This piece was inspired by my conversation this week with
on my podcast The Last Trade. I’d already been thinking about how the status quo no longer serves us, and our talk pushed me to finally write down my thoughts.In previous generations, doing what everyone else did was a safe bet. The status quo existed for a reason, and change happened more slowly. But today, the world is moving so fast that those living inside the status quo aren’t ready for the disruption, and quite frankly, they’re going to be in a very tough position.
The status quo is rooted in stability and safety. I think about this in my own life. I followed the traditional path: school, college, big companies. But a number of things happened that forced me to question it all. Some of those things are personal, and I’ll probably write about them another time.
But at a macro level, COVID was the catalyst. The way governments behaved, the way the financial system got out of whack, it shook a lot loose. It made me question almost everything about the default path.
Now the status quo is being challenged everywhere. The paths that once led to stability are leading to fragility. I see it all around me, friends, family, the status quo has failed them, whether they realize it or not.
The financial status quo is destroying people’s wealth in real terms. The classic 60/40 portfolio, 60% equities and 40% bonds, is broken. Bonds are structurally guaranteed to lose purchasing power because the U.S. government is insolvent. Those who don’t have the means to invest significantly are sitting in cash, getting eroded by inflation. For younger generations, breaking away from the default means thinking independently. Doing what your parents did doesn’t cut it anymore. You can’t build the same kind of wealth buying inflated public equities and million dollar starter homes. It doesn’t work.
The same is true with health. Following the health guidelines in America is a recipe for disaster. The agencies that create them are bought and paid for. And it goes beyond food. The pharmaceutical industry, modern medicine, almost everything is backward. The status quo in America will make you fat and sick, and that’s exactly the most profitable outcome for them.
It’s true with information too. The default is to get your information from mainstream media and never question the narrative. The COVID years made this painfully clear, not just in the policies but in the collective inability to think critically. By following the status quo, the majority of people ended up taking experimental shots many now regret.
And it’s true with careers. The safest move used to be to get a good job, collect a steady paycheck, build up a 401(k), and rely on health insurance. But the status quo is wrong there too. The biggest employers in the world are laying off tens of thousands of people, while AI is rewriting job security in real time.
I’m not saying you should go against the grain just to be different. But you have to build agency in your life. You have to be adaptive, entrepreneurial in spirit, and take responsibility for your own future, because no one is coming to save you. The people who thrive in the coming years won’t be the ones clinging to the status quo. They’ll be the ones who see ahead of the trend and position themselves accordingly.
The world is changing rapidly. Things will get chaotic. But when a door closes, a window opens. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s also liberating, because you are in control of the life you build.
The default is ending, and that’s good news. It means the future is open again, waiting for people willing to take ownership of it.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know below and share with someone you think needs to break free of the status quo.