Pause for a second and look around.
Not literally. But virtually speaking, take a good look around.
Have you stopped to realize what's going on?
Maybe you haven't realized it - or maybe you have - but you and I are living in an absolute landmark time in history.
People will talk about what's happening right now for hundreds and thousands of years into the future, probably more.
In the last 100 years, human lifestyle has evolved from horses and log cabins to having unlimited access to the world's knowledge and the ability to connect with anyone and (almost) everyone on Earth instantly.
I know what you're thinking. We're a privilege generation, there's so much opportunity online, blah blah blah. What else is new?
But seriously, have you stopped to consider the implications of this?
In the last decade or so, blogs and social media have made it so that we all now have the ability to build a massive audience with nothing but a smart phone or computer.
I mean, young people all over the world are building huge followings on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and any other social network they can get their hands on.
It's easier than ever to create a website or blog with free software like WordPress, which allows ordinary people to build a following of loyal subscribers.
Many of these people are in their 20s and 30s and they've already built loyal groups of followers that seasoned vets in their 50s would kill for.
Thirty years ago, if you wanted large numbers of people to "follow" you, you pretty much had to be a celebrity, writer, or politician. Having a tribe was for the privileged few, and a loyal following took a ton of time and money to build.
Now it's basically free to build an audience and there is no barrier to entry. Zero. Anyone on Earth can build a loyal group of followers if they want.
Why's that so special?
Imagine how that's going to affect the world 20 years from now? Politics, business, education...the people building audiences right now will be able to do nearly anything they want 20 years from now.
Imagine what the presidential race will look like in 20 years.
Pat Flynn and Neil Patel might be two of the best young people in the world at building a following (they're both in their early 30s, but they started in their 20s).
If 20 years from now either one of them decide they want to be president, they'll have hundreds of thousands (probably even millions by that point) of campaign supporters before they ever launch their first campaign.
The same goes for kids building YouTube and Instagram followings. You may laugh at them now, but they're building a loyal group of people who have given them permission to speak to and influence them any time they want. And some of these kids aren't even in their 20s yet.
Plain and simple, the ability for anyone to build an audience and spread their ideas makes the time we're living in right now the greatest era for opportunity in human history.
If you're missing this - if you're not building a following somewhere, anywhere - you're insane.
If it feels like it's too late to start a blog or to start building a social media following, remember, we're still in the first century of the internet.
The automotive industry has been around for over 100 years and no one would dare say it's coming to an end anytime soon. So you can bet that the internet age is still in its early years.
Oh, and the people who invested during the early years of the automotive industry, they did alright for themselves. You might know a few of them. They include people like Henry Ford, Karl Benz, Harvey Firestone, Walter Chrysler, and Louis Chevrolet. They took the opportunity that was in front of them and they changed the world.
The bottom line is this:
If you haven't started building a following, start now. Literally, right now.
Start a simple website using WordPress, start a YouTube channel, or start posting regularly to that Twitter account you've all but abandoned.
Just do something to start contributing and connecting with others, and do it consistently.
If you don't, your kids are going to look at you like you're an idiot 20 years from now when Pat Flynn is the President, and you're the person who missed the opportunity of a lifetime.