The future of work isn't about which job you will hold. It’s about what you will own when the job changes.
That is the idea behind my book, Learn, Earn, Own: From Career Ladder to Career Assets, and behind the Assets Ladder framework. To bring both to life, I recorded 12 short videos at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). Each is a single idea you can watch in about a minute or two. Thanks to the talented marketing graduate Valentina Quezada, who helped me produce this series.
If you are a career professional trying to make sense of a changing job market, start with the video that matches your question. Below is a one-line takeaway for each, so you can skim and choose.
What are career assets?
Career assets are the things you build that keep working for you, whatever your employer does next. Skills, reputation, content, audience, intellectual property, and domain names are all examples. The Assets Ladder is a way of seeing your career as a portfolio you are building, rather than a set of rungs someone else owns.
The 12 videos
These clips are a taste of the full framework. Learn, Earn, Own: From Career Ladder to Career Assets is available now.
If you found one video useful, subscribe so the next post lands in your inbox, and share it with a colleague who is rethinking their career. If you want to bring this thinking to your team or event, you can reach me via the contact page.
I start off with a little intro to me as the author of Learn Earn Own and where these ideas came from. Conor Lynch is an entrepreneur, author and speaker focused on the future of work. He has trained over 5,000 professionals across Ireland in digital business. I had my first personal brand website in 1999, and later launched Connector in 2008 as a side hustle.
1. My personal brand
Takeaway: Personal branding is a career asset because it keeps opening doors when you are not in the room.
2. I built career assets
Takeaway: A real example of turning work into assets you can point to.
3. My Career Ladder
Takeaway: This famous 100-year-old story is no longer believable.
4. Who owns your career?
Takeaway: If you do not manage your career deliberately, someone else will be managing it for you.
5. Own your work
Takeaway: Ownership starts with treating what you create as yours to build on.
6. The future of work
Takeaway: The ground is shifting, so the safest career move is to build things that travel with you.
7. Climb the Assets Ladder
Takeaway: Each rung is a type of asset, and you can start climbing from wherever you are today.
8. Work Work Work
Takeaway: Work ownership depends on where you are on the Assets Ladder.
9. Career Ladder or Assets Ladder?
Takeaway: A Career Ladder rewards your employer’s priorities; an Assets Ladder rewards what you build and own.
10. Squiggly or Spaghetti Career?
Takeaway: Non-linear careers are normal now, and the Assets Ladder brings order to the chaos.
11. The 3 Career Stages
Takeaway: Knowing which stage you are in tells you what to focus on next.
12. Your Career Strategy in 3 words: Learn Earn Own
Takeaway: Three stages, in order: learn the skills, earn from them, then own something that outlasts any one role.
A sneak peek into Learn Earn Own
Takeaway: Lots of big ideas in a compact, easy-to-read book.
Want to go deeper?
Grab my free eBook The Assets Ladder below or buy the Learn Earn Own book on Amazon. Talk to me about personalised support or adopting these ideas into your coaching practice.
Free eBook: The Assets Ladder
What if the problem was never the ladder, but which ladder you were climbing?
My Books
You can now purchase my books in eBook, black & white, or colour editions on Amazon. These books are part of the same Career Design series: ‘Learn Earn Own’ is the essential edition, while ‘The Assets Ladder’ is the professional edition.
Thank you for checking out my book Learn Earn Own. As a special thank you, I’d like to give you my Multi-Career Starter Kit as a free gift. It includes AI prompts and a web app for you to generate your personalised income growth ideas.
Free Gift: https://learnearnown.me/freegift