The Hot Button Inside of You

In college at the University of Georgia, I took an entrepreneurship class my senior year. The professor said something that has stayed with me ever since — and it’s worth remembering as you head into your upcoming holiday parties.

He told us:

In every room, there’s always that quiet person in the corner.
The one who’s too shy to jump into a conversation.
Too unsure of their place in the group.
Too self-conscious to stand confidently with the crowd.

But then he added something that changed the way I’ve looked at people ever since:

Every single one of them has a “hot button.”
One topic that unlocks them.
One passion that lights them up.
One thing they could talk about for hours if someone cared enough to ask.

For my stepfather — who proudly told me over Thanksgiving that he’s an “avid reader” of this newsletter — that topic is Arlington, VA history.

Mortgage banker by day.
Historian by night (and apparently every waking weekend hour).
If you hit that topic, he’ll pour out a lifetime of knowledge with genuine joy and zero hesitation.

And here’s the part that gets me:

We live in a world of billions.
We pass people on sidewalks, drive by them on highways, cross paths in grocery stores.
And every single one of them has that hot button, that reservoir of ideas, expertise, and lived experience that could fill a room.

But most people keep it quiet.

They tell themselves:

“When I retire…”
“When the kids leave the house…”
“When life finally slows down…”

That’s a shame.

Because we’re living in a moment where that “hot button”, that passion, that niche expertise, that deep well of knowledge, doesn’t have to stay hidden.

It can become a platform.
A community.
A business.
A second act.
A calling.

This is the real essence of personal branding:

Taking what makes you unique, pairing it with what the world needs, and turning it into opportunity.

Yet the problem remains:
There’s no simple, accessible, affordable way for people to do this.
No clear path that helps someone turn their inner expertise into something meaningful without being part of the privileged few.

But that can change when innovation meets the current reality of our workforce today.

Over the last decade, more than 20 million Americans have joined the independent workforce. In 2014, about 53 million people were freelancing or consulting in some way. Today, that number has climbed to nearly 73 million, almost half the U.S. workforce. Even more striking? The number of people working full-time for themselves has doubled in just four years. This isn’t a fringe movement. It’s a cultural shift, a rising wave of people turning quiet expertise into meaningful work. And the momentum is only accelerating.

When I look toward the future, I see a shift that feels inevitable:

Technology is finally catching up to the human desire to share what we love.
To turn knowledge into something real.
To build a life around what we care about.

I see a world where:

• Building a brand isn’t a luxury.

• People no longer have to keep their best knowledge tucked away in silence.

• Anyone — regardless of background — can turn what they know into something that matters.

Not because they were chosen.
But because they chose themselves.

And maybe, just maybe…

The quiet person in the corner won’t stay quiet anymore.