The Future Is Here, And It’s Now Being Evenly Distributed
If you work in tech you have probably heard this quote over the years: “The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.” William Gibson - August 1993
The Oculus, New York City
If you work in tech you have probably heard this quote over the years:
“The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed.”
William Gibson - August 1993
Having lived in New York City for most of the past decade, I have often felt like New Yorkers live in the future compared to others around the country. Fast-casual salad restaurants, seamless, electric bike shares, uber, revel, spectacles, ramen burgers, cronuts, the void VR, capsule, etc, all existed in New York City (and to be fair other tier-1 cities) before making their way out into the smaller cities, then the suburbs, and finally the rural parts of America. Normally the process of “innovation sprawl” can take years.
In the very short amount of time we have all been in this global COVID-19 pandemic, technological innovation has been sprawling faster than ever. Everyone everywhere is being forced into the future. Using and adjusting to future technology to help cope in their own ways with the virus.
Learning for Pre-K through College has moved online, those younger students who didn’t have access to a computer at home, are now getting iPads. Education departments are also working to finally solve the issue of internet access for those students who lacked access to adequate internet (about 29% of households across NYC).
Traditionally online courses are seeing an increase as well. Two years ago I taught a course on Skillshare called Productivity Today. Normally January is the most-watched month of the year for all the courses on the platform, due to the increase in new year’s resolutions. But recently, with everyone working from home, March and April’s view times are beating the record high’s of January’s past.
While most young urban professionals (yuppies as the boomers call us) used to be the core customers of food delivery apps like Seamless, Grubhub, Uber Eats, etc. Now everyone, at every age, is using them. And every restaurant that wants to stay alive has been onboarded to deliver through them, greatly increasing the supply side of these marketplaces.
The same goes for grocery delivery apps like Instacart, Amazon Prime, and local grocery chains that have white-labeled their own solutions, such as Wegmans (which is actually powered by Instacart on the backend).
“This level of online shopping was, at best, forecast to occur five years from now,” says David Bishop, a partner at grocery research consultancy Brick Meets Click. “The demand has overwhelmed the capacity of the retailers.” In 2019, Bishop reports that 6.3% of grocery-related spending was through online orders, bringing in around $29 billion in U.S. orders alone. That’s a lot of green, but it’s a fraction of the $650 billion industry. “Shopping online costs more for the retailer, and was a low priority for grocery stores,” Bishop says. “They offered it as an add-on, not a core part of their business.”
Everything flipped this March. With shelter-in-place orders across the country, online groceries are now a hot commodity. About 40% of orders come from first-time shoppers, according to Gordon Hasket Research.
- Excerpt from The Real Reason It’s So Hard to Order Groceries Online Right Now
When I don’t order online and I do really need to get something from a physical retail location, I have been using contactless Apple Pay almost every time. In the times of social distancing, no cashier wants to touch a card or money I hand them and contactless payments have also flipped to become the norm.
You have probably downloaded Zoom recently, which has exploded massively in growth.
Along with FaceTime, Houseparty, and the up & coming Clubhouse which are bringing how we “hang out” with friends and family into the future.
Slack, which is enabling companies to communicate with their employee’s during remote working from home has also seen explosive growth. From Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack:
In lieu of expensive gym memberships, at-home workouts are taking off with Fitbod, Obe Fitness, and Peloton. And most fitness instructors are replacing their employer/gym by building a direct to consumer relationship, and teaching classes over Zoom or Instagram.
I’m not going to even touch on the changes happening in healthcare, because that could be its own post in and of itself.
We were headed toward a future at the end of 2019. A future that was likely inevitable but still 5-10 years away.
Now in 2020, this coronavirus is global and it’s accelerating the support for new technologies all around the entire world, all at once. The future is now being more evenly distributed than ever before. And when that happens, this fast, you not only arrive at the expected future sooner than later, but you pave a new foundation. Allowing the “next wave” of technology to build on top.
