"Urgency demands optimism" - Futurist Jim Carroll

Five years ago, just about this time, millions of people found that they suddenly had to reinvent their future, due to rapidly emerging, unforeseen circumstances. One hundred years from now, those weeks and that year will be viewed as a pretty seismic event in human history; the reverberations are still shaking the foundations of everything around us, often not in a good way.

I certainly did my part to reinvent my reality, building a pretty sophisticated virtual green screen broadcast studio, the second version of which is still found in my basement. Although demand for virtual presentations has collapsed, it is still in use - later today, I'll film a short video for one of my speaker bureau partners for a marketing campaign they have underway.

One of my projects in late 2020 and early 2021 was to explore the mindset of those who were busy 'reinventing' their reality during these trying times. I ended up interviewing eight individuals about their efforts - a rock star, a fireman, an event planner, a magician, a fitness coach, an ex-con, and a pastor.

All of the video interviews ended up on a Website that lives on to this day, found at https://reinvention.jimcarroll.com

Sometime after the series concluded, I realized that there was a book to be found within all of this marvelous insight. My wife and I rewatched all of the videos, extracting the personal wisdom of each person, and eventually compiled those into my book Now What? Reinvention & The Role of Optimism in Finding Your New Future.

Fast forward: we now find ourselves with a vast set of AI tools, and I've been busy exploring how these can be used as a knowledge and productivity tool. I've mentioned that my go-to favorite is Google Notebook, which allows us to create our own little personal AI tool to examine documents, videos, Websites, and other sources of information.

I decided, as a way of looking back and forward, to create a Notebook that would 'watch' all of the original YouTube videos from this reinvention series, and compile a 'notebook' that I could then query for additional insight.

Once I linked all the videos, I asked a simple question: what is the key message to be found in all of these hour-long videos about reinvention? It popped back with today's quote - urgency demands optimism!

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The interviewees in the sources suggest that urgency is a key factor that drives individuals to reinvent themselves. The sources highlight the importance of acting fast, embracing new realities, being optimistic, and continuously learning and evolving in the face of rapid change

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That was really intriguing, so I then suggested what else it 'saw' with the idea of 'urgency.'

Read on!

**#Urgency** **#Reinvention** **#Adaptation** **#Resilience** **#Innovation** **#Action** **#Leadership** **#Transformation** **#Optimism** **#Change**

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2025/02/daily-inspiration-personal-growth-reinvention-urgency-demands-optimism/

Daily Inspiration: "Always remember that procrastination is just slow-motion failure. - Futurist Jim Carroll

Be action-oriented.

Do things.

Do them now.

Don't wait.

These are the lessons I learned along the way, and as things get even faster every moment, they are more important than ever before. The fact is, in a world where change accelerates exponentially, your biggest risk isn't failure - it's hesitation.

Why do you think I have books with the titles The Future Belongs to Those Who are Fast; Ready, Set Done; and Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast? I haven't gone with those titles simply because I think it's a cool framework - it comes from what I have seen as the key issue for my global clients for the last 30 years. People and organizations are overwhelmed with speed, bewildered by accelerating change, and sometimes, withering with fear at the velocity of tomorrow.

And they've brought me in to talk to them about moving fast.

Here's what you should do: a 15-point plan for action.

Act before you're ready
Scale before you're comfortable
Lead before you're certain
Innovate before it's necessary
Change before you're forced to
Decide before you're paralyzed
Experiment before you are perfect
Challenge yourself before you're challenged
Embrace your failure before you try to avoid risk
Commit before you hesitate
Think before you're told
Dare before you doubt
Imagine before you dismiss
Ask before you assume
Trust your instincts before you second-guess

The future doesn't wait for your comfort, your certainty, or your careful planning. The only sustainable advantage at this moment in time is your ability to change faster than your competition, to learn faster than others do, and to act decisively in the face of uncertainty.

Remember: In a world where the only constant is exponential change, the biggest risk isn't acting on what you don't know - it's waiting until you do know.

Procrastination is just slow-motion failure hidden in a brilliant disguise.

By then, it's too late.

Your future starts now.

Are you ready to get going?

#Action #Speed #Urgency #Future #Change #Innovation #Momentum #Growth #Velocity #courage

Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2024/12/daily-inspiration-25-things-for-2025-10-always-remember-that-procrastination-is-just-slow-motion-failure/