It always shocks me when I think about how people ignore science and technology. It is literally the bedrock on which humanity’s progress is built.

While you may not see it as technology in the modern sense of the word, but just think about how the discovery of fire helped us vault forward as a species. And then it was the wheel. Think about what happened when the motor vehicle became broadly accessible to ordinary people. Suddenly you could live much further away from your place of work, or you could visit relatives living many miles away and still sleep in your own bed that night. Boats, planes, fridges, computers, disposable nappies and WiFi all came and revolutionised our daily lives. We can never again go back to the days before cell phones, ballpoint pens, elevators, or flushing toilets.

These were all great discoveries that made life a whole lot simpler and made its inventors super wealthy. But it also created other opportunities that revolutionised industries that wasn’t even thought of to begin with. In fact, one innovation can easily lead to dozens of new jobs that would never have been imagined before. Take the Internet and Facebook, for example. Sir Tim Berners-Lee was frustrated because his colleagues’ different computers couldn’t talk to each other, so he decided to write a code that would make that possible; which gave a young student, Mark Zuckerberg an idea that would allow his fellow students to connect. So he started writing the code for Facebook. Can you imagine explaining the concept of being a social media influencer, digital marketing manager, or an I.T support person to your great grand-parents? Try explaining smart phone Apps to them; or online banking; artificial intelligence or self-driving cars! If today’s jobs would confound those who lived a mere three generations ago, can you imagine how the jobs of the next 100 years are going to confuse you?

And if that isn’t frightening enough, consider something known as Moore’s Law, which accurately predicted in the 1960s that computing power would double every two years, making computers smaller and faster, but also impacted everything that relies on computers. Most science pundits now believe that Moore’s Law has been surpassed by our current speed of progress. In other words, things are moving a whole lot faster these days. And that brings me to the point I’m trying to drive home; don’t get left behind by the technological revolution that’s busy happening around us. And definitely don’t let your kids get left behind. This brave new world that’s being built is like watching a time-lapse of a skyscraper construction. It’s happening at a ridiculous speed and it’s going to impact your life, so you might as well jump on-board, and even exploit the possibilities.

Unlike previously, this Fourth Industrial Revolution comes with opportunities for everyone. Previously if you had a product, you would need to get it to people, or get customers to come to where you are. The odds of failure were fully stacked against you. Now in 2019, you have a market of billions of potential customers from all over the world, who can instantly appreciate your genius and purchase your product or service. And because the market-place is global, the prices of products have plummeted. There is almost no reason why you should not get involved, make money from it and simplify your life into the one you have always dreamed of. There isn’t an industry that is not affected by the relentless march of technology, and if there is one that’s still holding out, then I can assure you that it will eventually feel the impact.

What I’m trying to say is this: If you have been ignoring technology because it intimidates you, it’s time you get stuck into learning. Because if you don’t, you’re going to get left behind very soon.

This Youtube video will give you an idea of what tech is on the brink of taking over your life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPXifzNHyYU