One of my greatest current struggles remains to be, giving myself the time and space to just think. To look around, take it in, and slow down to think. The pace of the world and work seems to increase in speed every three months, making me feel like I have to just execute execute execute. No time to think when there’s so much to do!
I’ve always been like this; it’s just multiplied as my responsibilities grew as an adult. I remember as a kid, when I was learning how to play lacrosse for the first time, I’d gotten into the bad habit of once receiving the ball, getting rid of it as quickly as possible, like a hot potato. Most of the time, this strategically made no sense, but every time, these instincts kicked in. Passing the ball to a teammate as quickly as possible, as if I’d be run over if I didn’t. Suffice to say, my lacrosse phase lasted just a year.
As you know, there are a lot more lacrosse balls to juggle as an adult. So here I am, I’ve started a newsletter driven by my urge to create and learn, but also, I’ll admit, out of fear. Fear that I’ll lose my career before it really even starts, end up homeless, and live a purposeless life because of the winds of change AI has blown in. Mind you, yes, that is very dramatic, but (pause for dramatic effect) history shows, technological change brings disruption. We’re already seeing AI have a negative impact on the number of entry-level jobs available to post-graduates (and I thought the job market post-grad 2023 was hard).
As a member of the anxious generation (Gen Z), naturally, I’m doing everything I can to equip myself to face this disruption and come out ok on the other side. The catch, though, is that fear-based motivation only takes us so far, and I find that fear oftentimes clouds my judgment more than it clarifies, aka metaphorically passing the lacrosse ball around like a hot potato. It’s also a recipe for being miserable, and I don’t know about you, but I want to have fun in whatever remaining years I have left on earth.
“I don't want business to be another job I wake up to and eventually despise. I want work to be a natural part of my life. I want it to be play. I want it to be my vessel to learn what I want, build what I want, and create what I want.”
I’m going to guess, after opening this email and reading to this point, that you’re probably confused right now. “Wait, this doesn’t look like the newsletter I subscribed to”! Well, first of all, you’re right, it’s not! Let’s be honest, the old name was way too long anyway. I’m ready to switch things up, slow down (so I can actually think), and have more fun in the process.
So without further or do, drumroll please…
WELCOME to my NEW newsletter: Agent of Curiosity. This newsletter is now my playground to future-proof my career and yours if you’ll join me. With this rebrand comes a renewed sense of purpose, to play and let my curiosity off its leash because I believe curiosity is our career’s greatest edge.
Here’s why curiosity gives your career an advantage:
Adaptable to Change
Curiosity drives you to explore and learn new tools, trends, and skills before they become mainstream. That keeps you ahead of the curve.Future Trends Radar
Instead of reacting to disruption, curiosity makes you notice weak signals early, AI shifts, cultural changes, or new marketing channels.Skill Stacking
You naturally cross-train across disciplines (AI, marketing, psychology, design), making you versatile in a world where single-skill careers are fragile.Resilience in Uncertainty
Curiosity reframes uncertainty as an opportunity to explore, not a threat, so you thrive where others freeze.Creative Edge
It fuels fresh ideas by connecting dots others don’t even see, which keeps your work differentiated when automation levels the playing field.Lifelong Employability
When industries evolve, the curious don’t get obsolete—they reinvent. Curiosity ensures you’re always relevant, not replaceable.
Agent of Curiosity will explore five core future-proof skills: AI fluency, taste and discernment, systems thinking, and resilience — all bound by a curiosity-first mindset. Of course, sometimes I color outside the lines, if that's where my curiosity takes me.
Next week, you’ll receive the first official edition of Agent of Curiosity, which will be a little less manifesto (like this one) and a little more curiosity field journal.
Some things will remain the same, like my 🧩 Project Playground series. You didn’t think I’d forgotten to finish the first project, Operation Personal Brand Makeover, did you? We’re covering step four next week!
Thank you for reading this to the end, and for sticking around through the chaos. I can’t promise there won’t be more along the way, but I can promise we’ll have fun, whatever happens.
Best,
Skyler Neal
P.S. Hopefully you didn’t take a shot every time I mentioned curiosity in this newsletter; otherwise, you’d be very drunk right now.
