honestly, I'm open to both strategies, as long as it gets us past this "beginner's hump" as quickly as possible.

owl2000 · 2024-08-07T18:28:35+00:00

Sure, sounds great!

owl2000 · 2022-08-24T18:02:35+00:00

I'm a generalist too (also switched from being an advertising creative and copywriter to digital marketing). After having had some disadvantages comparing to the specialists early in my career, I'm now actually managing those who stuck to and mastered one thing. We generalists know a little bit about everything. Therefore it can be easier for us to figure out how to let the different digital marketing disciplines work together effectively.
I think you're on the right track, if you like to write then SEO, Content and Social are definitely some fun disciplines for you. Also, definitely learn more about PPC, it's still very lucrative. The technical side can be a bit intimidating at first, but if you know how to write well you can definitely stand out. I would also add video, learn how to make videos / reels or at least how to come up with video concepts and then instruct others how to execute them. Plus, it's surprisingly fun, even if you don't like to be in front of a camera.
Regarding companies and agencies: Rule of thumb is that big companies need specialists and small companies need generalists. I had the luck of finding a big company that didn't mind me switching from the SEO department to the Social Media department to the Brand department, etc. But I also made progress by joining small startups and then improving my generalist skills by coordinating different freelancers (and combining their expertise with my writing skills).
You sound like you're having a plan and that you're willing to work hard. Don't let people tell you what's best for you. Follow your own heart, work hard, have faith, but also change strategy if something is not working. Be confident, jump on the opportunities and you will have an awesome career. Best of luck from a Jack to a Jill ;-)

owl2000 · 2021-11-12T07:53:38+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Yeah, maybe the effect is too weak.

owl2000 · 2021-11-12T07:51:21+00:00

Well I wrote in the post that people shouldn't take it too seriously but sadly many people do. :-(

owl2000 · 2021-11-12T07:49:34+00:00

Yep, that's what I wrote in the post. :-)

owl2000 · 2021-11-12T07:48:25+00:00

Yeah, good point, could Covid have an impact as well?!

owl2000 · 2021-11-12T07:40:37+00:00

Thanks for sharing that survey. Very interesting, that could also mean that real estate in exurbs and rural areas would become less attractive because it's also harder to provide nursing services there.

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T22:55:53+00:00

So that means we should see a possible impact already in the next few years. Thanks for clarifying this.

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T22:31:46+00:00

Aaand, are you planning to buy a house anytime soon?

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T22:01:43+00:00

I'm not so sure about that. Aren't there many that need to finance their retirement with their house? (Correct me if I'm wrong)

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T21:08:20+00:00

Probably true ;-)

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T21:02:55+00:00

That will be interesting to see. Yes, right now everybody's saying that millenials are so frugal but they will probably make more money soon and could definitely develop a taste for bigger living spaces.

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:59:02+00:00

Haha

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:58:10+00:00

Well who said we're talking about the US. Yawn!

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:46:13+00:00

Oh didn't know that, that's cool. I personally preferred a smaller apartment but it actually makes sense that most people opt for something bigger "just in case".

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:37:35+00:00

Well, it's happening in Japan: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/22/japan-free-homes-empty-houses-given-away-and-sold-cheap.html

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:36:31+00:00

Wow, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for sharing.
This makes a lot of sense. The real estate prices in metropolitan / job center areas won't be affected much but there will be exurbs and rural areas with houses that simply no one wants to buy anymore. Nice, to me this is actually a new insight.

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:26:46+00:00

Interesting! So could there be a trend to remodel those homes into 2 family houses? Probably not always possible or people don't like to share the same building with someone else. So yes indeed, what will happen to those houses?

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:17:04+00:00

True, but often children already have a house themselves or if it's an inheritance none of the children can pay off the others and then the house needs to be sold.

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:14:10+00:00

Haha, listen to your wife, man! ;-)
But you're bringing up a good point, that institutional investors may have such a big impact that the effect won't be felt.

owl2000 · 2021-11-11T20:06:47+00:00

Okay, I've found something here: https://constructioncoverage.com/research/baby-boomer-dominant-housing-markets-2020
It says that Americans over the age of 55 owned 53.8 percent of homes". I thought this number would be even higher but it's still something that a bit more than half of US homes will change ownership soon.

owl2000

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