Visiting Tomorrowland

Just when I think we’ll pivot to more direct social impact topics or feature a tool for success, your feedback pulls us in another direction.

A few weeks ago, it was The West Wing’s President Jed Bartlet edition that led us to the Mr. Rogers edition.

Now, last week’s Disney edition has inspired this week’s journey - to?Tomorrowland.

Fittingly, I’m back in Orlando this week to teach at a mastermind course, and I’m constantly delighted to reflect on how Walt Disney saw Tomorrowland - not ?as an amusement park, but as a?blueprint for the future.

So let’s go there together. And remember -?the future isn’t something we enter; it’s something we create.

In that spirit, let’s do (more) good (better) - and take a trip to Tomorrowland - together!

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A Good Quote

"Find the ones who haven't given up. They're the future".?

— George Clooney as Frank Walker (Tomorrowland, 2015)

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A Good Note

Tomorrowland: A Golden Era of Optimism & Progress

Imagine your vision of “the future.”

What do you see?

A world of?innovation, opportunity, and optimism?- a Jetsons-like society where technology and creativity lift humanity to new heights?

Or a?bleak, fractured future,?where polarization and short-sightedness trap us in cycles of division and decline?

Or maybe it’s hard to picture the future at all because today feels like?a fog too thick to see through.

This is the tension at the heart of Disney’s?Tomorrowland?- both the real-world vision Walt Disney pursued and the 2015 film that (though a box office flop) delivers a critical, timely message:

The future is not something that happens to us - it’s something we build.

Walt understood this. The post-WWII era, when Disney’s most ambitious ideas took flight, was?a golden age of optimism, progress, and innovation:

• A?relentlessly positive vision?of the future, where each generation sought to build something better.
• The?endless pursuit of achievement, from the space race to medical breakthroughs.
• A?deep belief in education, ensuring that knowledge fueled progress for all.
• Trust in?science and technology?to uplift humanity - not divide it.
• A collective?struggle for inclusion, ensuring that opportunity and prosperity were not reserved for the few.
• Confidence in facts, expertise, and shared truth, rather than fear, conspiracy, or division.

These weren’t just ideals - they were?shared commitments of the greatest generation,?and they fueled an era of extraordinary progress.

But what about today?

The?fog of the present moment?can feel overwhelming.?

Chaos, division, and manufactured conflict?distract us from the?real?work of shaping the future. It’s easy to feel stuck.

But here’s the truth:

A brighter future doesn’t happen by accident - it happens by design.

And that future will be shaped?not by fear, but by vision.?Not by those who?exploit division,?but by those who?believe in something bigger.

We don’t have to settle for a fractured, pessimistic version of tomorrow.

We can choose to build a Tomorrowland worthy of us all.

That starts with us.

??Demand a vision.?The leaders we elect and the institutions we support?work for us?- and they owe us more than fear-mongering. They owe us a?plan for the future.?Demand it. Pivot back to it.?Don’t let anyone sweep accountability aside.

??Reject division.?Political fights designed to keep us angry?distract us from the real work?of building something better.?Let’s refuse to play that game.

??Embrace optimism.?The best leaders - and the best movements - are fueled by?hope, not cynicism.?History proves this again and again.?Nobody follows a pessimist.

So let’s ask ourselves:

Are we?settling?for a future shaped by?fear and division?

Or are we?designing?a future fueled by?vision, collaboration, and optimism?

Whatever your version of?Tomorrowland?looks like, it requires?commitment and action today. It requires?holding our leaders accountable—not just for what they?oppose, but for what they?build.

We’ve done it before.

We can do it again.

I’ll see you in Tomorrowland.

Here’s hoping it’s a?bright one.????

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A Good Example

The Original EPCOT: A Real-Life Tomorrowland

Before EPCOT became a theme park, it was something far more ambitious - a?blueprint for the future, where the best of?government, business, and individuals?came together to?collaborate, innovate, and create.

Walt Disney envisioned EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) as a?real, functioning city?- a constantly evolving model where cutting-edge technology, urban planning, and human ingenuity worked hand in hand.

It wasn’t just a place to visit - it was meant to be?a living laboratory for progress with a constant flow of new ideas, where people worked, lived, and thrived in a meticulously designed, forward-thinking environment.

Unlike the EPCOT theme park we know today, Walt’s EPCOT was designed as?a grand experiment in shaping the future?- not just for Disney, but for society as a whole. He saw it as a?collaborative effort, where the public and private sectors, along with everyday citizens, would work together to solve problems and push the boundaries of what was possible.

And that’s exactly the kind of thinking we need now.

The blueprint is ours to create. Let’s get to work.

To learn more about the?“real” EPCOT, check out Walt Disney and the Quest for Community.?

A Good Recommendation

“In every moment there is the possibility of a better future. But you people won’t believe it.”

This clip is?worth every second?of your time.

2015 is calling us in 2025.?We are in Tomorrowland -?but are we listening?

Watch, reflect, and decide:?What future are we choosing?

What does a bright big beautiful 2035 require of us today?

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A Good Question

What future are you choosing today?

What’s your version of Tomorrowland? What future are you designing?

Answer?

Share the Good!

Share this to your favorite future-forward thinking optimists!