Jess and Jon trace the progress of technology since the 1980’s and how that has gradually reduced barriers to entry for many freelancers and small scale entrepreneurs.  It has also dis-aggregated many media and creative industries.  They then talk about the effects of this on the global economy, our individual working lives, and increased the return on personal development and hard skills.  This trend is largely driven by the dropping cost and complexity of production and distribution methods.   After that they break down how mindsets about lifelong learning, personal development, and physical fitness have changed in recent years.  They close with a discussion on the illusion of talent, how we undervalue things we can’t see, how perceived weaknesses and strengths are self reinforcing, and  the difference between simple skills and highly composite skills.

Listen to this Episode and Learn:

• How Changes in production and distribution have reshaped the working world

• The growing importance of personal development

• The illusion of talent and invisibility of skill development

• Why getting useful feedback is so difficult

Mentioned in the Episode:

Pic monkey - photo editor

Canva - photo editor and design software

Comedians in cars getting coffee

Switching costs as a concept

Book: Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

Correction: Muggsy bogues is 5’3”

El salvadorians - our generation is short because many of them were malnourished in the 90’s

Amateur hours - where we started learning things in 30 hr chunks, so that we go from we can’t do something to we can do it and can do it kind of poorly.