In the 2018 Cohen Brothers’ film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a rugged pioneer (played by Tom Waits) enters an idyllic scene and pans for gold. I really enjoyed watching this vignette, not only because it shows the process of panning, but because it gave a certain life to a concept that I had only heard or read about.
Each generation has always had its version of “panning for gold” – particularly generations which are at the forefront of new economic eras. The “manifest destiny” era of exploring and building the American West eventually gave way to what some economists describe as “industrial” or sometimes “post-industrial”, which really boomed in the 1920’s.
From there, a new shift happened around the latter part of the 60’s. Younger people grew disenfranchised with the life that seemed to have been handed them by their parents and grandparents, and the “hippie movement” formed. Rebellion, revolution, and social and sexual freedom became the new norms – even in the midst of a turbulent and tragic war.
The divergence from what could be called an “Post-Industrial Economy” was the beginning of a massive shift in consciousness that, in my opinion, is still unfolding today. Before smart phones, tablets and social media, people were trying to find different, non-traditional ways to live, work and communicate.
Some of these ways involved going off and joining a hippie commune. Others might have looked like the early stages of individual enterprise, or entrepreneurialism. But however they took shape, one commonality was obvious: there was a shift away from things (products, machines, penchants, security) and towards… people.
Don’t get me wrong – products, penchants and job security still went and, for many, continue to go strong. But the pioneers of the era that began in the 1960’s, the new gold panners, struck on something even more important.
The gold struck in the 1960’s expanded into a deeper understanding of what an “economy” could be and mean. The next few decades paved the way for today’s era, which could be called the “Relationship Economy”.
When I say “relationship,” I’m referring to any type of relationship: a partnership, a mentor and protegé, even a romantic relationship. The magical thing about relationships is, they can happen in a void; be sparked in unlikely places, such as, for example, where I met my current business partner (Bakersfield, California).
They can happen at any time, anywhere. The first step is to be open to them, and understand that relationships today are like gold in the days of the American frontier.
There are other, finer, more subtle points about relationships that are too numerous to include in one blog post. And they can be learned. But for now, I’d invite you to simply be open to meeting someone who can help you in your project, mission or Cause.
Relationships are the new currency, the gold that a determined panner can uncover. Today, they’re more valuable than any conventional “job” – even more valuable than money. Why? Because an alliance, unlike money, can bring personal fulfillment, not just financial security.
Today’s economy is about People. Any person who is out to work for himself, own his own business, or be self-employed, will find that there is nothing more guaranteeing of economic prosperity and personal fulfillment, than that which is to be found in seeking to connect and collaborate with another Human Being.