Minimize The Scale Of Your Dependency
Yesterday just after lunch, the lights went out. At first we thought it was a usual trip caused by a powersurge to the house, but then we looked around the neighbourhood and figured that the whole street had gone out of power as well. It seemed as if a massive storm had damaged some electricity pilons which supplied the area with juice.
Anyway, I looked around the house searching for things to do, but the computer and internet were no good, as were the television and the Xbox. In fact, the only thing I was able to do was have a chat with my parents and reflect upon the day. But it struck me how reliant we were and still are upon electricity. And another worrying thought occurred to me.
I’m fortunate as blogging isn’t my career and it isn’t a means of getting the bread on the table (any income I earn is purely spendable and for fun). But imagine if you were a full-time blogger, or you had a website which was the main source of your income. In doing so you are reliant upon your internet working, your computer working, your electricity working, your local generator working and so on and so forth.
In fact, the scale of dependency is staggering.
But surely the same can be said for any job I hear you ask? You’re correct, working in a high street stall requires there to be foot traffic which requires there to be transport, and petrol and natural resources etc. So in effect we all rely upon something or someone else. The fact here is to minimize your dependency, so that you’re relying upon fewer factors in your life.
In the blogging world, many people use solely Google Adsense for their income. Then they are devastated when Google bans their account due to fraudelent activity and they have no other income source to turn too. The answer here then is to diversify. Clever affiliate marketers make good use of this through different online services; others fall into the Googletrap and spend their time optimising when in fact they are missing out on so much more.
So in conclusion, have a think about the things around you that you’re dependent on. If it’s your car, then try to practice walking or cycling, if it’s the internet, then try and diversify your interests or your business to the offline world and if it’s electricity, try living in darkness for a few hours and see how you could cope in a world without power.