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# Decoding Tomorrow: The Infinite Pivot Series - #21 "Stop underestimating the future value of your current insight."
**URL:** https://jimcarroll.com/2026/04/decoding-tomorrow-the-infinite-pivot-series-21-stop-underestimating-the-future-value-of-your-current-insight/
Date: 2026-04-24
Author: JimCarroll
Post Type: post
Summary: “Stop underestimating the future value of your current insight..” – Futurist Jim Carroll Futurist Jim Carroll is writing a series, The Art of the Infinite Pivot, based on 36 lessons from his 36 years as a solo entrepreneur, working as a nomadic worker in the global freelance economy. The series is unfolding here, and at […]
Categories: ArtofthePivot, Blog, Daily Inspiration, Knowledge, Reinvention
Featured Image: https://jimcarroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/InfinitePivot-21CurrentInsight.jpg
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*"Stop underestimating the future value of your current insight..”* - Futurist Jim Carroll
*Futurist Jim Carroll is writing a series, The Art of the Infinite Pivot, based on 36 lessons from his 36 years as a solo entrepreneur, working as a nomadic worker in the global freelance economy. The series is unfolding here, and at *[*pivot.jimcarroll.com*](https://pivot.jimcarroll.com/)*.*
Back in 1989, while I was in the midst of my career crisis that would ultimately see me leave the corporate world and start my own freelance *"thing,*" I obsessed over thinking about what possible value my unique skills might be.
After all, I had gone far from my original professional accounting roots, and was deeply involved in all the merging technology, culturem and opportunities of what was then the emerging Internet. I wasn't on the leading edge - I was somewhere far out ahead of most other people in the world - my skills were so niche, so unique, so narrow that I couldn't think of what possible value they might be to any organization in the world.
Five years later, I had a #1 national bestselling book, my business was thriving, and I had people begging me to come into their organizations to explain this strange new world - for money.
With all that, I learned a very powerful lesson: one of the hardest things to do in a long-term career is to accurately value what you know. It's still the case for me - when you’ve spent 36 years "*putting in the work"* (#16) and "*frequenting the fringes*" (#15), your intuition becomes so sharp that you often mistake it for common sense.
You assume everyone sees the world the way you do.
They don't.
And that might be the most important skill you have - a theme I explore in depth in my upcoming *Being Unique* book. (*It's still in editing!*)
In my voyage, I’ve realized that the "Infinite Pivot" isn't just about moving to the next thing. It’s about recognizing the massive value of the distance you’ve already traveled. What takes me five minutes to "*see*" today took me three decades to learn. What I knew in 1994 that propelled my success forward took me from 1982 to learn.
So what's your value worth? The amateur prices by the hour. The expert prices by the decade.
When you underestimate your insight, you don't just leave money on the table; *you devalue the very future you are trying to build.* You fall into the trap of thinking that because something is easy for you, it must be easy for everyone. Often, it's not!
The most profound pivots happen when you realize that your unique "*lens*" is a rare and high-value asset. I've got very unique niche skills - ranging from being able to connect the dots between a Linux server, a genomic report, and a global economic shift, which let me see future trends others can't. People aren't paying me for my time; they are paying me for the 36 years of failure and friction that allowed me to provide clarity in five minutes.
You probably have the same skills.
Own your expertise.
Stop apologizing for your rate.
*The value of your insight isn't measured by how long it takes you to say it, but by how much it changes the world for the person who hears it.*
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