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Here’s a trick to predict the future: Look at what the super-rich do today. That’s what most people will do within a few decades.
We all make predictions about the future, even if only subconsciously. For long-term investments, our decision-making relies deeply on what we think will happen.
Which school should I choose? Which neighborhood should we move to? What job to take, what company to invest in? All those decisions are made using assumptions about the future.
“Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been," said hockey player Wayne Gretzky. Looking at the super-rich today, we can see both where the puck is — and where it’s going.
What the super-rich used to do
Twenty years ago, if someone took lavish weekend trips overseas, they probably were within the top one percent of earners. You still had to be quite rich to take a taxi on a daily basis. Today, there are budget airlines and taxi apps that make those happen for many more of us.
It’s not just what people do or what they own, it’s also what they find important or fun. I watched a movie from the '70s, where the protagonist went jogging near his Malibu villa. Jogging was a rather new health trend, similar to what meditation is today: Not too many people did it, and whoever did rarely did it in public. As the rich jogger passed by someone less fortunate on the street, he got yelled at: “Where the hell are you running? Is someone chasing you?”
If you could choose between living now and be a king in the 1600s in Europe, choose today every time. That gives you the longer expected lifetime, better healthcare options, and the opportunity to take photos of avocado toasts.
Avocado toasts, with a flat white at an airport, as you’re heading off to Bali.
One rich prediction
As technology improves, what used to be a dream for most people will become available for most people. The golden rule of capitalism is that most successful things will eventually be produced cheaper and en masse. What’s available now for only a select few will sooner or later reach virtually everyone in the modern world. That includes products, services, and even culture.
So what’s something that the super-rich do today that is becoming available for the masses in front of our eyes?
One example: hiring any kind of talent you’ve ever dreamed of.
This is already becoming available through online services in many large cities. You can hire people to help with shopping, cleaning your apartment, or look after your kids.
Using freelancer portals, you can achieve even more. Creative tasks such as creating branding for a wedding, or having somebody to help with your homework might even cost less than a few cups of coffee.
You can get help with all sorts of random jobs too: to organize a family vacation, or help to research restaurants for a romantic night out. Your own imagination is the limit to what you can do today, and not just niceties or making your life easier: Assistants can improve your productivity too.
Practicing the future
Many people who use these services will work with assistants for the first time.
Learning to delegate is an acquired skill, and one where it’s easy to mess things up. Whenever you ask someone for help, there’s a lot that can get lost in translation. As with any other skill: Practice makes perfect. Mistakes are just another way to learn from the experience and feedback, and try again.
Working with assistants is something we’ll probably do more of in the future. If you want to get started practicing, here are a few quick tips:
- Start with something that you already know how to do. That makes it easier for you to explain the project and check the results when it's finished.
- Keep it small. Make sure the turnaround time is short because that helps you get more feedback and learn quicker.
- Write a great job description, and keep most of the communication in writing. Great job descriptions focus on the outcome, set the time frame, and include everything that freelancers need to successfully finish the task.
- Start a fixed-rate contract. A flat fee is easier to calculate with in the beginning. You can always dive into hourly rates and employment contracts once you’re more comfortable.
Delegating is a superpower and it gets easier with practice. You’ll be better at it with every successful project, but for the time being, focus on getting started.
Revolution in front of our eyes
GPS, smartphones, and taxi apps brought the democratization of private transportation, and there are many of these small revolutions happening today.
Whatever you think the future will bring, making smart predictions about it will help you prepare for that. “The only thing that’s constant is change,” said Heraclitus, and it never stopped being true.
