Envisioning the future can be challenging since trends may point towards an “inevitable,” but timing remains uncertain.

The past nine years have been challenging, and I have often wondered if I would ever see my vision of the world materialize.

At times, I questioned my decision to use exponential technology to accelerate human inner well-being and worried about my long-term financial security, as many founders can relate.

There were definitely tears involved. 🙂

However, our time is now, and the emergence of Chat GPT and Generative AI has awakened a critical mass of people to the importance of being truly human.

The underlying technologies and trends have been building for some time, and as my dear friend Tariq Qureishy and fellow Futurist says, this period is like 20+ printing presses happening simultaneously.

As a futurist, I track numerous signs across various domains, including social, economic, scientific, medical, and more.

I pay attention to what people are saying and thinking across the world, observe shifts in language, and identify expansions of definitions and mindsets.

While the news may not present a positive picture of the state of affairs, the underlying waves of change are cresting and blending right now.

We have an unparalleled opportunity to help create a well-being future for people and the planet.

We’ve never had a better chance.

This is your time. Yes, the future is not written. Our world could go either way. Now is the time for you to be in the game.

What a delight to be an adult human with passion, talent, and desire to help people heal, grow, and fulfill their potential!

When I speak to founders in our community, I’m hearing stories of years of not being “gotten” to more orders that can be met.

This is an exciting time to be alive and this is the confluence that we’ve been waiting for.

For those who have asked me whether they should build transformative technologies or stay at their corporations, it is time to build wherever you are.

As a case and a resource, I recommend taking a look at the Future Foundation‘s report called The Global 50, whose purpose is to “promote growth, prosperity, and well-being”.

The report’s purpose statement reflects the mindset shift I am seeing across the world, which seeks to shift thinking from ‘What will happen in the future?’ to ‘How can we best prepare to improve or protect growth, prosperity and well-being?’, whatever that future might be.

The report also describes a redefinition of well-being and human potential.

• Well-being today is defined by a good state of mental and physical health and feelings of life satisfaction, but the definition of well-being is always in flux.
• Tomorrow, well-being could be more about feelings of self-realization, with advances in medicine and technology leading to a greater ability to overcome mental and physical health issues.

There may be a renewed emphasis on positive social interactions and a sense of belonging conducive to self-esteem.

This would place new demands and expectations on the state and society.

They go on to say that, “Human potential is unlimited, and advances in machine intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, technological developments in science and medicine, and an increasingly borderless world will shift people’s understanding and expectations of self-realization, including work, education, and what it means to thrive.

Personal development, how individuals and communities innovate and communicate, and new definitions of self-esteem, autonomy, and stability will bring forth new ideas about parenting, care, love, belonging, inclusion, and community.”

Well, we have been working together on this for nearly a decade, and I know there are OGs in our community who have been doing it for 20 years.

Love,
Nichol

P.S. Some of my favorites are below.

Health Reimagined

Redefine mental and physical health, support longer lives, drawing on both science, technology and nature towards better health and new ways to personalize access for individuals and communities everywhere.

Collaboration Advanced

Enhance problem-solving, innovation and trust by redesigning collaborative structures and processes between humans – including across generations as well as between machines and between humans and machines.

Nature Restored

Minimize environmental risks, harness nature’s capacity to restore itself or have a positive impact on crucial environmental ecosystems and habitats, creating a more stable, healthier planet for all.

Societies Empowered

Empower societies by offering solutions to humanity’s most complex and universal needs, optimizing systems that they rely on, safeguarding risks that could make societies more fragile in the face of crises and extending individual and collective potential for growth and development.

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