Become Irreplaceable with Your Social Media Brand | Ishan Sharma | TEDxPlaksha University
Summary
TLDRThe speaker reflects on the uncertainty of career paths and the impact of AI on job security, urging individuals to build a 'wealth creation engine' through content creation. He shares personal experiences and success stories of friends who have leveraged their expertise in various fields to create valuable online content, emphasizing the importance of becoming indispensable by mastering a niche and building a personal brand. The talk concludes with actionable steps for individuals to start creating content, build their reputation, and ultimately monetize their skills effectively.
Takeaways
- 😀 The speaker faced uncertainty about career choices growing up but found a passion for building and coding.
- 🔄 The speaker's career path changed from being an electrical engineer to a content creator, emphasizing the unpredictability of career trajectories.
- 📈 Over 64% of people are in industries they don't like, and many believe their dream careers are unattainable, highlighting the need for career reevaluation.
- 🚀 The rise of AI tools like Devon, Sora, and Adobe Firefly is causing fear of job displacement, similar to the historical transition from horse-drawn carriages to cars.
- 📚 The traditional 40-year career model is becoming obsolete, and the speaker advocates for building a 'wealth creation engine' instead.
- 💡 Content creation has been a significant wealth creation engine for the speaker, unlocking opportunities beyond traditional career paths.
- 🌟 Combining traditional careers with content creation can make individuals indispensable and open doors to new opportunities.
- 🔑 Becoming 'one of zero'—unique and irreplaceable in one's field—is a key to success, as emphasized by the speaker.
- 📈 The benefits of content creation include accountability, ownership, and the compounding effect of personal brand growth.
- 🛠 To get started in content creation, one must identify their 'one thing' or unique selling proposition to establish a strong personal brand.
- 🎓 Earning credibility through experience, such as working at top companies or building something significant, is crucial before launching a content career.
Q & A
What was the recurring question the speaker's father used to ask him during his childhood?
-The recurring question was about what the speaker wanted to do with his life and where he saw himself in the future.
Why did the speaker feel haunted by his father's question about his future?
-The speaker felt haunted because he was unsure about his career aspirations and had not yet discovered his interest in coding and computer science.
What career did the speaker initially pursue in engineering?
-The speaker initially pursued an engineering program in electrical engineering.
How did the speaker's interest in coding and computer science eventually lead to a different career path?
-The speaker's interest in coding led him to create content online, which eventually became a successful career in content creation, different from the software developer role he initially imagined.
What percentage of people are said to be in industries they don't like according to the speaker's statistics?
-According to the speaker, over 64% of people are in industries they don't like.
What fear do new AI tools like Devon and Sora instill in people regarding their careers?
-New AI tools instill the fear that they might replace human workers, as they are capable of performing tasks traditionally done by developers and designers.
What historical example did the speaker use to illustrate the impact of technological advancements on jobs?
-The speaker used the example of the automobile replacing horse-drawn carriages and creating new opportunities and careers.
What is the 'wealth creation engine' the speaker refers to, and how has it benefited him?
-The 'wealth creation engine' refers to creating content that works for the individual even when they are not actively working. It has benefited the speaker by unlocking doors to opportunities and success he had not imagined.
What advice does the speaker give for building a unique personal brand in one's career?
-The speaker advises focusing on becoming 'one of zero,' meaning no one else can do what you do with the same identity and approach, making you indispensable and highly valuable.
What is the importance of being 'relatable' when creating content according to the speaker?
-Being 'relatable' is important because it helps build a strong relationship with the audience, leading to better loyal distribution of the content.
What is the final piece of advice the speaker gives regarding the value of one's skills in the job market?
-The speaker advises that one's value in the job market is not determined by the skills they possess, but by how difficult it is to replace them.
Outlines
🤔 The Quest for Purpose Amidst AI Advancements
The speaker reflects on their childhood and the recurring question from their parents about their future aspirations, especially during the rise of data science. They recount their journey from an interest in building and coding to an unexpected career in content creation, despite initially pursuing electrical engineering. The fear of AI replacing jobs is discussed, drawing parallels to historical technological shifts, such as the automobile replacing horse-drawn carriages. The speaker emphasizes the importance of adapting to a new world order where traditional career paths are less secure, and the necessity to embrace change and innovation.
