Futurist Jim Carroll

"Dive In. Figure it out" - Futurist Jim Carroll

My attention was drawn last week to an article about Amazons' thinking behind a big bet on artificial intelligence;

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Amazon built a $2 trillion company through years of aggressive spending on its retail and logistics businesses. Its future gains will likely be determined by the billions designated to fund its artificial-intelligence push.

Amazon is planning to spend more than $100 billion over the next decade on data centers, an impressive level of investment even for a company known for its spending ways. The Seattle company is now devoting more investment money to its cloud computing and AI infrastructure than to its sprawling network of e-commerce warehouses.

Amazon Web Services, the arm that manages Amazon's cloud business, has opened data centers for years, but executives said there is a surge in investment now to meet demand triggered by the excitement around AI.

"We have to dive in. We have to figure it out," said John Felton, who took over as AWS's chief financial officer this year after spending most of his career in Amazon's retail fulfillment operations.

Amazon, Built by Retail, Invests in Its AI Future
The freshly minted $2 trillion company is now investing more on data-center infrastructure than on retail warehouses
The Wall Street Journal Online, 30 June 2024 

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And there you have it right here. "We have to dive in. We have to figure it out." Later in the article, the CFO observes, "It's a little uncertain."

You think?

But is that any reason to hold back? Not according to Amazon

What can you learn from all this? The attitude! Dive in! Figure it out! 
It's better to get involved in a fast-moving future without a plan, instead of trying to figure out a plan for a fast-moving future. 

Never forget that!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-ai-leadership-dive-in-figure-it-out/

30 years ago today, this happened.

Daily Inspiration: "You’ll never get to your future if you keep trying to get back to your past!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I've had a vague sense of unease for a time that too many industries and the leaders of companies within them are all too eager to try to slide back into yesterday and give up on the opportunities of tomorrow. It's coming from a mixture of a volatile political environment, relentless activist pushback, accelerating social media misinformation, and in some cases, opportune laziness.

In my long-term view, while this might fit the exigencies of the moment, I don't think it will provide great long-term results.

The best example I can give is what is happening with the automotive industry as many mainstream legacy manufacturers scale back their plans with electric vehicles as headlines scream about a plunge in EVs. (That's not happening, as sales continue to increase month over month, year over year.) I wrote about this sometime back when I bemoaned the fact that such a trend is becoming a part of the culture wars in our society. The result? China, which is showing remarkable success with EV innovation, ends up owning the automotive industry of the 21st century.

The same thing seems to be happening with the opportunities of the green economy; suddenly, many companies that once boasted bold and lofty goals around a drive to a net-zero carbon impact are now quietly scaling back. For multiple reasons, they've decided to turn their back on the opportunities of tomorrow - laudable climate goals seem to have become something to be attacked for, not something to be proud of. The result? The future will still see millions of green-energy jobs and careers, but precious little of that will happen in the affected economies.

Is there hope in such an environment? Perhaps.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-leadership-youll-never-get-to-your-future-if-you-keep-trying-to-get-back-to-your-past/

Daily Inspiration: "Never become comfortable in your complacency" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Is your day full of excuses?

That you don't need to do it right now?

That there is no rush?

Do you feel no sense of urgency?

And do you believe that maybe, just maybe, if you wait just a little bit longer, you'll figure things out?

Waiting is a fool's game.

I was interviewed yesterday by my good friend Nicholas Ingel for a radio show that he hosts; the topic was wellness, fitness, and the future of healthcare and medicine, particularly in the context of AI. At one point, I was talking about the dramatic opportunity that comes when individuals avail themselves of what I call 'bio-connectivity' - using smartphone-connected blood pressure cuffs, glucose monitors, fitness trackers, and more. My perspective is that the data generated allows someone to become more involved with their healthcare circumstances, and that can be a dramatically powerful thing.

 His question at that moment was along the lines of, 'Well, what should baby boomers do if they are reticent? Hesitant to get involved with this new technology and new ideas?' - and my comeback was that they should never get comfortable in their complacency. They should dive right in!

And I immediately knew that I had a key quote and idea to share!

You should ask yourself if you are too complacent in your current circumstances, and not well-aligned to the trends that will define your tomorrow.

Complacency is the cardinal sin of indifference and is often the root of many failures - because you'll never get moving forward if you never start going!

Always keep in mind that initiative is the gift that keeps on giving, and that denial is the worst attitude that you can possess.

Never become comfortable in your complacency - by refusing to let complacency creep into your day!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-initiative-trends-never-become-comfortable-in-your-complacency/

Daily Inspiration: "Reboot your creativity. Refresh your imagination. Restart your ideas. Redo your future" - Futurist Jim Carroll

It takes a lot to survive and thrive in today's fast-moving world.

That's why you need a creativity upgrade, an imagination enhancement, a mindset refurbishment, and an initiative makeover.

That's because old strategies don't create new opportunities. Old ideas won't create new ones. Old methodologies won't work when new ones are necessary. Outdated methods won't yield modern results. And yesterday's solutions can't solve tomorrow's problems! Shouldn't that be obvious?

Have you ever thought that maybe your ideas are out of date? That's a dangerous mindset, because stale concepts won't breed innovative thinking, and continuously, and recycled thoughts rarely lead to breakthroughs. You and I know this fact - outmoded thinking can't drive cutting-edge discoveries, and conventional thinking won't lead to unconventional breakthroughs.

Things are changing, and yet time-worn habits won't result in necessary change. That's a bit of a problem.

So if you do one thing today, learn something new. Chase a new idea. Try something out. Explore your curiosity. Let your initiative out of the box. Let your imagination run wild. Your future will thank you for it.

By the way, I fed an early version to the AI image-generation system Midjourney. - I fed it this prompt:

'A creativity explosion full of vibrant colors, with a distant horizon view of a dramatic new future. The scene fits the idea that "Now is a good time for a creativity reboot"'

It gave me back a pretty magical result that I used for today's background!

That right there is a good example of the sort of creativity refresh I try to chase every day!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-personal-initiative-reboot-your-creativity-refresh-your-imagination-restart-your-ideas-redo-your-future/

@index

You have a typo in the emal you just sent out.

I had to add a 'y' to activity.

Anyways, nice to see the progress you are making!

Daily Inspiration: "At the base of every opportunity lies the challenge that got you there" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I'm going in.

I might come to regret the decision, but I'm going in.

The Seniors Club Championships, that is.

Since it's summertime and I've got a bit of downtime, there's a lot of golf time. Given that's the case, my days are full of chasing a little white ball around a few acres, constantly chasing the small incremental improvements to be found in my game.

Many golf clubs have an annual club championship - one each for Men & Ladies, and another for Juniors and Seniors. They are a test of the golfer's skill and are both fun and competitive.
I've also always been deathly afraid of competing in one. 

And to be honest, I've always avoided the thought of participating in a real competitive event. As a late-in-life golfer who had absolutely no competitive sports in his background, I've always been terrified of putting my game to the test by participating. After, while most sports-minded teens were busy chasing sports, I was busy running my high school radio station and having way too much fun.

Later on in life, I was too busy chasing my career to spend time chasing a ball. But I started getting into the game regularly about 15 years ago since one of my sons is an avid (almost scratch) golfer, and because many of my leadership-oriented keynotes are held at really, really nice golf resorts. I've always thought I should be 'out there.'

But I've never had a competitive bone in my body.

It's now time to put it to the test.

Club Championships are deadly serious for some folks - their ego depends on their success and demands that they chase peak performance.  

In my case, I'm merely hoping to survive.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/every-challenge-is-an-opportunity-wrapped-in-the-cloak-of-intimidation/

Daily Inspiration: "Have you ever noticed that you are surrounded by more ultracrepidarians than ever before?" - Futurist Jim Carroll

One of the biggest problems with the information age is that there is too much information.

Some of it is valid and correct, and much of it is not.

And everyone has an opinion about it.

Which they are all too eager to share.

Solicited, or not.

I'll give you the definition so you don't have to look it up:

Ultracrepidarian: A person who expresses opinions on matters outside the scope of their knowledge or expertise. i.e. "most patients are ultracrepidarians when it comes to medicine"

There are many reasons for the fact that there seem to be so many more, including the explosion of misinformation, the acceleration of connectivity, a general and growing distrust of traditional institutions, and much more. We're in quite a mess, and it can be pretty tedious for many people and many professions to listen to all the noise.

Since many of my keynotes touch on innovation, it's also an increasing challenge for organizations. I'll often talk about the 'innovation killers' - you know, the ideas that shut down new thinking. "It won't work." "It's a dumb idea." "It's doomed to fail." "It's too risky." As you know, I often explain that these ideas cause organizational sclerosis that clogs up the ability of an organization to discover, chase, and implement new ideas.

Given the rise in the number of ultracrepidarians today, the innovation challenge has become much more extreme - when everyone is an expert without expertise, it's a challenge for any real expert to move things forward.

What do you do about this?

There's not much you can do other than to fight harder for your beliefs, ground yourself with deeper insight, and stand your ground with more facts.

Recognize that the challenge today is greater than ever before, and act accordingly.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-the-information-age-have-you-ever-noticed-that-you-are-surrounded-by-more-ultracrepidarians-than-ever-before/

Let's talk about sandcastles and innovation.

After all, it's summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, and most people are thinking about beaches and relaxing and summertime and fun - and family time.

Years ago, I was busy building a sandcastle with my young sons, and while doing so, couldn't help but reflect on why it seemed to be a process that was just chock-full of wonderful innovation insight.

So I wrote a post on "Why Innovation Thrives in the Building of Sandcastles."

It caught the attention of the folks at BusinessWeek, which led them to name me as one of the "Four Leading Sources for Innovation Insight."

Follow along - here's why.

Oh - and the whole post is over at https://sandcastles.jimcarroll.com

**Hierarchy has disappeared**: In most cases, there isn’t a boss, a reporting structure, or anything else that can cause organizational sclerosis. People just pitch in and do what needs to be done. The lack of a hierarchy is implicit to most successful teams.

**Creativity is implicit**: Anyone can build a sandcastle. There are no rules or preconceived notions, other than some sand and water. The same thinking should drive corporate innovation efforts. Make do with what you’ve got and what you can find, and use creativity as your main asset.

**Iterative attempts define success**: It’s inevitable that a rogue wave will destroy your work. This only encourages you to fix the design, or rebuild it altogether. Setbacks are meaningless, and indeed, are part of the plan.

**Experience doesn’t cloud insight**: Parents listen to kids, kids get bored and move on to another rampart and do something awesome. The key to the sandcastle building is the combined insight of several different generations: likely one of the most important foundations for success in corporate innovation today.

**Everyone picks up on the passion**: People just join in and help to build. Eventually, beach neighbors join in, and the growing castle becomes a big collaborative effort. Organizations that can build similar levels of interest in the concept of innovation don’t simply succeed: they exceed!

**Feedback is instant**: You know right away how well your design works, particularly if it is at the water’s edge since everyone will make a comment on it as they walk by. That parallels’ the instantaneity of today’s markets: things are changing so fast, that you must have a constant ear tuned in to understand what your customers are telling you.

**Competition is easily scoped**: Need new ideas? Want to learn from the competition? Spend a few minutes walking up and down the beach and check out the other sandcastles. Study their design, their assumptions, and see how you can improve upon them. Do the same in the corporate world: develop a finely tuned radar that signals to you how and where your world is changing.

**No idea is too dumb**: There’s not a lot of criticism and bias in the building of sandcastles. Any idea is welcomed. People can contribute the skills they have. Everyone is a designer, a builder and an owner. Somehow the combination just works.

**The reward is clear**: At the end of the day, a great sandcastle provides a sense of accomplishment. Photos are taken, and the team talks about the experience. That’s why every innovation effort needs to be celebrated, highlighted, and championed into the corporate record.

**It’s fun**: Enough said. If an organization approaches a problem the same way, innovation and creativity can thrive.

Learn more! https://sandcastles.jimcarroll.com

I'm thinking it's time to retire my old 2009 Mac Tower, which for now, is a Plex and backup server (aka Oblio).

The other 2008, 2009 and 2011 Macbook's, 2 of them repurposed to Ubuntu, are less of a power hog.

@gatewayy I've got a Home Assistant setup. Bought some Kasa brand smart switches that have power consumption built in; and this integrates into Home Assistant ... pulls in the current consumption rate, plus builds a historical graph.

(I'll use this to build out the annual cost to build the business case to my budget manager (aka "wife") that I need to get rid of that machine and get myself a high-end miniPC with a few terrabytes of storage on which I will build an array using UnRaid.

It takes data to do this.

"It's not the hot trends that matter, it's the transformative ones!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Have you ever come to realize that it's usually while you are watching the really hot trend, the really important trend you aren't watching is unfolding at speed?

That's certainly been the case with AI - while everyone has been focused on things like ChatGPT and large language models and text-to-image and text-to-video tools, it's the other big AI trends that are accelerating - and will carry even greater significance. Things like machine learning, expert systems, neural networks, machine vision, advanced robotics, and more - all the things I call the "AI Megatrends."

That's a topic I took on with my recent keynote for KPMG Ireland - and with that in mind, here's a video clip where I'm on stage in Dublin, speaking on the impact of these "AI Megatrends" on the future of healthcare. AI is bigger than large language models - and this clip puts into perspective the disruptive impact of AI on healthcare, medical, and pharmaceutical trials.

The transcript and video tell the story.

Stop watching the hot trends.

Watch the trends that matter.

Learn more.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-ai-megatrends-its-not-the-hot-trends-that-matter-its-the-transformative-ones/

Daily Inspiration: "Innovative organizations work to narrow the gap between opportunity and action!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Let's talk about gaps.

Are you falling behind?

Back in 2019, I began sharing on stage the idea of what I called the 'Acceleration Gap,' noting that the speed of change driven by fast trends was starting to outpace the ability of organizations to keep up with that change.

Earlier this year, I updated the size of the gap, largely because the global pandemic, as well as AI and other fast-evolving trends, were speeding up the rate of change, and that was starting to challenge organizations on their ability to keep up!

Regardless of the size and scale of the gap, I noted that the big issue for many organizations had now become what I call the 'Acceleration Skills Gap' - that's the difference between the speed of change and the entirely new and evolving careers and skills that an organization needed to stay aligned. The gap was once relatively small; it's now increasing at a furious pace - many of my keynotes now include a section that identifies these new careers and skills, and the lack thereof in the organization I am dealing with.

What's the impact of the gap? For many, it is a state of feeling overwhelmed by the speed of change - with the result that they become frozen in place, unable to act. I call this the 'Action / Initiative Gap.'

Overall, this situation leads to the Action / Opportunities Gap. What's that? It's the fact that the opportunities that are in front of you as a result of new trends are rapidly outstripping the speed of your ability to identify, digest, strategize, plan, and act on those opportunities.

You are falling behind.

Should you?

Mind the gap!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-innovation-agility-innovative-organizations-work-to-narrow-the-gap-between-opportunity-and-action/

Daily Inspiration: "Ego is the destroyer of worlds" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Upon seeing the atomic bomb explode, Robert Oppenheimer is reported to have quoted from the Hindu sacred text the Bhagavad Gita - ‘Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’  

The line has become synonymous with one of the pivotal moments in human history.

Acceptance is the most important part of change. Getting ahead of reality before reality gets ahead of you is critical.

In that context, the problem is that ego can become 'the destroyer of worlds.'

For many of us, it seems as if we are living through that moment in time right now.

People are angry, worried, wound up, confused,

Ego - and hubris - prevent people from making the decisions they could or should make.

If RBG had retired before she died, the future might have turned out very differently.

It was a tragedy to watch Diane Feinstein whither away in the Senate, literally propped up by aides in a Senate Chair.

Some reports are that Ronald Reagan was abysmally incoherent during the end of his term.

Richard Nixon was drinking himself to death and taking sleeping pills in his final days in the Oval Office.

All of them suffered from ego, hubris, and an unwillingness to get moving before the moving gets going.

People make bad decisions based on ego and hubris. It's the destroyer of careers, legacy, and more.

Power breeds ego. Ego breeds hubris. Hubris breeds destruction.

I wrote about it here: https://hubris.jimcarroll.com

Hubris and ego are the leadership equivalency of an atomic weapon.

Unleashed, when they get in the way, they can change our world and our future, and not in a good way.

Ego.

Hubris.

The ego is the destroyer of worlds.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-timing-leadership-ego-is-the-destroyer-of-worlds/

I am going in my home golf Seniors Club Championships in an hour. I have never played any competitive sport event in my life. I'm 65. Wish me luck!

Good moment in time to stop posting. That's it. That's the post.

Today is a good day to avoid social media.

it's a good day to go into round 2 of the Club Championships.

It's a good day to play around with trying to move my Web site to a new Ubuntu server and immerse myself in all things root.

It's a good day to spend some time doing things other than immersing myself into the insanity that is social media today.

Daily Inspiration: "Don't let the bad moments define your good ones!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

It was a wildly successful failure!

Sure, I'm probably dead last in the Seniors Golf Tournament in which I participated this weekend, but I bear no shame.

And, because I was willing to put myself out there, I am beaming with pride. That's because learned A LOT, had quite a bit of fun (at most moments in time), and above all, made sure I was a responsible mature adult during my bad shot moments - of which there were only a few.

Not only that, but in doing so, I learned about the innovation mindset and one of the most critical things about it - don’t let your bad moments define your potential good ones!

We all know the idea that innovation success comes from repeated multiple failures - it's only by failing that success can be found. When we see SpaceX launch a rocket and it blows up, we might consider it to be a failure. Rocket engineers know differently, aware that rocketry is very difficult, and that the ultimate result of a successful launch is built on a platform of repeated multiple failures.

To that end, this weekend - my goal in competing in the Seniors Club Championship was to be able to discover the mindset behind that type of thinking. I wanted to understand the reality of tournament golf - what happens in a real competitive game? What mindset is at work? What is it that competitive golfers do that allows them to chase success - or perhaps, fail altogether? How do they recover from their bad moments and simply walk to the next hole and get their game back? How do they not let the demon of failure attack their inner angel of potential success?

I might have failed on the weekend with my overall score, but wow, did I ever exceed my expectations with what I learned!

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-golf-success-dont-let-the-bad-moments-define-your-good-ones/

Is there any website/javascript expert who might be able to quickly diagnose a problem?

I was fooling around with my LiteSpeed Wordpress cache plugin settings this weekend.

I'm not sure what i did.

The first image is in Safari. The 2nd image is what loads in Firefox.

This might be a specific setting that I could change, before I head to Fiverr or something to find someone to diagnose and fix.

https://jimcarroll.com

Daily Inspiration: "Being unique will get you to your future faster!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

I'm starting a new series with this post.

I don't know exactly how it will unfold, what course it will follow, or when it will come to an end, and certainly don't know how often I will post within the series each week. Let's just say it's an indeterminate project with an uncertain outcome based on an end goal not yet fully defined on a timeline that is rather flimsy with a somewhat unclear objective!

Sounds like most corporate projects, doesn't it?

Here's the backstory. For quite some time, I've been working on the idea for my next book, with the tentative title How to be Unique (And Why It Will Get to Your Future Faster!). I've written several chapters, but find myself tackling it in a stop/start format, to such a degree I am wondering if I might ever finish it!

With that being the case, I decided through the weekend that one way to take on the project is to work it into my Daily Inspiration post, one of which you are reading right now. I enjoy writing these each day - the process of crafting together this daily message gives me time to focus my ideas and get those thoughts to paper, as it were.

The entire premise of the book should be obvious - the future involves innovation, a different style of thinking, and often, an offbeat ability to align to dramatic change. It's usually the case that those who think differently, who do the unexpected by chasing the unknown, are those who define the future or who succeed in the future.

And by doing so, they define the trends that define tomorrow.

In my mind, uniqueness has always involved the ability to understand a different type of tomorrow and insight into what it takes to get there.

What if we could do a better job of capturing that lightning in a futuristic genie bottle?

That's my goal.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-being-unique-being-unique-will-get-you-to-your-future-faster/

If you have Firefox, can you check my site? I get this. Others report it rendering ok. (It should be the 2nd image)

Daily Inspiration: "Find out what makes you different. Do more of it!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Today's Inspiration is directly from the very opening moment of the book I've been trying to write.

I'll be getting more into those issues from the opening and subsequent chapters - already written - as we go. But while thinking about this project yesterday, a thought came to mind (which often happens when you're thinking!) If I am to be spending quite a bit of time explaining why it's important to be unique, shouldn't one of the first steps be to figure out if you are, or aren't, in the first place?

With that came the concept of the Uniqueness Inventory. This post takes a first stab at such a list.

Take some time to go through these, and give yourself an honest answer. The goal is to help you uncover your distinctive qualities - are you unique?

-----

Futurist Jim Carroll is actively working on writing his next book. With the working title, "How to Be Unique (And Why It Will Get You to Your Future Faster)", the book is in the early stages. He has decided to try to write sections of it in real-time by incorporating it, 2 to 3 times each week, into one of his Daily Inspiration Posts. This is one of those posts.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-being-unique-find-out-what-makes-you-different-do-more-of-it/

Daily Inspiration: "If you keep blaming other people for all your problems, you've got a bigger problem than you think!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

A break from uniqueness for a moment.

You know you should never blame someone else for your problems, your errors, your blunders, your mistakes, your bad decisions.

Ownership is everything.

Excuses are the enemy of initiative, the disease that leads to inaction, and fertilizer for failure.

Stop making them.

Great leaders don't make excuses.

They don't blame others - they take ownership.

They don't complain that it is someone else's fault - they set a tone by owning it.

They don't say they are waiting for someone else to do something - they set off to do it.

They don't wait for someone else to tell them what to do. - they take the initiative and figure it out.

They don't ignore obvious warning signs flashing around them - they make decisions that eliminate the warnings.

They don't say they don't have the right people - they find the right people.

They don't say they don't have enough time - they make enough time.

They don't say it's too difficult to do - they find a way to do it.

Take ownership, chase action, and pursue solutions.

Be the person who refuses to make excuses.

Before it's too late.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-taking-ownership-if-you-keep-blaming-other-people-for-all-your-problems-youve-got-a-bigger-problem-than-you-think/

@jbwharris Thank you. I actually ended signing up for Lambdatest to have a tool to keep on checking these things.

@jbwharris By the way, read your stuff, background, etc. I live in Guelph! (-;

Daily Inspiration: "Own your future. Before someone owns it for you." - Futurist Jim Carroll

Groupthink. Committees. Consensus. Buy-in. Harmony. Concurrence. Unanimity. 

Conformity.

These are the words, ideas, attitudes, and cultures that kill great ideas. 
They are also the words and phrases that can kill your uniqueness, which is not a great thing. After all, your uniqueness - your ability to be different - is what can best give you the initiative you need to move forward into the future. To try new ideas, chase new opportunities, and pursue new challenges. 

These words, ideas, and cultures are the very things that can crush your ability to be different - and you need to do your best to battle back against them.

After all, YOU are the owner of your future. ‘

Why would you let others define it for you? 

Being different matters, because being different will allow you to be innovative, and if you can be innovative, you can take the initiative you need to launch yourself into a better tomorrow. 

And the first step in doing that is to understand that you are in a battle - a conflict against conformity - so that you can ensure that you can be your own best self.

Think about it - you need to be unique and to do that, you are in a battle that ultimately will control your destiny. In this battle, you can’t let others beat you down, wear you out, tire your initiative, challenge your belief – because you know, deep down in your heart, that you are on the right path.

And even if you aren’t, at least the failure will be yours to own – and yours to learn from.

You need to understand what you are up against.

That's why you need to OWN your future.

By being unique.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-being-unique-own-your-future-before-someone-owns-it-for-you/

Seems like this is a good day to be an OS/X / Linux guy.

Fixed it.

Daily Inspiration: "Leadership leads. Legacy lingers." - Futurist Jim Carroll

What a week!

As one person commented on social media:
"Gotta say, as a Canadian, watching this season of America has been absolutely riveting. Kudos to the writers."

My view and that of many others? Joe Biden will now always be remembered for the things he did - not necessarily for the things he didn't do.

True leadership is the one that leaves a legacy that lingers, rather than a legacy lost.

I won't pontificate much more, since I try to not let politics bleed into my Daily inspiration, so I'll just share my own Joe Biden story.

In 2014, my youngest son and I were golfing in Phoenix. We had lined up our third game at the resort where I was to speak the next day - The Westin Kierland and had arranged for an early morning tee time.

Just before we were due to start, and while we were chipping in the area near our tee box, a sudden commotion unfolded with the sudden arrival of a whole bunch of golf carts. My son Tom commented that they didn't have any golf bags - and that they were seriously looking dudes, too, with earpieces. Just at that moment, the starter approached us and advised us that we wouldn't be playing our chosen course, but we would be on the alternative one, with a tee box about 50 feet away from where we were.

Suspecting something was up, we moved over there, and began to prepare to tee off

And magic unfolded. Read on.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-leadership-leads-legacy-lingers/

When you become a whack-a-doodle-wingnut, you deserve the other wing nut.

Daily Inspiration: "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 today!

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 before the future defines them.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-being-unique-rebel-today-define-tomorrow/

Some new polling is in.

Daily Inspiration: "Don’t be afraid to be known as the ‘crazy one!’ - Futurist Jim Carroll

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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.
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It’s probably one of the most brilliant observations of all time.

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs

He was certainly correct in that assessment! In one short paragraph, he manages to capture everything that lies in the fundamental importance of ‘being unique’

It’s a celebration of nonconformists: "Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers” which recognizes and honors those who don't fit into the traditional norms - and at the heart of it, suggesting that being unique is not only acceptable but commendable.

Being unique matters! Being unique matters more!

Being unique involves challenging all the traditional standards - "The round pegs in the square holes” manages to get across that innovative thinkers are those who don’t fit within the traditional boundaries defined by the society around them.

Why? Because they have unique perspectives - they are "the ones who see things differently,” which highlights the fact that the ability to have a diverse viewpoint is so critical.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-being-unique-dont-be-afraid-to-be-known-as-the-crazy-one/

Daily Inspiration: "Success in the next global economy will never come from chasing the ideas of the previous one!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Here we go again!

History regularly has us this in these moments where we are surrounded by those who think progress involves going back to where we were, and those who believe that we should be going to where we will be going. Many aspects of the future are inevitable, and yet vast numbers of people try to avoid the reality of what it represents. The result is that they are left behind, the victim of false promises, while those who align to tomorrow and accept its realities are those who move ahead.

It's always been this way. You can try to ignore its existence, the future has a funny way of happening anyway!

To me, certain things are certain, inevitability is inevitable, and trends keep trending. The implications are obvious.

Trends involving the reality of tomorrow aren't wishful thinking; they aren't the ravings of a futuristic mind.

They are the facts of the future.

Like it or not, some countries are busily aligning themselves to the reality of these trends. Others like to pretend that they can go back to the 50s or 70's or 90s.

It doesn't work that way.

Which world are you in?

The old one, or the new one?

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-globalization-politics-success-in-the-next-global-economy-will-never-come-from-chasing-the-ideas-of-the-previous-one/

"You'll never regret the gift of change!" - Futurist Jim Carroll

It's often the case that the change you need to make is the hardest change to face - when you are facing that change.

And yet, when you look at that change from the other side of change, you'll wonder why you didn't chase the change sooner, rather than later!
Change is a gift. A masterpiece of reinvention. An opportunity builder. A vitamin that accelerates you into each day. A medicine that heals. A foundation for personal growth.

Change is a gift. So many miss the opportunity it provides.

A few years ago on this day, I wrote:
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Are you the author of your misfortune?

Unable to make the decisions that you should be to move forward, recover your future, and to be the best that you might ever be?
You might be overwhelmed by the hill that you need to climb, and in terror of the challenges ahead of you. With that type of mindset, you might make some marginal progress towards your goal here and there - but you’ll always continue to slide back…. with continuous failure becoming a continual trap.

Know this fact: there is always a way out - but it can take a long, long time to discover it. But once you do, you’ll look around your world with a sense of wonder, in awe of your good fortune, counting every blessing that surrounds you!

You just need to decide to take the steps to get there!
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It's all about change!

Here's a wonderful song that fits the theme of the day! Another version of Heroes by David Bowie, on a stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFHC6t13hi0

Because we all have the potential to be heroes.

Just for one day.

--- > Futurist Jim Carroll works hard to be a hero each day, one day at a time.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-youll-never-regret-the-gift-of-change/

I'm starting to wonder what the Supreme Court Justices will do when they have to rule of sofasexuals.

Daily Inspiration: "Sell hope. Not fear." - Futurist Jim Carroll

It should be obvious, shouldn't it?

Doesn't it make sense to give people a vision of tomorrow that provides a dream of hope rather than a nightmare of fear?  Isn't it a fact that it’s often better to inspire people with the hope of what they can achieve, rather than the fear of what they cannot? Shouldn't it be the case that you would do better to provide a vision of tomorrow that is focused on opportunity and growth rather than one of despair, anger, and vengeance?

