One of the stranger things about getting older is realizing how quickly the world changes around you without asking whether you are comfortable with it.
I still remember getting my first cellphone in 1999. At the time, it felt futuristic. The idea that you could call someone while driving or away from home seemed unbelievable. Fast forward to today and I am probably the type of person technology companies hate. I held onto my iPhone 11 until the end of last year because, honestly, if something works, I tend to keep using it.
But lately I have been thinking more seriously about how quickly things are accelerating, especially with AI.
Not from the perspective of hype, but from the perspective of work, value, and identity. A lot of people quietly build their sense of stability around being useful. Around becoming good at something specific. You spend years learning an industry, understanding systems, building experience, developing judgment, and eventually that expertise becomes part of how you see yourself.
Then technology changes the rules. And historically, it always has. There was a time when knowing how to repair typewriters was valuable. There was a time when switchboard operators were essential infrastructure. Entire industries once existed around skills most younger people today have never even seen in person.
That is not an insult to those workers. It is simply what happens when efficiency changes. I think what makes AI different is the speed.
Previous technological shifts often unfolded over decades. People had time to adapt psychologically. Entire careers could exist before disruption fully arrived. Now it feels like industries are evolving in real time. Jobs are not just changing between generations anymore. They are changing between quarterly reports.
And yet, I do not think the answer is panic. I think the answer is adaptability. The people who survive major shifts are usually not the people pretending change is not happening. They are the people willing to evolve alongside it. The people who learn how to use new tools instead of competing against them emotionally.
That applies far beyond technology. It applies to business. Leadership. Communication. Health. Relationships. Life itself.
Most people eventually become nostalgic for a version of the world that no longer exists. The harder thing is learning how to remain useful in the world that does.
Because history rarely eliminates the need for value creation. It simply changes what the world considers valuable.
I am a Canadian insurance and investment professional and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chazz Financial Inc. and Chazz Capital Assets. I write about leadership, markets, insurance, investing, and decision making, with a focus on how structure and incentives shape outcomes.
I hold a business degree and I am a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Planner®, a Certified Health Specialist and a Mutual Fund Investment Representative.
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