Tomorrowland
Deepfake Technology
Over the weekend I saw one of the best Deepfakes of my life. If you don’t know, the deepfake definition is when you combine and superimpose existing images and videos onto source images or videos using a machine learning technique known as generative adversarial network. The phrase "deepfake" was coined in 2017. This is what I saw on Twitter on Friday and it blew my mind.
Over the weekend I saw one of the best Deepfakes of my life.
If you don’t know, the deepfake definition is when you combine and superimpose existing images and videos onto source images or videos using a machine learning technique known as generative adversarial network. The phrase "deepfake" was coined in 2017.
This is what I saw on Twitter on Friday and it blew my mind:
Know I have know about deepfakes for awhile, but to be honest they are not normally that great. Last year I watched as Jordan Peele put words in Barack Obama’s mouth. But on Friday, what I saw was not just someone’s lips and vocals being altered. It was one of the first times my eyes actually deceived me. Deepfake technology is progressing really fast and I was intrigued by that Twitter thread. So I started to find some more deepfake examples:
This obviously works well with Bill Hader as he is an expert impressionist. Here he is again, this time deepfaking as Arnold Schwarzenegger brought to you by Youtuber, Ctrl Shift Face:
Here is Jim Carrey deepfaking in The Shining:
And here is a young Sylvester Stallone deepfaking the role of Terminator:
2O21: A SPACEX ODYSSEY with Elon Musk is also another fun DeepFake of Stanley Kubricks masterpiece; 2001: A Space Odyssey. In this scene, Elon Musk gets in a fight with the infamous A.I. supercomputer, Hal.
There is a longer conversation to be had around the long term implications of this technology and how we ensure it is used responsibly.
You can find more of these deep fake example videos here. It actually turns out that the deepfake technology to do this has been open sourced on GitHub. So if you are interested in learning how to use deepfake AI yourself, you can view this deepfake github project and give it a shot.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe Launch: A Historic Interview To Touch The Sun
NASA made history on August 12, 2018, launching the Parker Solar Probe; their first ever mission to touch the sun. Luckily, I was invited by NASA to come down to Cape Canaveral to have a front row seat to the rocket launch! While there, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Felipe Ruiz, who is the Deputy Lead Mechanical Engineer from John’s Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Parker Solar Probe: Credit - Jon Reino Photography
NASA made history on August 12, 2018, launching the Parker Solar Probe; their first ever mission to touch the sun. Luckily, I was invited by NASA to come down to Cape Canaveral to have a front row seat to the rocket launch!
This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that I am proud to say I was able to witness with my own two eyes. While there, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Felipe Ruiz, who is the Deputy Lead Mechanical Engineer from John’s Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. He helped directly build the Parker Solar Probe and was kind enough to share his personal journey contributing to such an important advancement in human civilization.
The Parker Solar Probe will use seven gravity assist Venus flybys over the next seven years to slowly shrink its orbit around the sun. This will bring the Parker Solar Probe as close as 3.83 million miles to the center of the sun. On the probe’s closest orbit, it will be seven times closer than any spacecraft before it. Eventually becoming the fastest human-made object in existence, at 430,000 mph relative to the sun. The spacecraft will transmit its first science observations in December.
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Transcript:
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Behind The Scenes Of A Mission To Touch The Sun: NASA's Parker Solar Probe Launch
I will be sharing my experience behind the scenes at Cape Canaveral for NASA's Parker Solar Probe at 3:48 a.m. EDT on Saturday, August 11. Be sure to follow my social media posts over the next few days to watch behind the scenes of one of NASA’s biggest launches in recent years!
Delta IV HEavy At Cape Canaveral
In early 2017, Founder Institute announced a new initiative, the STAR Fellowship. To inspire and empower entrepreneurs to build 500 new space-related businesses by 2025. We wanted to help cultivate "astropreneurship". We did this in partnership with some of the world’s foremost leaders in space, entrepreneurship, and innovation to simplify the complex process of launching a space startup.
