6 trends I’m eyeballing in 2026

Reading the tea leaves for work, business, social media, influence and education.

If this year is anything like the last few, there’s 0% chance that we won’t experience some form of mild upheaval in our personal and professional lives. I can’t say specifically what (although have many predictions) because no human on earth (except maybe Sam Altman) knows what’s on humanity’s deck of cards.

That being said, change is a-comin’ and regardless of what you think or how freaked out you feel about it, we all ought to pause and look around at what’s happening socially, culturally and technologically, so that we can position ourselves strategically.

Each of these trends have directly influenced my plan for 2026, specifically around how I’m scaling my portfolio career, sharpening my message, investing in education and managing my money.

So come closer, dear friend. Let’s read the tea leaves together.

My predictions

1. The continued rise of side hustles, independent work and portfolio careers

Ok ok, I know I’m biased but the data supports my hypothesis that portfolio careers just might be the future of work. The gig economy now represents 12% of the global labor market and up to 28% of skilled knowledge workers are now freelancers or independent professionals. 28%! That’s almost one in three!!

There are a myriad of reasons for this: layoffs and hiring freezes forcing people into independent work, AI, the democratisation of distribution by social media, the normalisation of non-linear career paths, and people starting to realise that there are viable, sustainable options for structuring work outside of a full-time role.

We’re still in the early adopter phase but as portfolio careers become more mainstream, at some point (whether by choice or necessity) you might find yourself in one too. How terrifying exciting! To set yourself up for long term success, I’d start to build your entrepreneurial skills before you need them. Learn to identify and articulate your value, learn how to sell, build your reputation online and offline, get financially literate (see below), and surround yourself with people who’ll lift you up and light the way.

2. Financial literacy as an absolute must

A few years ago I decided to take control of my bank balance and became obsessed with learning about money, rewriting my relationship with it and building a personal money system that gave me financial security even though I earn variable income. Getting financially educated changed my life and it’s the only reason I’ve been able to stay self-employed for this long.

I’m convinced that as the job market becomes more uncertain and/or more people start working for themselves, financial literacy will become even more of a core life skill than it already is. You need to know your numbers, understand your runway, have an emergency fund, systemise your cash flow and plan for worst case scenario A, B and C. When you can’t rely on a salary, you have to rely on yourself.

3. Judgement will become your most valuable attribute

Up until recently your ability to get shit done was the main source of your value. Can you deliver results? Can you produce output? Can you ship? Yes?! Then according to capitalism, you are valuable!

However, these days thinking and results can be produced in legit 10 seconds, and when AI (or an AI-infused human) can execute pretty much anything, then judgement becomes your competitive advantage. Value is derived from your ability to assess a situation holistically, understand the trade offs, prioritise strategically and make robust decisions. Can you make solid calls? Can you decide what matters and why? Can you weigh up data vs. intuition? Yes?! Then congrats! According to capitalism V2.0, you are still valuable!!

4. Thinking in public as an evolution to building in public

Build in public has been every founder’s war cry over the last 5 years and while I don’t think this trend will die anytime soon, thinking in public will become the gold standard for showcasing your capabilities publicly. Bringing people into your intellectual world builds trust, demonstrates judgement and positions you as unique (as long as you’re not using AI to spit out the thinking for you).

If you’re planning to create content in 2026, flirt with adding the following into your plan:

• Original ideas where possible

• Why you’re making certain decisions in your role or business

• How you’re thinking through a problem in real time

• Your approach to situation A, B and C

• The assumptions you’re operating under

• Patterns you’re noticing

• Questions you’re grappling with

5. The rise of intellectually driven, high value content creators

I, along with the rest of the world, am fatigued by the infinite scroll. Don’t get me wrong, I love lots of writers and creators. But across the internet more and more content feels manufactured purely to capture attention as opposed to providing education or ideas with any real depth, and as an in-recovery phone addict I can unsafely say that this flavour of media diet is not good for the ol’ brain.

There’s a reason that Substack has popped off recently. People are opting out of the rat-race-ery of the FYP and are looking to thoughtful, intentional work that teaches them something or provokes a new perspective. In 2026, I think things will shift away from valuing content that hijacks attention against our will, towards content worth paying attention to.

Intellectually driven, high value content creators with deep trust > viral, trend driven content creators with mass followings.

6. A shift from front-loaded learning to lifelong learning

It’s always felt weird to me that formal education is jammed into the first two decades of life. Our young minds take in all of this new info and are taught lots of new skills (although arguably not the ones that we actually need to adult successfully but that’s an essay for another time), and then we enter the workforce and build incrementally from there.

This front-loaded educational model might have worked in the past but it’s totally disconnected from the needs of the modern workforce. When 65% of today’s students will work in jobs that don’t yet exist, it’s a clear signal that what you learn in an institution won’t be relevant throughout the rest of your career.

Tim Ferris recently said that the most important skill of this century is “learning how to learn” and given where we’re at, I couldn’t agree more. Put yourself in roles and with teams where you can learn by osmosis. Invest in your skill development through programs and courses. Put yourself in the arena. Become a lifelong learner. That’s the name of the new game.

Your crystal ball awaits

I’m sure every generation says this, but we truly do live in unprecedented times. We’re seeing an operational and identity crisis play out across every corner of society, culture and technology. Markets are being disrupted, systems are being untangled, institutions are being challenged and our values as humans are shifting.

Hidden among the existential dread there are many exciting opportunities, to be sure, but they’ll only be uncovered by those willing to throw out everything they think they know, and actively design a new way to work and live.

The writing’s on the wall (or in the teacup).

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How I’m applying these 2 insights to growing my portfolio career in 2026:

• Thinking in public as an evolution to building in public (and how this has become a major source of leads)

• The rise of intellectually driven, high value content creators (and how this is changing my creation and consumption habits)

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🫶🏼 When you’re ready, here are three ways I can help:

• Portfolio Career Mentoring: 1-1 sessions to help you get started and build a future-proofed career that sits at the intersection of freedom, creative fulfilment, meaning and money.

• The Portfolio Career Operating System: a Notion tool to help you build consistent sales and clear direction across your many projects, clients and income streams, without flying blind or running yourself into the ground. Used by 200+ professionals, creatives and solopreneurs worldwide.

• Spin Up A Mini Offer Playbook: steal my process for designing, launching and testing a new income stream in under a day.

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