Cape Town - Dubai flight. Pieter was sitting next to me.
He’s recently retired and was heading to Abu Dhabi to explore new career opportunities outside of South Africa.
“I can do pretty much what I want now,” he told me, smiling.
He was genuinely excited to start a new chapter. No drama. No fear. Just curiosity and movement forward.
Pieter became my inspiration that day, a living reminder of how to meet change, life transitions… and yes, even all the AI… with excitement for what's to come.
I asked him what he thought of AI and all the disruption it’s causing.
“Are you afraid it’s going to replace us all?”
“Not really,” he shrugged.
“It’s just another tool that helps me do my job better.”
That resonated with me.
It reminded me of two things:
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Change is constant, whether you’re 25 or 65, whether it’s AI or something else, there will always be transitions.
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Health is your true power source, if your body and brain are in good shape, you can always write a new chapter. And it gets more exciting as you walk forward.
Bonus reminder: Attitude is everything.
It made me think of my dad. He’s approaching retirement too, but he’s scared, I feel. Not of being old, but of being lost. He doesn’t see the next step, so he clings to the job, the known, the structure.
I get it. Nobody likes uncertainty and not knowing where you'll end up going. Especially if you don't feel like you have too many options, or that you belong in the new times.
But the truth is, There’s never a clear path forward. There never was.
It’s always some version of walking through fog.
One small step, then the next.
That’s how you create your path. 25, or 65, or anything in between.
AI made this clear for all of us,
We don’t know what’s coming.
But we can move forward anyway.