Commander Michael López-Alegría - NASA Astronaut
During this time I became fortunate to meet with some of the amazing space industry experts, such as the New York Space Alliance. I even got to met my first Astronaut during the release of Sparks & Honey's report "Space: Exploration Innovation Brought Down To Earth". It was a pleasure to met former NASA Astronaut Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, who holds the all time American record for number of Spacewalks (10) and total Spacewalk duration (67 hours and 40 minutes).
So earlier this year when I heard NASA was scouting for social media influencers, I decided to apply for social media credentials. And then a few months later, to my surprise, I was selected by NASA to come down to Cape Canaveral for the launch of the Parker Solar Probe!
The Parker Solar Probe is NASA's first ever mission to touch the sun. The Parker Solar Probe will use seven gravity assist Venus flybys over the next seven years to slowly shrink its orbit around the sun. This will bring the Parker Solar Probe as close as 3.83 million miles to the sun. On it's closest orbit, the probe will be seven times closer than any spacecraft before it and it's eventual speed will make it the fastest human-made object in existence, at 430,000 mph relative to the sun.
As NASA states; "The spacecraft will go close enough to the sun to watch the solar wind speed up from subsonic to supersonic, and it will fly through the birthplace of the highest-energy solar particles. Still, as with any great mission of discovery, Parker Solar Probe is likely to generate more questions than it answers."
At 3:48 a.m. EDT on Saturday, August 11, the Parker Solar Probe will launch to begin its journey to the sun atop the second most powerful rocket in operation: the Delta IV Heavy. Selected in 2015 for the mission, it was the biggest rocket on the planet before being eclipsed by Space X Falcon Heavy in February of this year. To learn more about the mission, the Parker Solar Probe, and NASA's launch this Saturday be sure to watch the video below detailing the Park Solar Probes journey to touch the sun.
I will be sharing my experience behind the scenes at Cape Canaveral on social media for everyone to follow along. I will be tweeting, Instagramming, live streaming on Twitch, and more. The links are below. So be sure to follow my social media posts over the next few days to watch behind the scenes of one of NASA’s biggest launches in recent years!
Allen Saakyan's Simulation, Discussing The Future Of Humanity
We are proud to have Allen Saakyan on our show today. Not only do I get the pleasure of interviewing him, I had the privilege of being interviewed for his podcast, Simulation, as well!
Allen Saakyan, Simulation
We are proud to have Allen Saakyan on our show today. Not only do I get the pleasure of interviewing him, but I also had the privilege of being interviewed for his podcast, Simulation, as well! This episode will be a little different as we go back and forth asking questions for both of our podcasts, you won’t want to miss it!
Growing up, Allen knew he was destined to take a different path. He was always curious, which drove him to wonder why so many people always took the same path. His quest became to figure out how could he help people desire to take their own path? Fast forward, and now he is the successful founder of Simulation, a podcast that facilitates humanity’s most thought-provoking questions. He also is the host of World’s Fair, a festival with mind-blowing technology and futuristic talks. Listen in to hear more about:
- Allen's meaning of Simulation
- How people are working to make the world a better place
- Why mentorship is so crucial
- How Allen is working to bring back the iconic World’s Fair
- The need to talk about the future and why it is important
- What is the most beautiful thing in the world
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!
Quote Of The Episode:
“Value is determined by a person's passion to change the world and make it a better place”
Links from this episode:
Listen to this episode now:
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Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here!
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Transcript:
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Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer On Truly Knowing Your Customer
A successful entrepreneur, speaker, and father of 7, Wes Schaeffer is the person you seek when you want to generate more sales. Wes Schaeffer is a marketing strategist and is known as The Sales Whisperer. He grew up in Houston, TX, served in the Air Force, graduated from A&M and became a successful salesman.
Wes Schaeffer, The Sales Whisperer
A successful entrepreneur, TED speaker, and father of seven, Wes Schaeffer is the person you seek when you want to generate more sales. Wes Schaeffer is a marketing strategist and is best known as The Sales Whisperer. He grew up in Houston, TX, served in the Air Force, graduated from A&M and became a successful salesman.
