But instead of getting help with his wife or weathering the storm, he slept the neighbor down the street. It took years

“The Long Tail” was Anderson’s catchy name for a set of observations about the economics of internet markets — observations that are as resonant as ever in today’s “passion economy,” in which anyone can try their hand at turning their specialized interests into sources of income. In his article and book, building on the work of academics like Erik Brynjolfsson, Jeffrey Hu, Michael Smith, and Anita Elberse, Anderson observed that brick-and-mortar stores were constrained by limited shelf space, and therefore aimed to carry only the most popular products. In sharp contrast, online platforms like Amazon and Netflix had infinite shelf space. The tech journalist’s thesis: This radical shift would have far-reaching effects, from the media and entertainment industries that were his main focus, to the markets for everything from crafts to kitchen appliances.,But for me, it is worth it. In the last year, I became a father, and the concept of building wealth took on a whole new meaning. My focus is not only to provide financial security for the rest of my life but for my son’s entire life and any kids he may have.,By dedicating myself to learning how to build a side-hustle that I love (and I do love my side-hustle) with scalable income, I can provide that freedom to my son in two ways.,Between the compounding of my current investments, the additional savings from my day job, and the savings provided by my side hustle, I can project how long it should take to have $1 million saved.,With the pandemic, we’re forced to limit our social interactions. Our first drinks together might be on zoom, our first meal a socially distanced picnic, and our first kiss might take place way later than we thought it would. Let’s use that extra time to take more care with how we treat each other. And to see that connecting with another person is a privilege, not a battle ground.,Fifteen years ago, as Silicon Valley was recovering from the dot-com bust, David Hornik, a long-time VC at August Capital, started seeing a recurring theme in pitches from startup founders: overt references to a new term called “the long tail.” A typical pitch deck included a slide showing a stylized sales graph taken straight from a 2004 Wired magazine article by that name, written by the magazine’s editor-in-chief at the time, Chris Anderson.,“That slide was a constant,” Hornik recalls. “I saw it every week for years.” By the time Anderson converted his article into his bestselling 2006 book, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, the ideas represented by the term were so well-known in internet startup circles and the slide so commonplace that one founder labeled a slide “The Obligatory Long Tail Slide,” captioning the accompanying graph with the phrase “Enough said.”,Learning skills that I can pass on to my son so that he can learn how to earn a living doing work that he is passionate about. That means that if someone else is not willing to offer him his dream job, he will have the tools to go out and create it for himself.,This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.,I’m not saying people who can’t express their emotions will cheat. But what I am saying is, people who can’t put to words what they’re experiencing are more likely to channel those feelings into other actions.,By seeing this pervasive phenomenon so clearly, spelling out its practical implications for businesses and consumers, and giving it a catchy name, Anderson helped make “The Long Tail” a buzzword, and earned a spot in TIME magazine’s 2007 list of the world’s 100 most influential people. (In it Malcolm Gladwell described the concept as “a Truly Big Idea.”),This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.,I want my son and future generations of my family to not stress about money. The most valuable thing money can buy is freedom; the freedom to spend your days doing what you love.,By the time all of the taxes and deductions come off your paycheck, and you subtract the amount you need to pay for housing, transportation, food, and other essential living expenses, the odds are you don’t have a ton of money left to invest at the end of the month.,I kept writing and building an audience, and slowly the income from writing began to increase. Early in 2020, I created an online course to further monetize my writing and recently started focusing on building a YouTube channel.