The world is divided into creators and consumers. Though not equally so. A disproportionate amount of the world are consumers, while a smaller percentage are the creators distributing value to the consumers.
Throughout all of human history, there have been creators and consumers.
The difference is that the population of creators to consumers was far more balanced than it is today. Value was harder to deliver and so more people needed to fulfill that role.
Another big difference is that most people were creators AND consumers. This is because they had to play both roles to support themselves.
Before the dawn of technology, the ecosystem of distributing value and consuming value usually remained within a family or a tribe.
Think about the farmer who lived 10,000 years ago. He grew the wheat with his own resources and skill. Afterward, the fruits of his labor were available to be consumed by his family.
Even then, his children and his wife still would have helped him collect the wheat or water the ungrown crops.
Think about our hunter-gatherer ancestors. They had no assistance outside of the tribe, and so the only way they could consume food was to retrieve it themselves, either by foraging or hunting and cooking.
If they wanted entertainment, they would have to create stories themselves to share with the tribe. If they wanted warmth, a fire would have to be lit, or a coat would have had to be fashioned out of animal skin.
The dynamic of creator and consumer has always been present.
But in our modern world, it is no longer necessary for one person to fulfill both roles. Since humans expanded out of tribes and into societies, pretty much all of our basic needs (and even more complex ones) can be outsourced.
Hungry? Domino’s is right around the corner.
Bored? TikTok’s got your back.
Cold? Just chuck on the heating.
These are all examples of consumption.
But what’s the big deal? Easy life = good life, right?
Consumption was never inherently bad. Humans need to consume to survive. The problem is that humans don’t need to create anymore to consume.
And as a result, consumption has skyrocketed to a point where it’s toxic.
Excessive consumption is the reason for modern maladies such as obesity, depression, and laziness.
Yet, most people choose the easy path, which is why the world has segregated into very distinct categories of creators and consumers.
With more and more people choosing consumption, being a creator is more important than it has ever been.
The 20% of creators produce to meet the needs of 80% of the world.
This is why being a creator is such a valuable occupation to strive for. They are scarce and are therefore rewarded disproportionately.
These 20% of creators are responsible for pretty much all the progression, innovation, and improvement of human society.
Being a part of this group is the quickest route to success.
For this entire post, I have been using the word ‘creator’. But what does that mean?
Being a ‘creator’ simply means that you are a creator of value. You give value by satisfying people’s needs.
And when you satisfy a lot of people’s needs well, you stand to make a lot of money.
Giving value means something very different now than it did 1000, 10,000, or 100,000 years ago.
For example, fashioning fur coats out of animal skin isn’t a very high-value pursuit anymore, the same way growing wheat isn’t, because there is already such an abundance of it.
When you think of ‘creator’, you might think of a YouTuber or social media influencer. They are creating value in the form of content that satisfies the human desire to be entertained.
They are a form of a modern-day creator, but that doesn’t mean you have to post on Instagram to get into this 20%.
Being a creator can mean producing educational blog posts online, building a website for people who need help with university applications, inventing a new style of shoes, or creating another operating system for computers.
Anything that provides value to a large number of people will get you into this ‘creator’ bracket. The more value you provide, and to more amount of people, the more money you will make.
Consuming still has its place. For example, consuming content from people more experienced than you is a great way to learn. And remember, consumption is necessary for survival.
But if you can shift your identity from one of ‘consumer’, to one of ‘creator’, you will start to give value to the world instead of taking value.
By doing this, you set yourself apart from most of the population who are in a perpetual state of taking, and the world will reward you accordingly.
