[Part 11] In the Age of AI, I Have 8 Years to Hold On
[Part 11] In the Age of AI, I Have 8 Years to Hold On
the first thing I do is knock on my eldest son's door.
"Hey — I'm home. Come say hi, will you?"
A flat, unbothered voice shoots back from inside.
"Hey."
That's it.
One word.
My younger son is glued to his monitor, deep in some game.
From the kitchen, my wife calls out in her usual bright tone.
To most people, this would look like an ordinary evening.
Maybe even a boring one.
But to me,
this is happiness.
My kids going to school, hanging out with friends,
worrying about the things teenagers are supposed to worry about.
Grocery runs with my wife on weekends.
The occasional café afternoon, each of us reading quietly side by side.
that all of this could fall apart.
That's what my anxiety is really about.
It's not the AI revolution that scares me.
It's not the headlines about jobs disappearing.
It's the thought that someday,
when I open that front door,
no one might answer.
That's what terrifies me.
One day, I was flipping through the calendar
when my hand just... stopped.
College. Military service. Then job hunting.
I did the math.
8 years.
My eldest is in his second year of a two-year college.
Graduation, military service, then finding a job.
The two timelines overlap for about 6 years.
Add 2 more for the younger one to get settled.
Total: 8 years.
| Who | Current Status | Time Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Eldest son | 2nd year, 2-year college | Graduation + Military + Job ≈ 4 years |
| Younger son | 2nd year of high school | College + Military + Job ≈ 8 years |
| Total runway needed | — | 8 years |
When I first worked that out,
I sat there for a long time without saying a word.
It was clarity.
All those vague "I need to try harder" thoughts
suddenly had a number attached to them.
For the next 8 years,
I need to earn — steadily, seriously, and without stopping.
That is my reality as the breadwinner of this family.
I sell Machines.
I repair machines, supply consumables,
and have been doing this for 20 years.
AI won't replace what I do anytime soon.
But the market itself is slowly shrinking — and I know it.
And more and more of them are struggling.
Being honest with myself:
I've got maybe 3 years left in this line of work.
I need 8 years. I have 3.
So I split my life in two.
| Activity | Split | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Machine business | 50% | Income right now |
| Blog · YouTube | 50% | Survival after year 3 |
If I can't build a new income stream,
I won't make it to 8 years.
That's why I'm writing this.
But this tunnel is darker
than I expected.
your grades went up. Simple.
You could see the results.
This is different.
I write posts. I make videos.
But monetization? No sign of it.
In this world of infinite competition,
the content I pour myself into
can vanish without a trace.
For six months now,
we've been spending more than we earn.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
That's exactly where I am.
The experts say:
You just have to accept it."
I know. I've been writing about exactly this
since the very first post in this series.
But here's the thing —
understanding something intellectually
and actually living inside it
are two completely different experiences.
It's the thing staring back at me
from my monthly expense sheet.
Not a philosophy debate.
A survival problem — on my dinner table.
When the weight gets too heavy,
I lace up my shoes and go for a run.
When my lungs are burning,
there's no room left for anxiety.
And I need the stamina.
Because tomorrow, I'm going back into the tunnel.
Honestly?
My mind is barely holding together.
I don't know if there's light at the end of this tunnel.
I don't know if I'll make it.
there's a tired, flat "Hey."
And a warm "Welcome home."
That ordinary moment —
that's what I'm fighting to protect.
No grand mission. No inspiring vision.
who needs to keep going
for his family —
for 8 more years.
Is there something AI can't take from me?
If so, what is it?
Let's think about that together
in the next post.