Although he had the income and personal life he wanted, he wasn’t happy with his job, which is when he became decided to become the Sales Whisperer. Wes's analogy of being a sales whisperer came to him after some inspiration from the dog whisperer. Some dogs have behavior issues but the reality is that their trainers don’t have the proper training to enable them to be successful pets. Just like how sales leaders come to him with lack of training and sometimes incorrect sales tactics, it is Wes’ job to help them learn a better and more efficient way. Listen to our podcast to hear more about Wes’ insights!
- Growing up in Houston and life in the U.S. Air Force
- Knowing when to switch gears
- The start of his career and transition to entrepreneurship
- Common sales leadership do's and do not's
- How he started The Sales Whisperer
- Breaking down Wes' Ted Talk
- Maintaining work-life balance with a big family
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
How do you maintain work-life balance to ensure you get time with your family?
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice:
Members of the "A-list" can listen to exclusive A-list bonus clips here! If you are not a member yet be sure to join the Ambition Today A-list!
Quote Of The Episode:
“If you have seven priorities, you have none.”
Links from this episode:
Listen to this episode now:
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Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
If you are already a member of the A-list then you can easily access your bonus content from right here!
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Transcript:
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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Gabe Zichermann's Onward Helps You Achieve Tech-Life Balance
Author, public speaker, and entrepreneur are just a few great titles for today’s guest, Gabe Zichermann. He is the CEO and Founder of Onward, a company that helps you achieve tech-life balance.
Gabe Zichermann, Gamification
Author, public speaker, and entrepreneur are just a few great titles for today’s guest, Gabe Zichermann. He is the CEO and Founder of Onward, a company that helps you achieve tech-life balance. Gabe is also known for his expertise on the topic of Gamification. Having written three books, “The Gamification Revolution”, “Gamification by Design” and “Game-Based Marketing”.
Gabe grew up in Toronto with his two parents that immigrated from Hungary and Romania. He had a passion for games from a young age of 8 when he got his first computer, a Commodore VIC-20, and programmed his first computer game. After college, his first big success was Trimedia, which he sold in 2005. From there Gabe helped define the field of Gamification. In this episode, we get to discuss Gabe's full background, both the ups and downs of life, including:
The power of games and their application to the rest of the world
What is "Gamification"
How to recognize when to change your life
Why it can be so important to take a step back
The importance of doing the self work as an entrepreneur
His success with building Trimedia
Growing his newest company Onward
The future of tech-life balance
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“On the topic of tech life balance, how do you recommend people keep themselves in check?”
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Gabe Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
Quote Of The Episode:
“The most important thing is to understand who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are, and be able to name it”
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Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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How to Create Products People Love
Building a product that people like is hard, and building a product that people love is even harder. Last week I recorded this webinar with two of our excellent Founder Institute New York mentors: Patrick Schoonveld and Alberto Escalarte!
Building a product that people like is hard, and building a product that people love is even harder. Last week I recorded the webinar above with two of our excellent Founder Institute New York mentors: Patrick Schoonveld and Alberto Escalarte!
Through the video both Patrick and Alberto discuss how to better understand, discover and interpret customer pain points. Along with how to use those insights to inform your product development. They also answered several questions from the audience by suggesting many tools, software, and tips to help you think about how you are building your product today. Click play on the video above to watch now.
Alberto Escarlate - CTO, Throwing Fruit
Alberto Escarlate is a mix of entrepreneur, product strategist, investor, designer and professor. Before joining Throwing Fruit he was the CEO of Paris-based startup FileChat and before that worked as a VC at the Collaborative Fund. Alberto co-founded Causely (f.k.a. Sojo), a company that provides joyful and accessible ways for people to join with others to do lasting social good. Throughout his career he has led a number of digital products for companies including AT&T, Delta, General Motors, IBM and Kraft Foods.
Patrick Schoonveld - Product Management Director, Criteo
Product management leader with over 15 years of experience across the full lifecycle of software product development. From assessing the market opportunity to launch and on to growth, his passion is building great software products and businesses.
