The Future of the World

There are two things I’ve recently changed my mind on.

1. We know almost nothing about the future.

This is different than the adage, “You never know what a day will bring,” which always sounds like something people say when they don’t want to admit that almost everything in a day is predictable. Minus the occasional surprise, we know that our shoes will fit tomorrow like they fit today, that our faucet will still have lower pressure than it should, and that our morning commute will take 20-23 minutes.

I’m talking about the twists and turns of culture, the appetites and preferences of younger generations, the erratic behavior of markets, the dying off of bees and entire species. We know virtually nothing of these. Only conjecture.

2. We have more influence than we think.

You are a small fish in a massive cultural pond. There’s only one Jay-Z and LeBron James and Stephen Hawking. They are big fish.

You and I are smaller fish. Much smaller. A Betta fish is no King Salmon, but in a small bulbous tank with a few rocks and plastic grass, it’s huge. Every decision it makes alters the interior of that tank.

We know little about the future. But we do know we can change our (small) world. Every day we wake up is a day that we have the power to alter the future, influence people, and create value in our small bulbous reality.

The future, dear friends, is up to us. Begin with the tank you’re in.