I, Futurist?

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A… Futurist?

First off, what the heck is a futurist?

Let’s start with a definition.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Futurist (noun)

1: One who studies and predicts the future especially on the basis of current trends.

2: One who advocates or practices futurism.

So, it looks like a futurist is a person who predicts the future based on trends. Basically, futurists are people who look at what is happening (or has happened) and then make forecasts based on this knowledge to see what’s in store in the future.

Okay, so far, so good.

While futurism, or futurology, is the practice of using a systematic, interdisciplinary, and holistic approach in studying social, environmental, and technology trends. Models, analysis, and forecasting methods are some of the most common tools used to predict how the world will look in the future.

We frequently see examples of futurism in pop culture. Back to the Future 2, released in 1989, assumed we’d have flying cars by 2015! The Jetsons, which came out in 1962, followed a family living 100 years in the future in 2062. (Time will tell if they were right on the flying car prediction!)

In theory, predicting the future could work some of the time (see Moore’s Law on transistor density). And maybe even for things like world population, we could project out a few predictive scenarios based on the model we choose.

But in the end, Futurists are only making educated guesses on how the future will unfold. Some of their forecasts could be right, some could be wrong. They might get lucky with their predictions; they might be completely off.

And therein lies the problem with the current science of futurism, it is all based on assumptions. No one knows for sure how the future will play out (unless you have a time machine!)

What about black swan events? A disruptive technology? Unforeseen calamities? An unimaginable breakthrough? Hell, an alien invasion…

These are the types of things that are inherently unpredictable. And even just one of them could alter the entire course of history. All of those predictive models can just be thrown out the window.

The future is not predetermined, so why are we trying to predict the unknowable. The future is created by the decisions we choose to make.

In the past, we’ve seen plenty of advancements in technology that alters how humanity operates on a fundamental level. These dramatic developments swept through our civilization and changed everything.

One such example was the invention of the automobile. Before cars, people were using horse and buggy and, sometimes, trains. After cars were invented, there was an explosion in personal automotive use, which essentially rendered horses, and even train travel, pretty much obsolete in a very short period of time.

In the face of these unexpected developments, predictions are useless. The whole paradigm shifts to open up a brand-new branch of possibilities.

We don’t need more predictions. Those are a dime a dozen and can instantly become irrelevant.

We need people with a bold vision for a better world and the will to take us there.

Visionaries See the Future

Then there are people who change the course of history through their innovations and ideas. They literally create the future!

The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Abraham Lincoln

Some notable visionaries include Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Steve Jobs, Alexander Bell, Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King Jr, Henry Ford, and Elon Musk (time will tell).

But sometimes, as history shows us, there can be a dark side to being a visionary as well. People can have very negative influences on the world. Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler are examples of visions gone horribly wrong.

For better or for worse, these people didn’t just try to predict the future, they altered it and rewrote the course of history. Unlike futurists, who try to predict the future based on current trends, visionaries create a NEW reality.

Sometimes, it seems as if a visionary time traveled into the future and brought back detailed plans for a transformative idea. At other times, society thinks an advancement is simply the natural progression of things.

Either way, people couldn’t be further from the truth. It takes a lot of bold, persistent effort to make a change of any magnitude happen (and time travel isn’t possible- as far as I know!). Followed by the grit to see the vision through and bring it to life..

Visionaries see a version of the future that everyday people do not see. Then, they work together with others to make their ideas concrete.

Some might label visionaries “crazy” or “eccentric” because their vision for the world is quite different from the current status quo. And honestly, they have to be a bit… extraordinary, because they have so many cards stacked against them. Change is a huge mountain to climb.

Visionaries explore the uncharted territories of the unknown. Some have such spectacular ideas that are far outside the scope of normal understanding. They are thinking creatively on very different levels from the average person. Leonardo da Vinci and Socrates are still known for their innovative ideas today, even though they were alive centuries ago.

Hardly anyone does well with change when confronted with a drastic alternative vision of reality. Even if the change might be more beneficial in the long term. Everyday people shun new concepts that are foreign to their way of thinking. Because usually those ideas would upend their world.

We need more visionary thinkers. And, more importantly, we need to encourage a system that allows their vision to come to fruition. We can only save our planet with bold and innovative people who take action and execute their visions.

Let’s Shape the Future

The real question is: if we actually had a vision and a plan that would ensure an incredible future, would we just let it slip through our fingers? Would we be able to come together and have the will to act to make the changes we want to see in the world?

I think the answer is yes, we can.

Humans have created our entire civilization. There’s no reason we can’t continue to shape our world and mold it into something even greater. Once we can visualize the future we want, we can take the necessary steps to work toward that future and turn it into a reality.

But who is pushing us towards this better world?

The government? The UN? Elon Musk? The big corporations?

Currently, there isn’t anyone with an overall, big picture in mind. Everyone is narrowly focused on making their own, individual, lives better. And even then, people only think in the short term.

We need to think more broadly. We need to focus on making life better for ALL creatures, on a macro level. The world needs a long-term plan for a bright and amazing future.

While futurists have no real sway in what actually transpires based on their predictions, they did get something right: The future depends upon what we do today.

It’s impossible to create a better future, unless we can imagine it first.

And while visionaries can dream up the future, nothing would get accomplished without taking action. An ingenious plan that could have the potential to benefit everyone would be worth nothing if it never gained enough traction to be acted upon.

