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Daily Inspiration: “You’ll always have the opportunity to architect yourself a better design for your future!”
“You’ll always have the opportunity to architect yourself a better design for your future!”
Architect as a verb? Why not!
It implies an action plan on designing or imaging something – and in this case from my keynote for the Microsoft Future Now event in Toronto, Canada, a part of my opening keynote for over 1,000 IT processionals, senior executives and business strategists.
You can never run out of time nor ideas to build yourself a better future! Doesn’t that involve concepts of architecture and design?
You need a solid foundation – a grounding in the concepts that will provide you with a solid platform to deal with the rockiness of the good and bad things that might come your way.
You need a flexible structure – to deal with volatility, unforeseen circumstances, and to deal with the winds of change.
You need a good roof overhead to keep the rain out – or to keep thoughts of depression, worry and concern away!
Hokey for sure, but why not!
The thing is, when it comes to the future, you need to have a realistic perspective of where you are going and what might happen when you get there – but you also need a good structure or vehicle to get you there.
And so why can’t you architect that as a design – and use that very word as a verb?
Daily Inspiration: “Has your product and strategy suddenly become something from the olden days?”
“Has your product and strategy suddenly become something from the olden days?” – Futurist Jim Carroll
We live in a time in which some new products arrive to market already obsolete.
Take a look at the dashboard of your 2015 automobile. It’s already old, out of date, from ancient times. Compare it to a Tesla, which is an upgradeable iPad-like device on wheels – updated regularly with a simple software rollout. Cars have become computers, and Detroit can’t keep up!
Many years ago, my sons would quiz me about things around the house that they thought were from the ‘olden days’, and I was fascinated to realize that these were things that were a big part of my life. 35mm film, TV guides, paper airplane tickets, TV with knobs that turned.
Their Oma’s rotary phone was a marvel of mystique!
I ended up talking about this *a lot* on stage, and still do. The story made its way into a few of my books, and lives on in a number of blog posts.
As I wrote at the time: “The interesting thing is that each one of these examples, when examined in the larger sense, involves some type of sweeping industry, product or corporate change, and hence dramatic change upon the careers of hundreds of thousands of people.
In but a few years, the world has changed to a sufficient degree that my boys are growing up in a world that is dramatically different, even from that which existed five years ago.
I remain convinced that the rate of change is only going to increase, and that preparing people to cope with change is one of the most important skills we need to provide.
Ogden Nash once observed that “progress is great, but its gone on far too long.” That might be a worthy sentiment for some, but those who think like that are ill-equipped to cope in a world of tomorrow that will continue to be unlike anything we know today.”
Keynote: Microsoft Canada, Toronto, Canada : 2019 FutureNow Conference
This is the largest event that Microsoft puts on in Canada, with over 2,000 senior executives and I.T. professionals in attendance, and they invited me to given the opening keynote address. I took a look at the whirlwind of new ideas and new technologies redefining our world – A.I., robotics, the Internet of Things, virtualization of industries, augmented reality and so much more! It’s just one of dozens of talks I’ve done for many of the world’s largest technology companies over a 25 year career.
Pre-Keynote Video: A Sneak Peak of My Topic strong>
Daily Inspiration: “Shift your perspective: view every problem as a learning opportunity to pursue, and every challenge as a goal to achieve!”
“Shift your perspective: view every problem as a learning opportunity to pursue, and every challenge as a goal to achieve!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
So I have this friend – she’s busy setting up all these things to support her in the next stage of her career, in which she will use her natural entrepreneurial skills to go to the next level.
This includes grabbing the right domain names for her new endeavour. She got stuck in the process, and didn’t quite know what to do. She’s smart enough to surround herself with a bunch of people who can provide her the right guidance at the right time for the right purpose. It’s a model that has served her well in the past as she tackled unique global success.
In my case, I’ve been helping her out as a bit of a mentor over the last few years, as well as providing her with some ongoing tech support and other assistance when she needs it.
When she reached out, I was busy working away on a keynote deck – and was already dealing with a tech support issue for my oldest son.
So all of a sudden, w I had two tech support issues underway! (I think when I retire, I will simply do tech support. A new career!) I digress. So she reached out to me, and the issue was something new that I had never worked with. It turns out I discovered a whole new aspect of domain name registration that I knew existed, but never really had any expertise with.
So I dropped what I was doing and went to figure it out. Why not? Every problem is an opportunity! Also, natural curiosity is a stimulant.
And so today, I know something new that I didn’t know yesterday at this time. What a bonus!
The quote for today came naturally from this process. We can run in fear from a problem, or turn it into something positive. We can look at a challenge and think that we might never accomplish it, but if we change our mindset, something wonderful happens – it becomes a goal.
Shift your perspective today – change the channel!
My friend? So far she’s lived a life with this type of mindset, overcoming some massive challenges. It will be interesting to watch the next step in her evolving career!
Daily Inspiration: “Do you want to predict your own future? Believe in your inner opportunities!”
“Do you want to predict your own future? Believe in your inner opportunities!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Thirty years ago, I was miserable in my job. I was with a big global firm, and had invented a future concept that wouldn’t arrive until some 10 years later.
No one understood what I was talking about, believed in the future that I saw, or fully pledged support.
I bailed out, with the support of my wonderful wife, and started my own consulting firm. I ended up writing a few books, and my career suddenly exploded and morphed into something new and unforeseen. Today, I travel the world sharing my thoughts on what comes next with leaders, innovators and dreamers.
Who would have thought?
I remember fully the mindset that possessed me when I was mired in my misery, I questioned my skill set. “Who might possibly hire me?” “What skills do I actually have?” “I’m stuck in a rut and I can’t get out!” It was a pretty challenging time – but I’ve come to learn that many people get stuck in a similar rut. When things look bleak, it’s all too easy to convince yourself of your limitations, and to listen to those who are willing to “cut you down to size.” But during these times of challenge, you should look deep inside yourself for your potential. It’s there – it’s just been smothered, buried, boxed away by the constant bombardment of the naysayers who would limit your future!
What a dangerous state of affairs we place ourselves in, when we don’t believe in our abilities! When we listen to those who dare to predict where our future might take us – and immediately lower our potential! When we convince ourselves that there isn’t much of a future out there.
But it’s there – and it’s inside you. You just need too focus on listening to it, letting it out, nurturing and shaping it so that it can be fully unleashed.
The future is in there, inside you! Start to set it free today!
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