Terry Young's Sparks & Honey Is Mapping Culture To Forecast The Future
From a small town in Western Kentucky to becoming an entrepreneur on Madison Ave, Terry Young joins us on this episode of Ambition Today. Terry is a successful advertising entrepreneur and the CEO of Sparks & Honey
Terry Young, CEO of Sparks & Honey
From a small town in Western Kentucky to becoming an entrepreneur on Madison Ave, Terry Young joins us on this episode of Ambition Today. Terry is a successful advertising entrepreneur and the CEO of Sparks & Honey, a company identifying and mapping emerging cultural waves through the use of machine learning systems, algorithms, and human insight.
After earning his Master’s Degree in advertising, Terry started working in the digital advertising industry in 1995, when digital marketing was just getting started. A short two years later, he was running the company. Terry got the opportunity to live in China and help start-up initiatives while working for McKinsey. He also lived in Kazakhstan while in the Peace Corp where he helped small business shops with their financing and starting their businesses. Terry brings a great perspective on culture and new trends. On this episode, we also discuss:
Growing up in a small town in Kentucky
The impact of joining the Peace Corp
Rebuilding the traditional advertising model
The intersection of being gay and an entrepreneur.
How Sparks & Honey maps culture
Why predicting the future matters
Defining micro signals and macro trends
What is happening in the space industry
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
“How do you best recommend that people in organizations ride the waves in a trend?”
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Terry Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
Quote Of The Episode:
“I say to every person who was here … that has left, you are also leaving your shape and your mold on the company, because it is a reflection on them too.”
Links from this episode:
Listen to this episode now:
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Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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Anthony Pompliano Is Going Full Tilt To Invest In World-Class Blockchain And Crypto Asset Ventures
Anthony Pompliano is the Managing Partner at Full Tilt Capital, an early stage venture capital firm. Full Tilt Capital now focuses exclusively on investing in world-class companies in the blockchain and crypto asset space.
Anthony Pompliano, Managing Partner at Full Tilt Capital
Anthony Pompliano is the Managing Partner at Full Tilt Capital, an early stage venture capital firm. Full Tilt Capital focuses exclusively on investing in world-class companies in the blockchain and crypto asset space.
"Pomp" was raised in Raleigh, NC, and is one of the first south easterners that we have had on the Ambition Today podcast. He is the oldest brother of five and during his junior year of college, he was deployed to Iraq. During his deployment, he gained a unique perspective on life. His world traveling allowed him to learn about new cultures all around the world in order study human behavior. Once he returned from duty, he jumped into the world of Silicon Valley. He built two small technology businesses and worked for large tech companies like Facebook and Snapchat before starting Full Tilt Capital. Anthony brings us his knowledge, unique insight, and more on this episode of Ambition Today:
- Life lessons from being deployed to Iraq
- Building and selling his first technology business
- What it was like working for Facebook
- Full Tilt Capital's investment thesis
- How important a founders self-honesty is
- Why GPU will beat CPU's in the future
- The story of Standard American Mining
- Why Full Tilt is going all in on blockchain companies and crypto assets
- How to build a successful Angel List Syndicate
Ambition Today Question of the Day™ :
"How do you think about and manage your personal brand, and also find time to get your day to day operations work done and build Full Tilt?
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Anthony Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
Quote Of The Episode:
"You don't have to be honest with me. I want you to be, but you don't have to be. You have to be honest with yourself."
Links from this episode:
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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LIVE EVENT! Cryptocurrency, ICO, & Blockchain Law in 2018 with Joe Daniels of McCarter & English
This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law!
Joe Daniels, Co-Chair of McCarter & English Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice
This episode comes to you from the heart of New York City for our first live podcast episode discussing cryptocurrency, ICO, & blockchain law. In late January almost 100 founders gathered at the offices of McCarter & English for our January Founder Institute Meetup! The crypto founders there heard from Joe Daniels, who is the Co-Chair of the McCarter & English's Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies practice. Joe has worked on numerous SAFT & token offerings, including San Francisco based Quantstamp, which just raised $30 million in its pre-sale, along with Augmate, The Valorem Foundation, RealECoin, VIMarkets, CoinBoost, and RecylcleGO.
