As we reach the end of yet another year, I wanted to do something a little different. We're going to be looking into the future. WAAAAAAAY into the future! The theme for this Blog is Miami 2017. For those of you who don’t know, Miami 2017 is a song that was recorded in the 70’s by my all time favourite artist, Billy Joel. It was written in the 70’s from the perspective of someone who was living in the futuristic time of the year 2017, looking back.
And it seems like such an audacious thing to do, to project 40 years into the future, but today that’s what we’re going to do. Now, just to be clear, we’re talking about projecting WAAAAAAAY into the future. It doesn’t need to be literally 40 years into the future, but it should be something that is going to be a significant amount of time for you. If you just turned 108, 40 years might be a bit optimistic for you, so maybe just try 35 years instead.
But around this time of year, most people start to look back at the year in review and all the things they did, and what they didn’t do, and maybe what they want to do better next year. Plans are well under way for 2018 and if you’re really switched on you might have a 5 year plan. But not that many people will have a 10 year plan, and hardly anyone projects further than 10 years into the future. But in 40 years time, you’re either going to be dead or you’ll still be alive. It’s definitely going to be 1 of the 2, there’s no other option! So assuming you’re going to be still alive, it makes sense to purposefully and deliberately create your life as you want it to be.
So, do what Tony Robbins calls the Rocking Chair Test. Just imagine, 40 years time, 2057, or however long you decide, into the future. You’re sitting back in your rocking chair, heck, maybe you’re riding your Harley-Davidson, who knows. The question is… How old will you be then? What will you have accomplished in your life? Now, it’s certainly true that the further you project into the future, the harder it is to get a clear idea of exactly what your life will look like, but it’s also true that if you have too narrow a focus, you could miss out on some wonderful things.
Anyone who was around in the days before satellite navigation can probably relate to the scenario of being in an unfamiliar place and trying to navigate just by road signs or what was in front of you. Then you get home and look at the map for a bigger perspective and realise, OMG, I was going the long way, or I missed out on seeing this, or I was so close to this without even knowing. Because when you look at a map, you get the BIG picture. You can see everything in perspective and in context.
It’s the same with life. It’s great to have 5 year plans, they’re very important. But if you just move through life 5 years at a time, you’re not really seeing the BIG picture. Big companies don’t plan ahead 5 years at a time, they’re seeing way into the future, and you should too!
So how do you see that far into the future? There’s an old saying that goes, the best way to predict the future is to create it. And when you’re trying to create a future that is that far in advance, the best way to create it is to start vague and then start layering in the details. That’s the way that many artists paint. They start with a general sketch and slowly start adding details a layer at a time.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” ~Peter Drucker.
So don’t start imagining your 2057 life by trying to guess what the address of your house will be or what kind of car you’ll drive, let’s face it, we probably won’t be driving cars in 2057! Start with the more broad concepts.
I like to break it down into 3 distinct areas. Professional, Personal, Relationships. There is absolutely no limit to what you could accomplish in the next 40 years. Professionally, you could start an entire new career, something that you’ve never done before in your life, and be a Master of it well within 40 years. You could start a Business from scratch and be a Fortune 500 company in 40 years time. Microsoft and Apple both started around 40 years ago.
Relationships, you could be the current President of Single For Life Foundation (Single For Life Inc in the US) and be happily married with adult children in 40 years time. Personally, what could you do within 40 years? Become a Master Chef, a Concert Pianist, a leading expert on the American Civil War or speak 5 languages?
All I’m saying is there is no limit to what you could accomplish. But the greatest experiences in life come not from ticking things off your bucket list, but through deliberate planning. The opportunity of deliberate planning comes from being able to see the Big Picture in advance. When you can see the Big Picture, you’ll see opportunities on the horizon that are invisible when you’re doing your 5 year plan.
People from Sydney may be able to relate to driving along Parramatta Road and seeing a massive number of apartment complexes being built. Well, someone was telling me recently that 20 years ago, all those places were Car Yards, but all owned by developers. Why, well they could see the opportunity to invest in the land, but building restrictions prevented them from building what they wanted to at the time. So, they bought the land and just leased it out for like 20 years, because they knew in the end, the restrictions would change. If you’re a developer with a 5 year plan, you don’t see those opportunities.
So, take the time to evaluate each of the 3 areas and work out just a couple of things for each one, that you want to be looking back on fondly in 2057. Then you can look at what you’re doing at the moment and look at where you’re headed. Is that going to be consistent with those things you want to be looking back on in 2057?
The good news is, this kind of awareness doesn’t require you to go out and make massive wholesale changes in your life, unless that really is required. But simply being AWARE of where you want to be in 40 years will give you greater clarity as you go through life. It has been said, the clearer you are on your Goals, the fewer the options. That’s because when you’re clear on what you want, you’ll only see options that are consistent with that. You won’t be wasting time on things that aren’t going to take you where you want to go.
But what you will notice is that by being aware of where you want to go, you’ll start noticing opportunities that you never would have noticed before. Also, as the Law of Attraction states, you will actually start attracting opportunities to you that take you in the direction you want to go, because of your awareness.
If you’re still alive in 40 years time, it means that you will have spent the last 40 years living your life.
Make it an EXTRAORDINARY 40 years !