Daily Inspiration: “Still working to figure out your future? Try to discover your very own canvas of creativity!”

“Still working to figure out your future? Try to discover your very own canvas of creativity!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Green seems to be the theme this week, after the epic paint job and studio rebuild over the weekend!

This is it – this is the new green wall where my new future will continue to unfold. It’s a remarkable scene of unlimited opportunity! About 2 months in, during one of my earliest shows, I called my green wall my ‘canvas of creativity.’ Lots of people reacted very positively to the idea and the phrase on social media, and the name stuck!

I’m still often stunned by what I can accomplish in front of it – I’ve come a long way within six months.

And in the next few weeks, I’ll be painting it to the max. I’ve got an energy conference to prepare for – it will feature a lot of visuals and video related to renewable energy, car battery micro-grid storage technologies and ‘load-balancing’ software. There’s a healthcare board meeting and town hall – my canvas will feature insight on how Covid-19 has changed the future of medicine and community care. And then there is another healthcare education conference – and I’ll construct an interactive event that will focus on the acceleration of knowledge and skills. Later on, another virtual event for global retail executives, with the theme of ‘what comes next with consumer interaction.’

How do I paint? Each event features a rather intensive process by which I create the ‘flow of the show.’ It’s a little bit similar to what I did with my slide decks, but to be honest, involves a lot more work, and significant more creative effort. But it’s a heck of a lot of fun, and challenges me in a way that is inspiring and daunting at the same time.

My painting pallet includes quite a few sophisticated studio sets, a number of stock footage sites – images and video which I can use to construct a visual of the theme at hand – and a lot of testing of camera angles and ‘floor marks.’ Six months in, I’m still learning to get the pacing and ‘stage positioning’ right. That’s been made more complex by the introduction of two new potential camera angles with the studio rebuild.

And to top it off, my blank wall includes the foundation for audience interactivity in the form of polling, Q&A, and panelist interviews.

It’s a pretty big screen to fill!

My job as a futurist has me constantly painting a picture of what comes next, and as I transition into a period of time ‘back on the stage,’ my creativity engine will be transitioning into overdrive!