During this event, Joe reviewed the current cryptocurrency, blockchain, & initial coin offering laws in 2018. Learn the key things that you need to know about ICO's, the SEC, international business, SAFT agreements, and more. If you are interested in understanding the legalities around cryptocurrencies, tokens, and the blockchain, then you will definitely enjoy this episode. The slides that Joe is going over during his presentation are available below if you want to follow along. They are packed with information, such as:
What are Blockchain Tokens (Cryptocurrencies)
What is an ICO
How much has been raised in ICOs / SAFTs
How do SAFT agreements work
Regulatory Issues w/ ICOs
The SEC's response to the emergence of cryptocurrencies
Current Best Practices for cryptocurrencies
Follow Along With All The Slides From The Event:
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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EO Global Chairman Brian Brault On Investing In Community And Yourself
Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Brian Brault; a successful entrepreneur that has been recognized twice in his career by Inc. 500 for building one of the fastest growing companies in America. Currently Brian is the Global Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization.
Brian Brault, Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization
Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Brian Brault; a successful entrepreneur that has been recognized twice in his career by the Inc. 500 for building one of the fastest growing companies in America. Currently Brian is the Global Chairman of the Board at Entrepreneurs' Organization.
He is also the founder of Advanced Facility Services and Pure Rooms which was deemed one of the best companies to work for in western New York and was awarded best entrepreneurial company in western New York.
A graduate of the University of Buffalo’s School of Business, Brian is very active on community boards. Being the Global Chairman for Entrepreneurs’ Organization Brian helps grow their network of 12,000 entrepreneurial members in 54 countries. He believes in surrounding yourself with strong people because your success is a product of the five people that you spend the most time with. Today Brian talks about:
What got him excited at a very young age to be an entrepreneur
How he build Advanced Facility Services & Pure Rooms
Why he supports Entrepreneur’s Organization globally
Do you need to be in a major market like NY to be successful?
His speech at the United Nations
The importance of community for founders
His 10/10/10 morning routine
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What routines have you built in your life that contribute most to your success?"
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Brian Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
Quote Of The Episode:
“Everyone has a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit inside them it's just your tolerance for risk and how that is nurtured in your life will really determine how much you will pursue and build on that entrepreneurial spirit.”
Links from this episode:
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
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How Peter Shankman Thinks "Faster Than Normal" And Built Help A Reporter Out (HARO)
On this episode of Ambition Today we explore Peter Shankman’s journey. Peter is the perfect example of what happens when you combine creativity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Peter shows us how ADHD can be a gift and a strong advantage in business. Many know him for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO).
Peter Shankman
On this episode of Ambition Today we explore Peter Shankman’s journey. Peter is the perfect example of what happens when you combine creativity with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Peter shows us how ADHD can be a gift and a strong advantage in business. He is not only an entrepreneur, but an author and a notable public speaker. Many know him for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO). He is also the founder of ShankMinds Business Masterminds and he is the Host of the Faster Than Normal Podcast.
Peter was born and raised in Manhattan, and was a New York City public school kid. After graduating from Boston University and going to Graduate school in Santa Barbara, CA, he started his professional career launching AOL Digital Newsroom. Peter is most well known for founding Help A Reporter Out, also known as HARO, which is the worlds largest public group of journalistic sources. In this episode, we talk about how Peter’s ADHD had a great impact on his many successes:
- Growing up in New York City
- Launching AOL Digital Newsroom
- The importance of having incredible mentors like Steve Case
- What is happening to the media industry today
- How Peter built Help A Reporter Out, (HARO)
- Using ADHD as an advantage
- How to create life rules to optimize your time
- Importance of self-awareness
- Value of asking everyone "How Can I Help"
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"How do you think about attention management and how do you best optimize your life for it?"
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Peter Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
Quote Of The Episode:
"You have to put out 10 times the amount of help into the universe that you ask for."
