The Human Cloud is personal to me.
It just goes to show you CAN teach an old dog new tricks…
When I started moonlighting 5 years ago to scratch my various creative itches and personal passions, I never imagined it would lead me to cross off a major bucket list item with the launch of a #1 new release book by a big publisher.
You see, even though I gave up on the path of English professor and literary star decades ago (even though the tweed jacket with elbow patch jokes still survive to this day), I still loved writing and teaching, and I hoped one day I could fulfill this dream.
A chance meeting on Upwork with some young headstrong product guy (that would be “Younger Matt”) helping him write a report on the future of AI led to terrific, deep philosophical discussions - all over video chat thousands of miles apart. Those early conversations were the genesis for this book.
In my generation (oh, geesh, I sound ancient just saying that), freelancing and building a career out of being a niche expert wasn’t really an option - at least, not a common, well-defined one. Instead, we followed the traditional paths of our parents: get a good job in a stable company and climb the ladder up.
Even I was a bit of a rebel (trailblazer?) in that I treated my career a little more like a jungle gym, moving up, down, and sideways across different companies and industries building strong technical and business skills along the way. But I still did this within the auspices of a stable, full-time career. And now that I am an executive, that path is well tread: the golden handcuffs are real, and I felt then that I was trapped and unable to fully express myself.
So this is what the Human Cloud is for me: an expression of my freedom and ability to chase my passions, WHILE still working my full-time job. It’s not about the money. It’s about experience and life satisfaction. Paradoxically, this new world of work has helped me appreciate my stable day job all the more, and once and for all reconciled and satisfied that entrepreneurial voice nagging away in my head. I get to have my cake (yum) and eat it too (darn calories).
What does the Human Cloud mean to you? Whatever you want it to be. You don’t have to be a full-time freelancer (but of course you can). You don’t have to be a full-time employee (but there’s nothing wrong with that if you do). Mix it up. Try new things. Experiment, knowing you have an endless variety of ways to build your career around whatever it is you are most passionate about and best at doing.
But whatever you do, don’t settle for complacency. Go out and be your own bad-ass version of yourself, whatever that is. Make change. Make hay. Change the world.
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We recommend starting with the book, then hammering us with questions (you can respond to this email). Like yourself, we’re both pretty busy so expect at least 72 hours of response time. Unless you send a Golden Retriever meme, then we promise 24 hours.
The Matthews