In just one or two centuries, which is a tiny sliver of the world’s entire history, we have made incredible improvements in technology, medicine, entertainment, art, and culture. Most of us wouldn’t even be able to bear the burden and suffering of living a hundred years ago compared to the luxuries we have today in the form of TVs, computers, and iPods.

However, don’t feel guilty about it, our children’s children will feel the same way when they look back on how we grew up. Such is the perplexing world of human progress.

Subjects like business and economics really fascinate me. I spend about half of my waking day reading about the latest developments, following new trends, and daydreaming on what the future has in store. There is a shift in paradigm occurring, and in this post I want to touch on “five demands” that I think are very telling about where successfully businesses are heading.

Digital

No, I don’t predict a complete death of brick-and-mortar businesses, but there is definitely a new business arena being built around the online world and it is getting bigger and bigger everyday. In particular, information-based products and services are migrating in herds to online businesses and blogs. Entrepreneurs are now selling e-books, webinars, and online courses that are just as valuable to customers as hardcovers and “real-life” lectures. In fact, Amazon reported earlier this year that it is now selling more e-books than hardcover books. This can be attributed to a couple of reasons: digital products are often cheaper and more convenient. Now instead of carrying 2 or 3 books onto a plane, all we need is an iPad or Kindle.

While the dot-com bubble may have tried to push online business into a premature birth, we are definitely going to see a continuing shift in this direction long-term.

Empathy

The economy is becoming so competitive in some industries that effective marketing is no longer just a “numbers game.” Instead it is about connecting with customers and clients in meaningful ways. This entails building friendships with others by adopting the culture of our target audience – seeing the world through their eyes – or what is often called “empathy.” The book Wired To Care by business connoisseur Dev Patnaik illustrates this point in a variety of case studies by showing how entrepreneurs who walk in the shoes of their clients almost always create a fool-proof model for success and longevity.

Creativity

Every profession requires some degree of creativity, whether it be engineering, scientific research, architecture, design, education, art, music, or entertainment. The process of creativity is to take pre-existing elements and integrate them in a way that has never been done before, along with the aim to improve past conditions. Some may argue that creativity is the source of all innovation and improvement. There is a great article at Lateral Action called “The Rise of the Creative Economy” which really drives this point home. One part states:

“While data and knowledge are important resources, the creative economy represents a significant development from the familiar idea of the knowledge economy. The key difference is that in the creative economy it is not enough to store, process or analyse information – it must be creatively transformed into something new and valuable.”

Abundance

Don’t confuse an attitude of abundance for some new-agey, Law of Attraction-esque gibberish. This isn’t about visualizing what you want until you get it, but acting resourcefully with a giver’s mentality. In Chris Anderson’s book “Free: The Future of a Radical Price” Anderson counts the ways that giving away free content can help boost your business and build up your tribe. He argues that many individuals under the age of 30 aren’t used to paying for digital information when they know they can find it somewhere online for free. By tapping into this demand you can attract and maintain a loyal audience over time while building paid premiums as you go along. Have some avenue of free content, whether it be a blog, e-book, audio lecture, video series, etc. This will let your audience know that you aren’t the type of person who will strangle every cent out of them – you care about your non-paying fans just as much as you care about your paying fans. If you do it right, this can be very effective marketing. However, keep in mind that there are some caveats to this approach and some, like Gary Vaynerchuck, are now saying the economy may be moving away from this model.

Story-telling

What do we have to be so overprotective about? Why should we cling to every bit of property as if it were our last meal? What makes us so hesitant to give up what we do not truly need or depend on?

A dollar that sits in your wallet remains but a dollar. It is worthless. It is not real wealth – the kind that only comes from production and consumption – it is only a symbol of wealth.

Not to misrepresent savings – a practice that is crucial for accumulating capital – the only way to increase one’s potential for production and consumption, but the economist Keynes – if he was right about one thing then it was this: “In the long-run, we are all dead.” There is no amount of wealth we can gain in this world and keep after we die. Nothing we own in this life will be ours forever. Sounds scary? It’s not. It’s liberating. What we lose in clinging to our material possessions is equal to what we gain by letting go of them.

Before all else, acknowledging one’s abundance becomes a shift in perspective. It allows us to step in the handsome role of the giver and no longer remain the victim of circumstances.

The attitude of abundance does not lead us to give to others recklessly or without discretion; instead, it allows us to give in a way that increases the wealth for both parties. All free economic activities benefit each person’s self-interest. Giving for the sake of feeling good about “giving,” and not with the foresight that the person you are giving will capitalize on your investment is foolish and a waste of hard-earned wealth.

There are no good reasons to give simply out of pity for others. The receiver rarely wants to receive out of pity. It only puts him or her in a position of weakness, and hurts their psychological well-being much more than it helps their financial situation.

Only give with the intention of putting another at a position of strength, self-reliance, and self-motivation. Then your act of giving becomes self-fulfilling, the receiver appreciates it more, and it keeps his or her self-pride intact and unharmed.

Those with the attitude of abundance do not give for their own selfish psychological benefits. They are already strong characters of moral and emotional strength. Thus, they give out of the goodness of their hearts – out of their own self-interest towards the well-being of the party they are giving to. Their act of giving does not end until they see the other as prosperous as themselves (through the receivers own merit and good effort, not through some arbitrary equalization of possessions).

The abundant don’t give to others so that the receiver can simply get by another day. They give to the receiver so that the receiver has a means, a starting point, to step up as their own character of integrity and abundance.

The abundant gain pleasure by making others abundant. That is the true sharing of wealth. Why would one want to give to another if the benefit is merely material and not a stepping stone to true independence and freedom for all parties. The attitude of abundance gives rise to others attitudes of abundance. And with this attitude, society as a whole can enjoy more wealth.