Daily Inspiration: Being Unique – “Rebel today. Define tomorrow.”

“Rebel today. Define tomorrow.” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Futurist Jim Carroll is using his Daily Inspiration blog post – one of which you are reading now – to generate material for a book he has in progress with the working title, “How to be Unique (And Why it Will Get You To Your Future Faster!). This is one of those posts.

If you rebel today, you can define tomorrow.

Think about it – unique people know how to better align to the future, by having more understanding of future trends.  Once they know and accept those trends, they don’t act like everyone else – they refuse to conform. And so while everyone else is busy dealing with the challenges of today, they are busy innovating around the trends that define tomorrow, to turn those trends into opportunities!

Isn’t that something you want to do regularly?

My premise is that if you are unique, you will get to the future faster – because the future involves change, and most people don’t like change. That’s a simple truth – so don’t be like most people!

Being unique means understanding that tomorrow will be very different from today, and that to get there successfully, you would do better to define that tomorrow rather than simply being someone who arrives there. It means taking the bold, brash steps that often come with the need to accomplish gut-wrenching change – courage that most other people don’t have. It involves understanding the trends that will let you define tomorrow – rather than having someone define it for you.

It means being a rebel. Steve Jobs didn’t wait for someone else to define the computer of tomorrow. He could see that a combination of unique technology – graphical screens, a computer mouse, a friendly interface – could move the concept of a personal computer away from the clunkiness of the IBM PC model, into something new and unique – the Macintosh. He was the ultimate rebel in a land of conformity.

Unique people possess certain key attributes that make them unique and allow them to get to the future faster.

First and foremost, they define the future.

To do that, they have:

• Agility: the speed of change is increasing, and those who can adapt quickly have a competitive advantage in getting there. My mantra has long been that “the future belongs to those who are fast“, and in that context, agility and speed in adapting to change are crucial for success. Being unique means that while everyone around you is moving slowly, you are prepared to act fast!
• Adaptability: Unique individuals and organizations are often more adaptable and can pivot more quickly to innovations and opportunities while most other people remain stuck, trying to cope with the realities of today. Unique people are flexible!
• A Different Understanding of Timing: unique people understand that the timing of future trends is key – knowing WHEN to get to the future is critical.
• A View of Inevitability. Unique people know that certain things are certain. They are prepared to innovate at the earliest opportunity, perhaps speeding up the inevitability of a trend when it might be too early for other people.
• Boldness. They have a unique ability for bold thinking: unique individuals who are not afraid to stand out. They relish the idea of being different by making decisions that no one else dares to make.
• Decisiveness: In fact, those who are unique are ready to jump on key trends when they emerge – they don’t hesitate to make the decisions necessary to get there. They have a mindset that drives them forward to tomorrow, while everyone else is still busy trying to figure out how to cope with ‘today.
• Acceptance: Most people don’t like change – and change is inherent to the future. Unique people know that certain trends are inevitable, with the result that they are more likely to accept and leverage these trends.

Above all, unique people don’t follow the crowd and aren’t part of the herd mentality – because their unique view of how different tomorrow will be from today is what drives their actions at this very moment in time.

Unique people rebel today to define tomorrow – right now.