The Imitation Game

In the information age, where everything we ever wanted to know is at our fingertips, I don't think people rely on others for knowledge. Instead, I believe they are seeking people to show them how to apply that knowledge. They are looking for others to imitate. This has sort of always been the case, but I think it is even more so in this current day and age. 

I have always been told to surround myself with people who have what you want. So, I have always sought out those people. However, in the past, I have felt that certain people were difficult to reach without the required credentials. Those in the upper echelon were untouchable. That is simply not the case anymore. You don't necessarily need to go to school to gain those required credentials to come in contact with the upper echelon. There are many ways to bypass that system. The playing field has been leveled.

With the playing field leveled, it's no longer about what you know
, but what you do with what you know. In a field where everyone has the same credentials, you need to do something different to stand out. For that, people are looking to those that already stand out to try to imitate. As a culture, I think we need to decide who we want to imitate.

I envision a time in the near future where the Johnny Knoxvilles of the world aren't the people we choose to imitate. Instead, we choose to imitate those that choose to be audaciously kind to one another. In the words of Gary Vaynerchuk, "Kindness matters, bro!" I envision a time where the face being plastered on TV isn't the latest high school shooter, but the latest high school entrepreneur instead. I'm not saying that there's no room for the Pewdiepies or Jake Pauls. I just think that humility, kindness, and empathy have a lot more value in the imitation game. 

We are living in a time like never before. Almost 80% of the US population  owns a smartphone. That means that most of us have the ability to take videos and photos, and share our content with the world. We may choose to keep our lives relatively private, but I think we have a civic duty to participate in the game. Why? Because future generations are looking to imitate us. Today, I choose to participate. Today, I choose to be someone worth imitating.