4 keys to preparing for an "unknown" future

             None of us knows what’s going to happen today, tomorrow, a week from now, and especially not 20 years from now! Life rarely happens exactly as planned. Twenty years ago, I had never heard the words “renewable energy” uttered together, which is now my current career industry for the last 6 years. The world changes every day. We need to keep up or we will miss out on opportunities that were within our grasp. 

Getting into the renewable energy industry was an unforeseeable opportunity. Even during my 3rd year of law school, the industry was not on my radar in the slightest. However, there were at least four factors why it worked for me. I was: 1) able to recognize the opportunity to jump into a fast growing industry, 2) qualified for the job openings that became available, 3) open minded about a career path that wasn't initially a consideration and 4) mobile enough to move to California from Colorado. If any one of the four factors failed, I would be doing something vastly different today.  

            The average worker today stays at each of his or her jobs for only 4.4 years, so for the "average" worker there will probably be some switching industries along the way. Some industries are cyclical and others are contracting. If you find yourself in one of those, you may be on the move more often than you'd prefer. Welcome to the 21st century job market.

           If the future is unforeseeable and 'unknown," how do you prepare for it? It's impossible to predict the specifics of our lives several years from now. We evolve as persons, the world around us changes, there are both unforeseeable opportunities and setbacks that impact us. In short, without a time machine you'll be left guessing how your life will evolve no matter how meticulous you are at planning the details.

            How can you fully live in the present without it impacting your future? If you truly lived in the present, you'd have no problem spending every dime you have now and you'd have no problem doing whatever you wanted to maximize the now. You'd have no problem shirking future consequences for the here and now.

            On the other hand, if you truly were only concerned about the future and not about the now, you'd sacrifice everything now to maximize your future comfort. You could forego paying rent by living in a van down by the river with Matt Foley or go find a place to pitch a tent. Since many of us live in high cost of living areas and have a strong desire to dispose of student loans quickly, the thought of how to avoid paying rent has probably crossed your mind. It has mine;)

            For those not familiar with Matt Foley, click on the hulu link for a video of his motivational tactics:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/4183

I have identified 4 keys to making the future "unknown" into a success

1) Don't mortgage your future based on fleeting rewards

            There is a balancing act between living in the present and preparing for the future. If you lean too heavily on either one, you'll end up mortgaging your future to live the high life in the present or hate life in the present to ensure that your future is posh. At some point, you'll need to find the happy medium where your present and future are both bright based on your circumstances.

            The temptation will come from time to time to be short-sighted and live it up in the present with little aforethought for future consequences. Making big decisions that impact your future should be made after doing careful due diligence. To determine whether what you are doing is foolish, apply the "Would an idiot do that?" rule. If you answer the question in the affirmative, then don't do that thing you were considering. Here's a video of Dwight Schrute explaining the rule:

In case you can't think of anything where the "Would an idiot do that?" rule would apply, here's are a few rules of thumb:

            i) Don't get married after one date or too fast - Take the time to get to know the person you commit the rest of your life to. You'll thank me later.

            ii) Don't do anything where the foreseeable result is jail time - Here's a website dedicated to the stupid criminals of the world. Before you commit to a life of crime, think about where it might lead. http://www.truecrimereport.com/stupid_crime/

            iii) Don't do anything that risks your life and limbs - I've known several people who are avid rock climbers with the occasional free climb at heights that would cause significant injury or death. The rule applies strongly to those situations you are risking your life as a foreseeable outcome of a mistake.

            iv) Don't gamble away your life savings or max out your credit cards on a whim - When you get your student loan money at the beginning of the semester, it may be tempting to take it all to Vegas and try and double it. The more likely result is that you'll lose it all and have to max out your credit cards to survive.

            With regard to finances, excessive debt can make you a slave to work in the future. It will be much harder to pursue your dreams when you have compound interest hanging over your head. If you can't afford something, don't buy it. Too many people I know have bought houses and cars without applying the "would an idiot do that?" rule. Here's a link to a general overview of a good financial philosophy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzE76nUSjL8

            The basic rule of thumb is don't throw away your life and future opportunities based on a fleeting moment of weakness or just being really short-sighted. Think about your future before taking a wrecking ball to your life. You will make mistakes and you will fail, but those mistakes and failures should not have life changing consequences attached to them.

