"What do you do for a living?"
That's a common question that we all get, and to be honest, I've long struggled to provide a succinct answer. A few of my more common quick intros to the topic: "I go out and talk to large groups of hungover people." "You know that guy on stage - ya, I'm that guy?" "I'm like a motivational speaker but I focus on real stuff." But that of course leads me down the path of what it is I do; I'm an author, a columnist, and a speaker. Then I mention the word 'futurist', and sometimes I get a quizzical look. Some folks have an actual idea of what a 'futurist' does, having seen someone on stage in that role; some have even seen me at a conference here or there. In other cases, they perceive an odd cultish-incantation-based oddity dreaming up crazy science fiction scenarios in a weird bat-cave-like facility.
This leads me to the next part of the conversation, and I'll often run to my go-to phrase - "I help people imagine tomorrow. Today." ... I'll launch into how I do this through research, a simple thought process, experience, and more, and give the names of a few organizations that have booked me for this type of insight. Mentioning NASA, Disney, and the World Bank usually manages to get them to realize I'm quite serious about what I do.
I've always liked the phrase "Imagine tomorrow. Today." It's the message I worked into the intro section of a new, short promo video I'd been working on.
The video opens with this concise view of what I try to deliver to my clients:
Imagine if you could accelerate your way into the future, by clearly aligning future trends, your strategic thinking, and your internal engine of leadership creativity.
Imagine if you could imagine your future.
Imagine if you could do it now.
The idea to “imagine tomorrow, today” could be interpreted in two ways. It means that you should be thinking about the future and planning for it today. It also means that you should be taking action today to make your dreams for tomorrow a reality.
Whichever way you think about the phrase, make sure you are starting to work at it.
Today.
Futurist Jim Carroll's sons - now 28 and 29 - long struggled to explain what their dad did when the conversation about careers came up in grade school.
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