The OEM market will likely struggle to convince

5 min readDec 3, 2020

Let me share a live example. I’ve had a dream to launch an education program for years. I’ve tried several times and failed. One time I signed up a total of two students. The rest? Crickets.

Back in the day, I was excited about being a reporter because I knew this was history in the making and that was exciting. I urge journalists today to stay fair and objective and follow the ideals of journalism. What you’re seeing is going to be in the history books — be aware of it and act accordingly.

If you’re waiting for a book deal, or a magical job promotion, or to be discovered, then it ain’t going to happen. Sorry. Only hard work and daily practice can turn your work into what looks like a big break.

Big breaks are total B.S. It ain’t going to happen, pal/palette. I too have wanted to become a writer for the last six years. I bust my chops every day to move the needle on my writing career.

Nowadays, the crowds are overwhelmingly white and much more integrated. Back then, they were just trying to get rid of segregation. And now they’re trying to get rid of all of discrimination. Also today it’s nationwide. Just about every state has the movement. That did not happen in the ’60s. So this is bigger, wider, and deeper.

We need more diverse voices, because we need reporters and editors who’ve had different life experiences. We need people who understand, and are sensitive to certain issues.

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We used to see him all the time. We used to go up in the office and talk about stuff. And everybody came to town just to participate in the movement — movie stars, writers, from Harry Belafonte to James Baldwin.

This is bigger. It’s nationwide. The main difference is that a lot of people are coming to their senses. They’re seeing things that they never saw before, and are changing their minds. And now that the demonstrations are mostly white — that’s a major factor.

Jeff created a process and committed to sticking to it. That process led Jeff to become one of the most well-known writers of our time with his books “The Art of Work” and “Real Artists Don’t Starve.”

I got a second big break after Business Insider picked up another story of mine. I thought my life was made again. This story repeated over and over. The big break was never a big break at all — it was a tiny step forward in the direction of my process.

One day Jeff got an offer of $250 to write a feature article. He thought his life was set and he was on his way to quitting his job and writing for the rest of his life. Turns out he was wrong.

America’s makeup has changed from overwhelmingly white to just about even now. Eventually, if it isn’t already, it’s going to be majority nonwhite. The media has to adapt. We called for that back when we formed the NABJ. And we’ve got to take that into account.
Jeff Goins wanted to be a writer. He tried for several years and created countless blogs. Many of them only lasted a few weeks. He had a case of “shiny object syndrome.” Translated: he was always chasing something new.
As someone who used to work in computer sales, I understand and applaud Apple’s marketing. This is not blind praise, but rather a both business and consumer-centric understanding of how well-crafted their marketing actually is. Most customers who would walk into the shop would throw empty stares my way whenever I’d start talking specs. They rarely if ever cared about what CPU I would put into the case, how much RAM the machine would have or the brand of the mother-board. Some wanted to know which latest game they could play with those specs, how many movies they could fit on the hard drive, and will it all still work in two or three years.

“Your network equals your net worth” is cliche advice most people ignore. When a LinkedIn guru makes you want to vomit because they say “let’s network” like a robot, you ignore this advice. I did too. But cliche advice is bloody powerful.

When I got a big break with a viral article that CNBC picked up, I thought my future was set in stone. Seven days later that viral article was buried in the garbage dump of internet blog posts. Nobody cared anymore. I thought my writing career was over. I felt like crap. I was a toddler screaming for attention.

The looting today was not as bad as it was back then. I don’t think there’s a comparison to rioting that happened. And the Civil Rights movement was integrated, but it was overwhelmingly Black. The demonstrators were Black. A lot of the white people who participated were not Southern white people. They were white people who came in from the North.

The OEM market will likely struggle to convince

Written by sohel diver