2) Improvise as opportunities come your way - One of my favorite things to do in my free time is to listen to college commencement speeches. The reason for my fascination is that commencement speakers almost always bring their “A” material. If you only had one piece of wisdom that you could share with the world, I imagine that you would use it to inspire thousands of young people in a commencement speech if given the opportunity.

               Two of my favorite commencement speeches I’ve listened are: Conan O'Brien's Dartmouth speech and Stephen Colbert's Northwestern speech. I was a little bit amazed that they both gave similar advice to their audiences. Stephen Colbert offered this up:

"Dreams can change. If you don't achieve your dream, you are not a loser. Life is an improvisation. You have no idea what is going to happen next."

Conan offered this up:

I abandoned all preconceived notions of my career path and stature…Your path at 22 will not necessarily be your path at 32 or 42. One’s dream is constantly evolving, rising and falling, changing course…It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention…Don’t be afraid to fail. Whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity. With clarity comes conviction and true originality…What you think your dream is now, it will probably change…”

            What Conan and Colbert both seem to be advocating is that through your efforts to follow your dream, you are probably going to land someplace different than you expected based on the changing opportunities of the world. If your definition of "success" is fluid rather than rigid and you are willing to improvise, you might end up being extremely successful and happy living a reinvented dream. Your failures can provide the catalyst to move forward in a different direction that can lead to greater opportunities.  

           

3) Take a big picture approach to working towards goals with optimism - When we start down any path for any new endeavor, we don't know the final outcome of whether we'll succeed or fail. It's the risk we take in trying new things. To have any chance at success, we have to internally believe that we will succeed despite the odds against us. It's going to be hard to motivate yourself every day if you don't believe that you'll achieve success.

            It can't be ignored that we are going to fail at some things we try in life. There could be an unforeseeable setback that hinders us from accomplishing our goals. We may decide that other goals require higher priority efforts than the endeavor you initially wanted to succeed at. We may not be good enough despite our best efforts. There are a myriad of reasons why we fail. Sometimes we need to recognize that a failure in our specific area does not mean we are going to fail at living a successful life. The personal growth and wisdom gained from failures often help us with future endeavors.

            Jon Hunstman Sr said this a couple years ago: "...we must each remember that God did not put us on this earth to fail. We are His children. We are here to succeed..." We should work through temporary setbacks with that in mind.  

            I also like what former President of Stanford Larry W. Gibbons noted on the topic:

Some of you worry about your ability to handle future challenges that you see on the horizon and this makes some of you fearful…We don't know for sure what is around the corner. Uncertainty is indeed part of the fabric of life…there is no free agency without risk…there can be no true growth without risk. The uncertainty is necessary; it's part of the plan. We can't keep both feet on the ground and move forward

            We can spend hours every day stressing out about future challenges. The burden on us can sometimes get heavier with each passing year. Nonetheless, we need challenges to continue to grow. When you get to a point in life where there isn't a clear path, you may have to take a leap of faith and step into the darkness. That's when the true growth begins. 

4) Invest heavily in your future while you are young - There are a myriad of reasons why you should invest in your future in your youth. As a general rule of thumb, life gets more complicated as you get older. Take ownership of your future by investing heavily in it. Get as much education as you can afford and learn as many job skills as you can. Manage your time wisely. This investment phase will build a foundation for the rest of your life.

            There are numerous investment opportunities that you may hear about from time to time. You'll need the capacity to evaluate the opportunity, be in a position to invest, and have thought through your level of risk tolerance. By making sound investments, you may be able to cut off several years of labor in the workforce. I've had to pass on numerous investment opportunities in college due to being broke or close to it. Now that I'm in the workforce, it's my goal to always have savings in case there is an investment opportunity that arises that meets my criteria.

Final word

            We live in an amazing time in the history of the world. Even though the future is unknown for each of us, we have significant influence on how it evolves. The opportunities are limitless for those individuals who position themselves to take advantage. Become the master of your fate.