8 Comments
User's avatar
π‘½π’‚π’π’†π’“π’Šπ’‚ 🌷's avatar

You own the knowledge to build everything from scratch! That’s what remains even if subscriptions change. Subscriptions provide you the freedom to own nothing because everything is available without the need to hoard them. It is a progression! A new way of being based on an abundance mindset. Our grandparents stored value in their possessions; we store it in our habits and our knowledge.

Sterling's avatar

It's easier to praise an abundance mindset when you’ve never seen a necessary tool disappear overnight due to a licensing change. The knowledge you build from scratch is indeed yours. The illusion begins when you mistake access for ownership.

π‘½π’‚π’π’†π’“π’Šπ’‚ 🌷's avatar

I have seen many resources disappear overnight to realize that the power lies in me. No one can steal what you already have. I am the tool! When you own the "how" and the "why", no licensing change can revoke the ability to pivot.

Sterling's avatar

The moment a licensing change erases your distribution, audience or legal standing, your invaluable 'how' becomes a beautiful private journal β€” useful for consolation, but useless for leverage.

π‘½π’‚π’π’†π’“π’Šπ’‚ 🌷's avatar

Then perhaps the ultimate leverage is simply not needing their structure to define your worth. A temporary loss of distribution doesn't mean the value has vanished; it just means the world hasn't caught up to the next pivot yet. When you have built a true body of work, it is a legacy. Its value is inherent, even if the current architecture momentarily stops reflecting it back to you.

Yunchieh Chang's avatar

Thank you for raising this question! It’s intriguing in so many ways and that likely has no perfect answer… it reminds me of the housing debate between renting vs. buying that has consisted throughout our time. There are upsides and downsides to both.

Sterling's avatar

Most people see this as a trade-off between freedom and stability. Interestingly, both options now seem to be strategies for managing anxiety rather than for achieving a good life.

Andrea Stoeckel's avatar

I do not depend on subscriptions and I'm on a fixed income- unsubscribe