🚀 Leveraging Content Creation for Career Success
The speaker discusses the concept of a 'wealth creation engine' and how content creation has opened doors for them beyond their initial aspirations in software development. They highlight the benefits of combining traditional careers with content creation, such as increased opportunities and becoming indispensable in one's field. Examples of individuals who have successfully integrated content creation into their professional lives are provided, illustrating the potential for personal branding and leveraging one's unique identity to achieve success.
🛠 Building a Personal Brand Through Content Distribution
The speaker outlines the steps to building a personal brand through content distribution, starting with identifying one's unique 'one thing' and establishing expertise in that area. They emphasize the importance of earning credibility through achievements and documenting one's journey to build a relatable connection with the audience. The speaker also stresses the need to scale content across multiple platforms and the various ways content creators can monetize their work, such as through courses, ebooks, and consulting.
💼 The Value of Being Irreplaceable in the Digital Age
In the final paragraph, the speaker concludes with the idea that in the digital age, one's value is determined not by the skills they possess but by how difficult it is to replace them. They encourage the audience to differentiate themselves and utilize content creation to build a personal brand that is both discoverable and lucrative. The speaker shares their own experiences of being approached for consulting and the abundance of opportunities available to content creators, reinforcing the message that anyone can build a successful brand by standing out from the crowd.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Career Path
💡Content Creation
💡Wealth Creation Engine
💡Automation and AI Tools
💡Indispensability
💡Personal Branding
💡Traditional vs. Modern Careers
💡Fear of Replacement
💡Distribution Leverage
💡Skill Monetization
Highlights
The fear of AI tools like Devon, Sora, and Adobe Firefly potentially replacing human developers.
Comparison to the historical impact of the automobile replacing horse-drawn carriages, creating new opportunities.
The common concern of people being hooked on social media while machines are learning.
The realization that the traditional 40-year career path is no longer viable.
The concept of building a 'wealth creation engine' as a new career strategy.
Content creation as a means to unlock opportunities and build a personal brand.
Examples of professionals like Manan V, Saptarshi, Nishan Chatterjee, Kosala, and Alak Pandey leveraging content creation.
Becoming indispensable by combining traditional careers with content creation.
The importance of becoming 'one of zero' in your field to stand out and command higher pay.
The benefits of content creation: accountability, ownership, and the compounding effect.
The idea that personal branding cannot be automated, unlike tasks in traditional jobs.
Steps to get started with content creation: identifying your 'one thing', earning your stripes, documenting your life, scaling across platforms, and monetizing.
The necessity of building expertise and mastery in one area rather than spreading oneself too thin.
The strategy of repurposing content across different platforms to reach a wider audience.
Monetization strategies for content creators, such as courses, ebooks, consulting, and freelance work.
The unlimited potential for individuals to build their own brand if they can differentiate themselves.
The key takeaway that you get paid not by the skills you have but by how hard it is to replace you.
Transcripts
[Music]
so you know while I was growing up I am
22 right now for context but when I was
growing up there was this one question
which my parents used to ask me every
single weekend back in the 2014 and the
15s when the data science job was the
new hot thing my father would look at
the newspapers about how the latest IIT
graduate is getting this 2or offer at
Uber going abroad he used to look at
that news and he used to look at me and
he used to ask me what do you want to do
where do you see yourself and that's a
question that used to haunt me almost
every single time that he asked me that
do I want to go into civil services do I
want to become a doctor do I want to
become a developer do I want to be a
designer I had no clue to my 14-year-old
innocent
self I had recently watched Iron Man and
that's all I could imagine myself to be
seriously I just loved building cool
stuff I would literally beg my father to
buy me that remote control car which I
used to break apart and build something
from that so that was who I was with
time I realized my interest lied more
into coding into computer science into
writing code but as fate would have it I
got my engineering program in electrical
engineering which did not really work
out and I dropped out later on it's been
two years from that time but this
question used to you know haunt my mind
all the time like who do I want to be I
looked at the stats at that time and as
we speak today over
64% people are in industries that they
don't
like there are seven out of 10 people
right now who are not in their dream
role and over 46% people think that
their dream career isn't even achievable
it's not even realistic and so while I
was looking at all of these numbers it
made me think about my own self I
started recording videos in my own room
in Mumbai in 2020 and I had no idea I
would be standing here today with over
200 million views and 3 million
following online but that's a completely
different career than what I had
imagined I wanted to write code I want
to be a software developer and I am none
of that today I am someone who's
completely different from what I imagin
myself to be what happened what changed
let's find out so you know with all of
these new AI tools like Devon there is
Sora there is Adobe Firefly there is
countless other tools mid Journey For
