It’s the end of the era of oil. Microgrids now determine the future of energy utilities. The future of just about everything is with batteries. These were just a few of the trends I covered for the major energy conference, an annual highlight of this global organization. Oil is over? Pretty much. Learn why.
Daily Inspiration: “It’s time to get your future on!”
“It’s time to get your future on!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
It’s those Jetsons again! It’s funny how many people connect with the show, and the stories I tell on stage around this 1962 cartoon series. When I spoke in Tokyo last fall, I had people from 62 countries around the world, and most of the audience recognized the show. The same thing happened in Dubai, at a truly global gathering. Did you know the Jetsons predicted Snapchat? There’s an episode where Jane is changing her face with a mask! Elroy flies a drone around the living room. There’s an Amazon Echo in every room! When you are on stage, you need to work with your audience to bring them along into the future, because it is inherently something people don’t like – because it involves change. The job of a futurist is probably the toughest gig of any speaker out there. It’s easy to be a motivational speaker and tell people they should simply try and do their best.
It’s another thing altogether to advise them of the trends which are going to provide both challenge and opportunity. People will focus on the former, and not spend enough time on the latter.
The result is that the very subject matter can be something people might not like, which is why I work in a lot of humour, fun and anecdotes into my keynotes.Hence, the Jetsons!
Daily Inspiration: “It might be a matter of years, not decades, before bio-printed replacement organs are a reality. Are you ready for the era of the acceleration of science?”
Bionic eyes. Corneal implants grown for a particular patients DNA. The acceleration of human-to-computer interface technology the impact that will have on vision opportunities. I was invited in to talk to several hundred individuals working in the optometric and eyecare industry, for a futuristic look at the trends that would define their future. You can get a glimpse of what I covered in this pre-event teaser video I put together.
Customized Event Videos: The Magic Behind the Process
If you’ve been following me, you’ll know I’ve been doing a series of customized event videos which serve as promos for various client events. They’re short, to the point, and effective. 2-4 minutes in length.
Do they work? I’m headed to Houston right now, and the client reported that after they sent oft the video teaser, attendance registrations went up by 75%
Learn more about how I make them in this clip. The magic comes in two forms – I film in my home green screen studio, and then the magic is added by my awesome overseas video producer in Russia! Armine is actually from Armenia, and works in her day job in the TV scene in Moscow. In her spare time, she helps me out! The result is amazing! Literally. Give this a watch now.
Kick your event up a notch with your own customized video. Watch them here – and contact me for more information.
And stay tuned – we will soon be launching an opportunity for a cool video keynote summary! More details to come.
Daily Inspiration: “It might be a matter of years, not decades, before bio-printed replacement organs are a reality. Are you ready for the era of the acceleration of science?”
“It might be a matter of years, not decades, before bio-printed replacement organs are a reality. Are you ready for the era of the acceleration of science?” – Futurist Jim Carroll
This is a still picture grabbed from the video of my keynote yesterday – Sunday, weekend work! – in Edmonton, Canada, for a group of optometrists and eyecare professionals. The quote was used on stage for this group, as well as for a group of dentists in Toronto, Ontario, just a few weeks earlier. I really need to write a blog post around the trends I covered for both groups, but for now, the fact is this: research into the concept of 3D printing body parts – replacement organs, lenses, and molars – using live tissue instead of inert materials, might be here sooner that we think. At least, that is the crazy science-fiction like idea behind the quote – but as everyone is learning, the crazy is becoming faster sooner.
That doesn’t mean we will see the mainstream arrival and adoption of such a trend, but it does mean that these professions are on the edge of a new era, with concepts that simply might not have made sense years ago.
On stage, I used a story of what happens when we repair a tree – and how it is similar to how we repair a tree with damage that we want to preserve. For a tree, we use cement, wires and other methods when trying to hold it together. For a tooth, we use enamel, amalgam, and wire to try to hold it to together. In the future, we’ll fix that tree with live material grown specifically for that purposes. In dentistry and eyecare, we are already seeing that trend emerge.
The future? It happens slowly – and then, all at once!
Daily Inspiration: “The future is right over there. What decision will you make today to make sure that when you get there, you will maximize the opportunity that it presents?”
“The future is right over there. What decisions will you make today to make sure that when you get there, you will maximize the opportunity that it presents?” -#Futurist Jim Carroll
Too many people make too many excuses for where they end up, and blame ‘circumstances’ rather than themselves. That’s particularly true when it comes to the future and the trends which will take us there.Many of the trends that I speak about on stage are blindingly obvious. Take the gamification of society for example – Fortnite is now sweeping the gaming word. To say it is hot is an understatement! I joked in a Tweet the other day that 10 years ago I might have complained my 13 year old son was playing too many games; the other night I felt a touch of pride and a small thrill as he and his team of fellow 20-somethings won, for their first time, a Battle Royale! Awesome!
The thing is, gaming will have a big impact on the economy and trends in the future. This generation will redefine entire industries based on gaming concepts – moving up a level, instant rewards, fast, collaborative teamwork and morel That’s a major trend, and I’ve talked about it on stages for CEO’s worldwide.
Back to the quote: if you know the trends that are coming at you, and how the world around you will chagne, are you doing enough today to align yourself to those trends? Clearly the gaming generation will have a big impact on our society and future going forward – some good, some bad. It’s best to do the things to align yourself to the trend to find the good, and minimize the bad. As with anything else in your day to day life!
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