Daily Inspiration: “Confront today as it is, not as you want it to be, but face tomorrow as you want it to be, rather than just accepting it for what it might be!”

“Confront today as it is, not as you want it to be, but face tomorrow as you want it to be, rather than just accepting it for what it might be!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Often, there’s not a lot you can do to change today other than changing your tomorrow.

That’s why, if you are trying to figure out your strategy for the future – whether with your carer or business – it’s important to realize that there are really just two things you need to focus on:

• how do you do everything you can to get through today in one piece, accepting that there is not a lot you can change in the short term beyond those things that are directly in your control?
• yet, given that, how can you shape your world tomorrow to what you believe is possible, based on the actions that you might start undertaking today?

Understanding and accepting this reality can help you avoid a great deal of frustration – after all, you might have a lot of great ideas that you can do nothing with today due to complex circumstances – but in the fullness of tomorrow, can be turned into brilliant opportunities! It’s called the long game, and aligning yourself to it will help you as you move forward to shape the future you want, not just the future you might have.

Some of the best, most successful strategists have excelled at playing the ‘long game’ – and the key to its success is setting a goal, and shifting the future to achieve it.  Tesla and its long game goal of accelerating the adoption of electric vehicle technology is the perfect example.  Their efforts to achieve the goal started out small, with the development of the high-end, extremely expensive Roadster, followed by the equally pricey Model S. In the early years, there wasn’t a lot they could do to see the fullness of their gaol.

But today, it’s pretty evident that the internal combustion engine car will be gone by 2030, replaced by an industry that essentially consists of vehicles that are big batteries on wheels.

The long game – you might not be able to change today, but you can certainly shape tomorrow.