I had a conversation with a friend today that's been sitting with me.
She works in the humanitarian sector. We were catching up, talking about work, life, how things have changed.
Then I said something that's been on my mind:
"𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗿. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲."
She agreed. The world is shifting. The work that used to get funded, helping people, rebuilding communities, protecting the vulnerable, is being deprioritized. Not because it's less important. Because the priorities have changed.
And if you're in that space, you feel it. The uncertainty. The instability. The sense that the ground is moving under your feet.
But here's what I've learned from my own shift:
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿.
After 10 years in the humanitarian sector, I moved to the private sector. I'm still working as a trainer, but it's different now. Maybe even more intense.
And in the last 7-8 months, I've done more training than I did in the previous 4-5 years combined. That's what happens when you compress years of growth into months.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
The same applies outside of work. If your main income stream feels shaky, you don't just hope it gets better. You build something else. A side project. A digital product. A newsletter. Something that doesn't depend on the same system.
That's why I've been focusing on building in the digital space; lead magnets, newsletters, AI tools. Not because I'm abandoning what I do, but because I'm creating options.
Everyone talks about AI. Everyone talks about diversifying income. But very few people actually do something concrete with it.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸.
So here's what I'm doing: I'm building. Learning. Testing. And sharing what works.
If you're thinking about starting your own newsletter or want to see what's possible with the right tools, beehiiv is hosting their Winter Release Event tomorrow. They're unveiling new features that make it easier to grow and monetize your audience.
I use beehiiv for my newsletters, and honestly, it's been one of the best decisions I've made for building something sustainable outside of my main work.
𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 → https://selimuysal.link/beehiiv_w
The world is changing. Budgets are shifting. Systems are unstable.
But that doesn't mean you have to be.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲?
Thanks for reading!
Selim