example right they're all creating this
fear in minds of people and I'm sure you
will relate with this
you are afraid of these tools and what
they can do of course they are in very
nent stages right now but not too long
from today there might be a tool which
could do everything that developer does
we are not at that stage right now but
we might get there somehow right with
all the growth and development that
we've seen in the last few years you
never know where we go so all of these
tools create this fear in minds of
people that will I get replaced and this
reminds me of that time when Henry FD
you know came up with the new car and
back then the horse riders and the buggy
was the whole thing they got replaced
with a car but it also created tons of
new opportunities and carers but you
know let's talk about today there are
these memes going around that you know
talk about how humans are hooked to
scrolling to social media to all the
fear mongering while the machines are
learning right you might have seen this
and it recalls makes me to recall this
funny New Yorker magazine cover which
looks like
this and you
know this all made me realize in 2020
that the typical 40-year career is
doomed in which you would do your
bachelor's you do your Masters you would
then get into a career you would climb
that ladder and then You' retire and you
would live off of your savings that
career does not exist at at all right
now so what do we have what now isan
what do we do well there is a new world
order that I want you all to have
awareness about because that's the first
step to getting to someplace better
right and red Al wrote this book called
as the changing world order and it talks
about the same thing in economics I'm
talking about it in the case of career
he talks about how you know working in a
well-paying job is not your level
average is not going to set you free you
might get a three CR package at Jane
Street but you might also get replaced
or laid off from what we've seen the
last couple of years so that is not an
identifier of success as of now right so
what is there well it's all about
building a wealth creation engine it's
all about building an asset that works
for you even when you're are not and
that is what I want to talk about and
the wealth creation engine that I have
unlocked in the last few years for me is
content content has unlocked doors for
me that I had never imagined I would be
reaching at this age in this short span
of time let's try to understand this
deeper right so instead of having that
typical career of a doctor of a designer
of a developer think about a career of a
doctor who creates content
a career of a you know designer who
creates content a developer who creates
content right a CA who creates content
you might have know you might actually
know people in your own field who are
doing this right now and this opens
doors to immense infinite
opportunities and I'm not just talking
about this for you to imagine I actually
have friends this is Manan v he's a
friend of mine he creates reals on
Instagram around how can you be more fit
he's an orthopedic surgeon
and he recently launched his company
which offers nutrition advice and
training and that is amazing another one
that is sapta he's a designer he's the
head of design at swiggy he's a good
friend of mine and he has been working
with companies around the
world what else we have Nishan chaher
he's a friend of mine you might have
seen him on YouTube he is a developer
who works at Microsoft and just launched
his course in which he teaches people
about DSA and helps them get
jobs we then also have kosala who's a
friend of mine who used to work in
private Equity at ad baa and he's now
launched his own company called a
skigger in which he is helping people
get jobs in financial
roles well and then the last one I think
you all can identify this is alak Pand
sir a mentor and friend of mine who you
all know has built physics Pala
so what this does when you combine your
traditional old career with content is
that it makes you indispensable there's
a book that Seth Gordon wrote called as
the Kingpin which is all about how do
you become indispensable in this world
and that's an amazing book but the point
I'm making here is you have to become
one of
zero this is a quote by Alex mozi and he
says that the best thing you can do in
your career is to become one of zero
there is no one that can do what you do
with your identity with the way you do
it and so you get paid
disproportionately higher than what
anyone else can get paid you know the
these are all distribution Le carers so
you had distribution which you optimize
and you make something out of that let's
get some more examples right so what
this basically does is it gives you
accountability so now whatever you say
matters and it gives you the ownership
of what you put out while you might be
working at the top companies of this
world right now what you are doing
you're not exactly accountable for that
right if something happens with Gemini
or something that Google releases the
headline is Google eved up they never
say this engineer in the Google
Department messed up right so now you
have full accountability and as a result
of that the good part is that you also
unlock the compounding effect of that as
I've just shown you with all the
examples prior so these are the three
biggest benefits that you get when you
combine content distribution with your
own carer all
right again I want to rephrase this
everything that you are doing can be
automated right all the tools that are
out there they can automate what you are
writing what you're designing what
you're building but what cannot be
automated is yourself is you the
brand and this a very important concept
for you to understand if you want to
thrive in the next few years let's
understand this deeper right how can you
get started it's all fun and games to
look at case studies of people but how
do you get started in this field let's T
talk about that you first need to figure
out what is your one thing what is one
thing that people can pay you for and a
