Predicting the Future the Easy Way (Part 1)
The two-hour drive between my college, James Madison University in Virginia, and my parent’s home involves a long, curving hill that comes down from the mountains in one stretch.
At the bottom of that hill in a break between the concrete dividers lies the perfect speed trap.
About every other time I drive there I see a state trooper laying in weight.
Once I got pulled for speeding there but she let me off with a warning.
One day at the top of that hill way above the speed trap, for some reason I looked ahead as far around the curve as I could see from the hill.
To my amazement I could see the trooper… a mile ahead!
He wasn’t hidden at all, until you started down the hill… and what a lesson I learned.
Most people see only what’s right in front of them because… that’s the only place they look.
And isn’t that true for all of us?
It turns out any of us, even a non-scientific guy like me, can see the future if we’ll learn where and how to look.
Here is the easiest way to predict the future:
Let someone else do the work.
There are people who LIVE for studying the indicators of things to come and writing about them extensively.
Of course you need to sift through to find the ones with a respected track record.
My friend and mentor, Daniel Burrus – http://www.burrus.com – is amazing at this.
Back in the 80’s Dan accurately predicted email, eCommerce, smart phones, and many other life staples which didn’t exist at the time. In his more recent book, “Flash Foresight: How Do See the Invisible and Do the Impossible” Dan teaches how he does it and you can, too.
So here’s what you do: find two or three futurists (based on science, not crystal balls or political agendas) and read their blog/LinkedIn posts regularly. Compare them all to get an idea of where things are headed.
It’s as simple as that.
Here’s what will happen after just a few posts: You’ll become the authority. You’ll know about coming trends way before others just because most people don’t do this.
Understanding future trends gives you a competitive edge others won’t have.
You’ll also get better at whatever you do, especially when you see it in a context that others, including your boss, don’t.
For instance, the explosion of Tesla sales has made the lithium battery extremely important. Past estimates predict that we have a 365 year supply of lithium.
However, if the growth of EV’s continues as it’s current rate, that supply dwindles to… 17 years!
Have you heard of blockchains (and it’s base, bitcoins)? It’s a trend which will completely transform online commerce, and most haven’t even heard of it.
I learn about trends not by being smart, but by being smart enough to read people who are smart.
So, of course I suggest Dan’s books, blog and LinkedIn posts, but
a simple Google search will give you many options.
Begin to check them out, find the good ones and you’ll almost immediately become the knowledgeable one in the room.
Most importantly, you’ll gain the one thing Solomon prayed for which got him everything else: Wisdom.
Next week I’ll share part two of this message about how to predict the future.
Please share this!
Live Truly, Truly Live,
Rayburn
