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by JimCarroll
by JimCarroll
“Be like Oblio. Embrace your inner oddness!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
At some point in time you might realize that you are different from everyone else.
Run with it!
Yesterday, I obtained the ISBN for what will become my 37th book in a career as an author over 25 years – in this case, “Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast: Stories from the Stage on Innovation, Disruption & Our Accelerating Future.” It will be published later this fall, by my publishing arm, Oblio Press.
Oblio?
He was a magical character in singer Harry Nilsson’s 6th album, “The Point,” which featured the hit song, “Me and My Arrow.” In the album – and later, in the movie – Oblio was the only round-headed person in a land in which everyone, by legal dictate, should have a point.
The land, of course, was known as the Pointed Village.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA6rOUw6bYA&
I’m Oblio – realizing years ago that I’m somewhat different from those around me.
If anyone had told me years ago that, as an accountant by background, I would be on stage around the world speaking about the Jetsons with clients such as NASA (who has had me in twice), I would have laughed in their face.
And yet here I am, 30 years on.
I seemed to know early on that I was kind of different.
I got in trouble in grade 3 for making stink bombs. Out of pens and sulphur matches. I read it in a book. I thought everyone did this type of thing.
I never went to history class in high school, since I had already read all of the books as a 12 year old – and so when the principal called me into the office to discipline me, I asked him how I might improve from a mark of 98? I spent my time instead as head of the high school radio station, blasting Led Zeppelin out to the jocks who wanted to listen to disco.
In the accounting firm for which I worked, I used stickmen as audit tick marks instead of X’s & O’s. I was called onto the carpet for doing so. I decided they were out to crush my creativity.
When I discovered the online world in 1982, I abandoned my career, dedicating myself to a voyage into the connected future. I ended up writing a little book about the Internet in 1994; it became a best seller – I found myself on stage.
I’m Oblio, and so are you.
Embrace your inner Oblio. You’ll find your creativity in your oddness!
by JimCarroll
I had a keynote for the National Safety Council a few weeks ago in San Diego – the largest gathering of workplace safety professionals in the world – with a talk that was to look at the future of safety risk.
While preparing for my talk, I went golfing, while thinking about my talk. Of course, my behaviour led to a great story that I told on stage, about one of the biggest new risk issues of our time!
by JimCarroll
“Your choice is simple: will you fight the future – or will you make it happen?” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Imagine going into work each day knowing that at least a third of the people you interact will absolutely hate the work that you do!
As a futurist on stage around the world, that’s my reality!
When I go in front of a crowd, I *know* that there is a percentage who will hate my message – because it involves change, the future, challenges and disruption. Twenty five years of experience has taught me that the number can range up to a 1/3 of the audience
I see it in the evaluations; I witness it in the reactions from the stage ; I hear it in the buzz post keynote.
Why is this?
It’s my job. I need to take them on a rocket ride tour of the future, & help them to understand that we will see more change in the next 5-10 years than we have seen in the last 100.
My goal is to motivate them to wake up, get moving, start acting, begin changing – to ensure they turn the future into an opportunity, and not a threat!
It doesn’t work with some folks. I know that! “I didn’t like the guy. He made me feel uncomfortable. Why can’t everything just stay the same?”
The best reaction? “I don’t think that what he predicted is going to happen.” (Hint: it will. Before you know it.)
It’s a weird job: I am shaking people out of their slumber, interrupting their complacency, and challenging them to adapt to what comes next.
And I know that a certain percentage of them would just prefer to go back to sleep. They are the ones that will wake up years from now, and wonder to themselves : “What happened?” There is a real danger in being oblivious to the trends that will disrupt your world and challenge your future, because you won’t do anything to prepare for it.
You’ll end up falling behind, and find yourself in the trap of wishing that things were “great again”, without any real plan as to how to get there.
With that – what’s your choice?
Are you an active participant in defining your future? Or are you just a spectator on the sidelines?
by JimCarroll
by JimCarroll
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