Gatekeeper
A person who controls access to something such as a gate, or in modern times, status, category based on credentials of those seeking entry. In 2020 a gatekeeper may have been represented by a company’s greeter who told you to mask up and use hand sanitizer before entering.
Backstory
In the past two weeks I was dealing with a gatekeeper, I thought I was finished with them in my working life. I was naïve.
Consequently I am shifting gears and heading into a new realm, I have been working on writing a book and enrolled in a bootcamp for writing a book proposal.
Actually I should start with something about me for context. I believe money is a tool not an end, I believe people should be recognized for who they are as an individual not for indoctrination or letters by their name.
I don’t place high value on corner offices and borrowed titles and never have.
Moreover in this boot camp it was made clear to me that a writer’s role is to develop a book that will be easy to sell, hopefully containing a unique view on an important issue.
Nevertheless the author should have degrees, designations, high profile contacts and a large existing customer base to demonstrate to the editor that the book will translate into sales. It also helps if you look good in pictures and on paper.
And yet this is an extension of academia, hubris. If you plan to write and publish a book my gatekeeper also advises that it helps your case a great deal if you commit to purchasing the first 500 copies of the finished product, to take ‘the risk’ out for the publisher.
The gatekeeper, although positioned to be open minded, came undone in feedback to me when I attempted to take a creative approach to my book’s biography.
Although I did not lay out degrees or publications, I simply described myself in a human way. I do not recall the exact wording but I was quickly called to task for wasting this persons time, ‘I don’t even know where to begin’, ‘the last thing we need is another Tony Robbins’ the gatekeeper says.
That Bash Was a Bit Of A Compliment
I had to look up Tony Robbins, after concluding I am not an orator, I decided to take the gatekeepers words as a compliment. It appears Tony Robbins has helped people and walks his own path in life.
“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthuiasm.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Now, I Understand My Approach Is Different
Hence I am not a rule follower, in fact having someone tell me I can’t do something usually lights a fire within and I use this as drive.
So, I am grateful for this bootcamp, for the gatekeeper and for this fire that was ignited by the shaky wall propped up in front of me.
A good book should be judged on its content, on its ability to create an experience for the reader and more specifically for my aim, its ability to help the reader in life. I don’t see a gate.
How To Handle Them
There will always be a gatekeeper in your path and when you shift your career or goals you may meet a new set of gatekeepers. Some of these people are well intended and don’t realize what they have become. Some of them are affected by a bias such as ‘I had to go through these steps, therefore so should you’.
Other Points Of Interest This Week
The Bank of Canada holds the current policy rate, projections indicate this rate (0.25%) will be maintained until their inflation objective is achieved. The policy interest rate will remain at the effective lower bound until into 2023 based on forecasts of the 2 percent inflation rate being sustainably achieved in that time-period.
The Buffet Indicator is 224% for US markets and 181% for Canadian markets.
The Buffet Indicator is a calculation of the ratio of total US Stock Market Valuation to Gross Domestic Product.
Aggregate US Market Value: $48.2T
Current Estimated GDP: $21.5T
What Does This Mean?
The US and Canadian stock markets are strongly overvalued
Market valuation has never been higher, trade with care and don’t take anyone’s “proven success formula” or “all in buy” advice. There are still some deals to be found but they are currently few and far between.
We are seeing a lot of hype on cryptocurrency, claims that “bitcoin is just like gold” can be seen and heard and multiple media streams. Don’t be fooled, gold is gold. Cryptocurrency is based on the same concept as fiat currency, meaning we agree a $20 bill is worth $20, therefore it is. Crypto nuts currently believe 1 bitcoin is worth $31,854.02 USD or $40,578.35 CAD. In a future post I will complete an analysis of Crypto and at least one interesting legal case currently in courts.
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