How to Deal with an Uncertain Future

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Morning friend! ☕️ 

Hope the weekend was good.

Today, we are taking about uncertainty.

We’re living in an age of accelerated change.

AI is reshaping jobs faster than we can draft job specs.

Industries are evolving, or dissolving, before before our eyes.

In Breaking Bad, Walter White faced massive uncertainty with his family’s future.

Like Walter, for many of us, the most pressing question right now isn’t “How do I succeed?”

It’s “How do I deal with an uncertain future?”

I found Sahil Bloom’s answer to this question in his blog very insightful.

He says the old approach of planning, executing is outdated.

We need a new model, and critical skills to go with it.

Let’s jump right in to unpack this.

Grab your coffee.

Let’s chat!

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Analysis paralysis is costly

The mistake most people make?

They wait.

For certainty. For the perfect plan. For the “right” moment to act.

Trying to plan your way through rapid change doesn’t work anymore.

What works is the ability to move, learn, and adjust.

Quickly.

Standing still is the riskiest move of all.

So how do you move fast, and what skills do you need?

How do I move fast, and what skills do I need?

There are two things that will help you thrive in uncertainty:

1. A new mental model for how to operate (Execute-Adapt)

2. A timeless set of skills as your compass (Lighthouse Skills)

The mental model: Execute → Adapt.

Take action. Learn fast. Adjust. Repeat.

It’s about building momentum instead of obsessive planning.

You just need to stay in motion and make sense of it faster than everyone else.

The skills: your Lighthouse Skills.

“A lighthouse serves one simple but profound purpose: To guide sailors safely through uncertainty.” - Sahil Bloom

The below skills don’t lose value, even as the world shifts:

Sales: The ultimate meta-skill. Whatever your path, you need to sell. Yourself, your story, your product, your vision. The most successful people aren’t the smartest, they’re the best at refining their message until it lands.

Storytelling: Distill data into a compelling narrative. Learn to read the room: lean-ins, eye contact, head nods, and adjust your delivery to connect.

Clear Communication: Those who express ideas clearly, especially in writing and speech, will stand out. AI will supercharge their impact.

Emotional Intelligence: As technology takes over more tasks, human connection becomes a superpower. Empathy, self-awareness, and relationship skills will set you apart.

Public Speaking: Clear, confident speaking builds trust, whether in meetings, or everyday conversations.

Clear Thinking: Absorb information, think critically, make decisions, iterate. Question default assumptions. In uncertain times, clarity is your edge.

Taste: Hard to define, easy to recognize. Taste means spotting what’s good before everyone else does, and acting on it.

These skills are your lighthouse, as they will always be needed, when engaging with humans...

Final Thought

The future will always be uncertain.

But uncertainty doesn’t have to mean instability.

Walter White did the best he could under the circumstances.

But he went over to the dark side with his transformation.

There’s a lesson in there for us, and from Sahil’s tips.

Start moving. Build your lighthouse skills. 

Hope this was insightful to you as it was to me.

Till next week, friend!

Cheers,

Vaugan

Today’s Chess Puzzle

Black to play:

Solution here: