“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?

“My job as a futurist is to help you to see the things that you might not otherwise see!” – #Futurist Jim Carroll

The future is a vast and complex issue, and one that covers so many potential topics. Since I speak in virtually every industry, from agriculture to healthcare, banking to technology, transportation to energy, it’s always been difficult to come up with a good concise end of years trends preview list.

And so this year, I’ve done something different! Working with my overseas producer, I’ve filmed 19 trends videos on a wide range of different topics. They are all short in length – 45 seconds to just under 2 minutes – and are combined with a similarly short extract from one of my keynotes on stage of the same topic.

They aren’t designed to give you a comprehensive view into everything that you need to know about the future, but rather, to get your creative trends machine in good working order. Consider them a little bit of energy to get your own personal futurist thinking cap on!

When I’m up on the stage, it’s my job to help you to see the things that you might not see – or to view the things that you are already seeing, but in a bit of a different way.

The trends that I cover are by no means definitive; they are not extraordinary in their scope, or on the edge with their craziness. They are simply the types of things that I have been talking about onstage through the last year, and I thought provide a good overview of what is happening in this time, which I call “The Era of Acceleration.” And so every workday morning between now and the conclusion of the series, I’ll be rolling out one of my “19 Trends for 2019.” I hope you like them!

 

“Your ability to align to the fast paced trends of today will define your success tomorrow!” – #Futurist Jim Carroll

I regularly do a series of text message polls when I’m working with my audience; people respond using their smartphones. My first question, after I spend a few minutes freaking people out about the speed of change in our world today, asks people to rate how they feel about the fast paced future.

Look at the results on the screen – most people are not confident about their ability to deal with the future. The responses here are typical of almost every single audience I’ve had when doing this particular poll ****for the last 9 years!**** Yet, we know that success comes from the ability to ingest and align to trends – your ability to adapt to the future and turn it into opportunity will define you. Which is why you need to spend time to understand the context and implication of those trends.

What will you do today to find a particular trend that will have a major impact on you — and what decision will you make to be a part of that trend, rather than simply watching the trend go by?

“Reorder your routines. Shatter your structure. Humiliate your habits. In other words, do a different day today!” – #Futurist Jim Carroll

 

I love my mornings, and since the pool closed last fall, I’m up, with my coffee, working on my morning quote.

This morning, I went for a swim first! I enjoyed the morning sky, watched the birds position themselves for the days activities, and worked on today’s quote while doing so!

It’s May 1, the pool is open, and summer seems to be approaching. And so my routine has changed. Rather than working on my quote with my coffee, I was working on my quote in the pool. Sometimes making the smallest change is the pathway to a significant new reality.

Habits, routine and structure are the enemies of innovation. We get locked into patterns that has us doing today what we did yesterday. Every once in a while it is good to break them up, and focus on the differences, not the sameness.

“Traditions are reminders of the past, but also inspiration for the future!” – Jim Carroll

 

“Don’t make resolutions. Make transformations” – Futurist Jim Carroll