An idea has to take root in the hearts and minds of the people. Only in a fertile environment with the right support (in resources, various expertise, manpower, money, etc.) can an idea flourish and grow. An idea is a fragile thing. It needs constant nurturing, attention, and refinement in order to transform into something that could change the world.

A visionary does not operate in a vacuum. We often cite specific inventors and revolutionaries behind the big leaps in change we see in the world. But, in actuality, visionaries have hordes of people they rely on for encouragement, expertise, and help. They are merely the figureheads behind the change.

To make a substantial impact, world-changing ideas are too big for one person to implement alone. It takes a group to bring it to life. Visions need to be nurtured, worked on, adjusted, and fine-tuned in order to get up and running.

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Not only that, but an idea needs to gain backing from a majority of the population for it to get off the ground and gain momentum. People need to understand that we can only create a better world by working together.

The real magic happens when an idea becomes universally accepted and adopted. An idea gains critical mass if enough people get behind the cause. Changing the world now not only becomes tangible, but inevitable. A previously nebulous vision takes form to show people that this version of reality is better than the way we were operating.

Humanity has the potential to achieve incredible things. We can reimagine our world in so many ways. The possibilities are endless.

The problem is, if we do nothing, humanity and, in turn, the planet will fall apart if we keep going on our current trajectory. We need to take action now and act in a BIG way. Big ideas need to enter into the public domain if we want to ensure the world remains our bountiful home forever.

The thing is –

How do we tackle the enormous task of safeguarding the future of our world?

Protopia

You might be familiar with the terms: utopia and dystopia. They are both words that describe two possible and very different futures.

Utopia is heaven on Earth. It’s a state of being where there is no strife. People are happy. It is a world where everything is perfect.

While dystopia is just the opposite. It is a world where things are royally screwed up or where most of humanity is suffering in one way or another. In fiction, we typically see this played out in many ways, but the most common is a totalitarian society or post-apocalyptic wasteland.

These are extreme states at either end of the spectrum. Curiously, we don’t really have definitive words to describe the “in-between” states.

We can even see a range of possibilities between different countries. For instance, Norway is known for a high standard of living where most people state they are very happy. While in somewhere like Uganda, people constantly live in fear of dying and most live in squalor.

But, if we could choose, wouldn’t we want a utopia? Or, at least as close to a utopia as we can get?

I think humanity still has a long way to go to reach utopia (if that’s even possible). But, even if we could reach some pinnacle state of utopia, what would we even do if our every need was provided for? Wouldn’t we be bored in a perfect world?

Heck, I get anxious after just one week of vacation and get restless if I’m not doing something productive. (Maybe that’s why most of my vacations feel like work!) We need challenges to keep our minds occupied and spirits alive.

What if, instead, we work on trying to improve the world? Always trying to make a little bit of headway towards our ideal state.

What if we leveraged the power of compounding and tried to intentionally make the world just 1% better every year? If we simply tried to make 1% progress every year for 100 years, you would think we’d be 100% better. But that would be false. We would actually be 170% better off!

This is the magic of compounding. Not only are you just increasing by 1% every year, but the 1% gained in the previous years are getting better by 1% as well. Over time, this could add up to be a huge amount in potential benefits.

We need to harness compounding to constantly work towards a better future.

An expression I’ve come across recently is Protopia, which embodies just this ideal. We could incrementally move closer to a better world.

Protopia is a direction, not a destiny. We should actively progress towards a utopic civilization. There is no endpoint – we are always trying to move in a positive direction. It is a journey to make the world a better place.

That’s the unique gift of our species: we have the foresight to plan and then act on that plan. We just seemed to have lost our way a bit. We need to focus on getting incrementally better and really put in the work to achieve our long-term goals.

Let’s envision a desirable future where we collectively choose to strive towards a better world.

So Who Does The World Need?

We need people who actually bring the future into fruition. Futurists need to do more than just spot trends to try to predict the future. In the same vein, visionaries need to do more than just dream of possible futures.

It almost looks like we need to combine what it means to be a futurist and a visionary, and then sprinkle in some “get-er’-done” attitude for good measure. We need a person that is a blend of all these traits. That would be a formidable combination indeed.

Elon Musk would certainly meet these criteria. While someone like Ray Kurzweil, who makes predictions primarily on the rise of AI, would just be considered a futurist.

We need planners who execute on their ideas. People who actually make the future happen.

We need a new term to describe this type of person and I think I came up with something…

I give you: A GRAND FUTURIST (see what I did there?)

Grand Futurists actively shape the future to make the vision of a better world, a reality. As Grand Futurists, we need to start and tackle our biggest problems before we can really fulfill our full potential as a species.

We have to stabilize our world’s issues, starting with climate change, because frankly, in 100 years we might not have an Earth worth living on.

We need a powerful and important mission to get behind. A movement with a BOLD rallying call. Because a group of people with a shared vision can change the world. Now more than any time in history, we need to come together to face our greatest challenge.

Just because something is currently done one way, doesn’t mean we have to continue doing it that way. We need to question how things are and figure out if they are still useful in our vision of a bright future. Otherwise, we’ll eternally be ‘spinning our wheels’ – never improving and never making the world a better place.

We can guide our own future. As Grand Futurists, we need to use our vision as a north star and work toward that vision for a better tomorrow.

Because the Future is worth fighting for.

What a travesty it would be if the world slowly disintegrated around us because we lacked the will and the courage to act on the ideas that could have saved our planet.

The Future is literally now in our hands – we can make the world a better place.

Let’s all become Grand Futurists and take action to create an unbelievable future!