And yet here we are.

When you are trying to speak to people about tomorrow, what's your approach? Shouldn't you be a relentless optimist? Spend time speaking about the opportunities of building a new future, rather than bemoaning the loss of our old one.

It's better to be someone who can share dreams and visions – rather than a person who aggressively shares a message of pessimism and doom. To always accomplish this, take the time to find the information tunnels of opportunity and growth that are related to the trends of tomorrow, rather than sharing old ideas that have no future with ideas that are stuck in the past. Don't preach the gospel of the fear of the unknown - share a sermon of certainty as to what tomorrow might bring.

Don't be stuck in this current moment full of fear – make sure you are moving forward to our future in our ship of hope.

I will be the first to admit that every future trend involves both aspects – challenges, AND opportunities. And on stage, I’ve always tried to cover both issues with any trend or aspect of the future. But at the end of the day, I try to paint a picture of hope rather than an abstract of fear.

As they say, we live in interesting times.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-positioning-tomorrow-sell-hope-not-fear/

Daily Inspiration: "Move forward. Not back." - Futurist Jim Carroll

This particular moment in time in the news cycle - with a LOT of change occurring in the last two weeks - crystallizes much of what I have experienced from the stage in the last decade. With that being the case, there's a brief pause this week in my Being Unique series.
As someone who speaks about trends, tomorrow, and the future, I share a message about the technological, scientific, demographic, and other trends that define tomorrow. Most of it is just practical stuff - there isn't a lot of crystal-ball gazing that comes with my work, just a lot of hard-core research.

And much of what I speak about is grounded in reality. Take manufacturing - the future is all about more robotics, more advanced 'cobotics' (cooperative robots that can work side by side with humans), advanced manufacturing methodologies, and the eventual arrival of humanoid robots. It involves sophisticated new ideas such as digital twin technology, which lets us virtualize a manufacturing assembly line before its implementation, to optimize production flow, and agility-manufacturing which involves. the more rapid tear-down and rebuild of assembly lines to deal with faster product innovation.

These are among dozens of other trends that completely upend the current reality in this sector.

And the fact is, there are a lot of implications of these trends involving the need for job reskilling, advanced manufacturing knowledge, and training, and new requirements at the community college level to prepare the next-generation manufacturing workforce. The same thing is happening in almost every other industry.

In that context, you can't wave a magic wand and make these realities go away; you can't chant a slogan and think that it will suddenly and instantly take this sector back to where it was. It will only go to where it is going, which is both good and bad - depending on what you do.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-tomorrow-and-reality-move-forward-not-back/

Daily Inspiration: "Build pathways. Not barriers." - Futurist Jim Carroll

There should be a roadmap to the future - not obstructions in the path there.

Your path to the future should not be so devoid of ideas that all you can think up are methods to block anyone from getting there. Your plan to get to tomorrow should involve a clear set of directions, rather than so much obfuscation that no one will no which way to go. Your route to opportunity should involve a pretty good idea of what they will look like, rather than a track that leads to failure. You should give people a road to success that will inspire them to succeed, instead of a passageway that will doom them to perpetual failure.

The art of leadership is a complex one, particularly when it comes to tomorrow. Many leaders fail to provide the proper environment that encourages innovative thinking, adaptability, and an open mind -  with the result that they not only destroy whatever opportunity they might have individually but also drag down countless numbers of other people with them. 

Study any great leader, and it is pretty clear that they spend a lot of time giving people a map that defines how to get to the opportunities of tomorrow, rather than the steps that they can chase to certain failure. And yet, study the failed leadership teams of the past, and you see the opposite.

Every day involves a choice as to what type of leader and innovator you want to be - someone moving forward or back. Providing a vision of opportunity or a mindset of failure. One that presents ideas, not excuses. Someone who inspires, rather than deflates.

In the same way, every day, an organization or nation has a choice of who it wishes to be. One that continues to trailblaze its way into tomorrow with ideas and opportunities. Or one that devolves everyone around them into a mindless cult of conformity in which yesterday is celebrated and tomorrow is to be feared.

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/07/daily-inspiration-build-pathways-not-barriers/

Snoop watching the NABJ interview today.