Are you ready for the future?

I have recently returned home to Australia after a whirlwind trip to New York.?

Between running workshops and experiencing world-class hospitality (both adventures which I will share with you on another day), I was extremely honoured to be able to attend the International Women’s Forum 50th Anniversary and World Leader Conference.?

More than 1200 women from over 30 different countries gathered to celebrate the idea that had been born in New York City in 1974.

The theme for the event was “Women Changing The World”, and it was definitely a theme lived by everyone in the room. We celebrated women who had made an impact that changed the world whether that was in fashion, media, health, or society as a whole.?

There were moments during the conversations that I felt completely out of my depth and had to practice what I preach and take a deep breath, allow myself to be curious instead of competitive, and ask the questions that added my voice to the conversation and didn’t deny the others in the room of my brilliance even when I was so in awe of theirs.?

I truly cannot express in one email how much I was able to learn and absorb from the many wonderful speakers we had throughout the conference but one session I attended got me thinking in a way that I haven’t before.?

I attended one of the breakout sessions where our speaker was Edie Weiner. For those of you who haven’t heard of Edie before, she’s the CEO of The Future Hunters, and being a futurist she believes that

We have 3 options right now: destroy the plant, leave the plant, and re-engineer humanity.

What she spoke about was how the future needs us to think differently.?

The more we avoid changing the way we think, the more we risk repeating the same mistakes.?

The more we fear change, the more aggressively it is going to shake our foundations.?

We need to be aware of the future and be willing to change to create the future we want.??

So what are some things we need to be aware of to start working towards a beautiful future rather than running scared of it??

We need to learn new skills completely different from the skills we learn simply for our jobs, careers, or businesses. We need to lay down new tracks in our brains by learning things we never even dreamed of thinking about before.?

Why??

Because as Edie put it,

Everyone is currently educationally incapacitated.

Our own comfort, our ways of seeing the world and not challenging our beliefs or our thoughts sets us down a path where everything we experience and know must fit a set of very narrow predetermined parameters. It only lets us see the world as we are, rather than as it is, filled with endless possibilities. When it comes to your business, what notions of business or how you do business are limiting you from seeing the real possibilities??

We also discussed mentors and the importance of bringing in different perspectives. Edie suggested we all need to engage a 15-year-old mentor. How many of you would be willing to ask a 15-year-old for their perspective on the future and how you are operating in the world currently? How many of you are scared that they would be too brutal with their feedback? Maybe a 15-year-old mentor isn’t what you need right now, but looking for others outside your normal sphere of influence could be a step toward a major breakthrough in the way you think about yourself and your business.?

Edie asked us to think about the opportunities we can create for others to contribute to our every day. This resonated deeply with me because my biggest driver has always been to give back to the community around me and allow others opportunities. But it doesn’t have to start with big impactful actions, it can start by simply asking one of your team members for their thoughts on an idea you’ve been towing with, it could be asking your loved ones for their feedback or to help you with a small task. Something that helps them feel important, involved, and empowered to enact change in their world as it exists now.?

We have far more opportunities to create impact each day and to change the course we are on. Sometimes all it takes is thinking a little bit differently about how we see the world. And today is the perfect day to start pushing your comfort zone.?

Who is one person you could listen to or read an article by that would challenge the way you currently see the world? Even if you don’t agree with them, this might just be the spark you need to begin accepting and embracing changes in your world and preparing for the future.?

Janine

P.S. I am opening 5 spots in June to join my ELEVATE mastermind program and to work privately with me to build your Game Plan and the strategies to welcome more profit into your business before the end of the year.? If you are interested in finding out more reply to this email with “ELEVATE” and I will be in touch with more information.?