very easy exercise is to think about the
dictionary of people who will be
watching your content and thinking
what's one word that you want them to
replace your name with for example if I
say the word Ali abdal you all will have
the word productivity right you might
have seen his videos in which he talks
about productivity becoming more
productive and that is excellent
branding so always think about what that
one thing could be and it could be
anything right you can be anything that
you want but you cannot be every thing
it's a very famous quote which says that
you can be anything that you want but
not every thing and I'm saying this
twice because I have made this mistake
of trying to do everything of trying to
be everyone right but the realization
that you will have when you try to do
everything is that you don't have
expertise or Mastery over one thing and
that is all that you need to do all
right an example is Miss cat Norton she
is also known as Miss Excel what she did
beautifully was make these short Tik
toks in the last two years around how
can people use Excel shortcuts tips and
tricks things like that and then she
launched her course and as a result of
that she made $100,000 on just the first
day just the first day she makes a
$100,000 versus someone who works at a
dead end job using Excel to complete
some task that the company has given to
him or her and so I wanted to think
about this much more deeply when you go
back like you need to the second step is
to start earning your stripes why should
people trust you what do you have that
stands you from everyone else right an
example could be someone getting a job
at top tech companies so now you have
that badge oh I am from Google I am from
Microsoft I am from Facebook or someone
who's built something like for example I
built an agency of 25 people and now I'm
talking about how I did that on social
Med media that is your proof so the
point is to earn your stripes because
without that you would just be that 18
year old kid who's talking about hustle
and Entrepreneurship and all the things
that you do not trust him for because he
is not done it I'm sure you all have
seen such people know nothing wrong in
that but it's just that they have not
earned their stripes all right the job
or the experience you need to get that
first and when you are doing that you
need to document your life and document
your life you you might have already
seen those Day in the Life videos in
which people show their life what are
they doing where are they going the free
lunches they're having at Google but
honestly it's just about being relatable
with your audience I once met s Joi and
I asked him this simple question that
bro why do people watch you I just don't
get it why do people watch you and the
first question the first answer that he
had was you know because I'm relatable
my blogs are very relatable to people
who are consuming my content and that is
excellent so you have to Showcase your
life and what are you doing and that is
the fastest way to build that
relationship with the audience and have
better loyal
distribution okay that is the day in the
life the fourth step is that you need to
scale it's okay for you to have this one
YouTube channel in which you're talking
about your daily routine of being a
software developer but if you really
want to get in front of the masses if
you want to get out there you need to be
on all the platforms for example you
might have seen NJ who is easy snippet
on Instagram right and what he does
amazingly well is that he uses the most
trendy hot piece of content and then
puts across his tutorials and that is
beautiful because he is unlogged away to
gain virality and now everyone knows him
even though you might not have seen his
day in the life or you might not have
consumed his content but you know who he
is and so that is what I mean when I say
scale multiple platforms it is all about
repurposing I'm sure you all have seen
arpit balar that's an excellent case
study of repurposing content and being
in front of the masses right I I
searched his Instagram I could not find
his Instagram account and I was like
they're all meme accounts and that's
crazy that's a strategy but the last
step which is the most important is to
monetize and all the people I've just
showed you they've all monetized in one
way or the other right they monetized
through courses they monetized through
launching their own ebooks they
monetized by helping Brands and helping
their own Audience by Consulting I get
these messages from companies saying
that isan you've grown your channel to
over 1 million subscribers and 200
million views use we want you to help us
get there and so we want you to consult
us and I get these emails almost every
single week I get that because I'm out
there I'm discoverable and because I've
built my brand on that one thing which
is online business and the next thing is
freelance of course there are designers
out there who are helping Brands build
their own design assets their own
branding packages and that is really
lucrative and obviously there there is
projects that you can get access to now
people who create content get these in
abundance the only people complaining
are the ones who are not taking help of
content the only people who are you know
writing those LinkedIn posts oh I just
got laid off nothing wrong but you need
to realize that you can do much more if
you take the advantage of content and
you might
say how many of people can create their
own brand and the answer is as many as
there are
as many as you want right there is no
limit to how many people can build their
brand as long as you can differentiate
yourself from everyone else so that's
how this works I want to leave you with
this one last quote which I learned the
hard way and it is the fact that in this
world you do not get paid by the skills
that you have but by how hard it is to
replace
you in this world you do not get you get
paid not by the skills you have but by
how hard it is to replace you and that's
all thank you so much
[Applause]
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