Links from this episode:
- Faster Than Normal Book - Out Now!
- Faster Than Normal Podcast
- FasterThanNormal.com
- Help A Reporter Out, (HARO)
- Shankman.com
- Peter Shankman on Twitter
- Peter Shankman on Facebook
- WeWork
- Founder Institute
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.
What Is Blockchain? What You Need To Know About Bitcoin, Ethereum, NFT’s, And Crypto
With Coinbase officially adding over 100,000 new accounts per day, I have started to get a lot more questions about Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in general. My goal with this post is to provide people with a starting point to best get up to speed on the space, fast!
Old coins from the Roman Empire
It is a long journey down the rabbit hole of Cryptocurrency to truly understand everything that is going on within the blockchain space (and how it is affecting other industries). But it is not an impossible task, and you have to start somewhere. With Coinbase officially adding over 100,000 new accounts per day, I have started to get a lot more questions about Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in general. My goal with this post is to provide people with a starting point to best get up to speed on the space, fast!
I first heard about Bitcoin in 2012 while writing daily Tech news for the Launch Ticker. I believe it was priced around $10, but I didn’t understand Bitcoin at the time, so I didn’t buy any. Then, in 2013, Bitcoin became what I would refer to as "Silicon Valley / Venture Capital" mainstream. Which in hindsight, I think we in the industry sometimes forget just how early to new ideas and industries we can be. Even still I did not buy any bitcoin. Even with everyone talking about something, it can be so easy to dismiss the things we don’t understand. And so, as Wayne Gretzky once famously said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
So two years later I took a deeper look at Bitcoin and I started to understand how it all works before buying some. I went down the rabbit hole; reading blog posts, sub-reddits, listening to podcasts, de-mystifying the blockchain, smart contracts, etc.
Which brings us to today. If 2016 and 2017 have taught us anything, it is that we are in a new era where awareness outpaces execution. In my opinion, social media and the connectivity of smartphones has no problem getting people talking about the hot topics of the day or week on the surface. But we are flooded with so much information that it has become harder to filter what is worth stopping, taking the time to learn more, and going deep on a subject.
And so today, my advice is to take some time to understand Cryptocurrency and it's surrounding technologies. Whether or not you are a believer in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other cryptocurrency, the technologies that have enabled this revolution, such as the blockchain, are almost certainly here to stay. I am going to lay out some information, which should help you gain a deeper understanding around the whole industry. I would recommend digesting them in the order I present them in, and remember to keep an open philosophical mind:
Understand Why We Have Money and How It Works Today:
Yuval Noah Harari, Author of the book Sapiens, explains how civilization came to have money over the course of evolution in this TED talk: "Why Humans Run The World". I recommend watching it all, but skip to 10:45 in the video if you want to fast forward to the money part.
This video on Money and Finance from John Green's youtube channel Crash Course is a super quick refresher on how our modern day monetary systems work. It even briefly mentions how Bitcoin has played a role as it has emerged over the past few years.
Bitcoin:
Watch Banking On Bitcoin on Netflix
Banking on Bitcoin is a 2017 documentary currently on Netflix. The first 20 minutes will give you a great overview on how Bitcoin ad the technology around it works. With the rest of the film covering the history of cryptocurrency, regulation of the industry, who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the dark web, and how people have used Bitcoin to date. It features interviews with enthusiasts and experts, this documentary covers Bitcoin's roots, its future and the technology that makes it tick.
Blockchain:
The Blockchain is actually explained somewhat simply during this TED talk by Lorne Lantz.
In this episode of the Tim Ferris Show "The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency", he is joined by Naval Ravikant (who you will also see in Ethereum TechCrunch talk below with Vitalik Buterin) and Nick Szabo (who you might remember from the Banking On Bitcoin documentary above).
This episode goes much deeper into the world of cryptocurrency. You will learn about how the blockchain works, the history of smart contracts, what a Merkle Tree is, the importance of decentralization, and so much more!
In this video from Wired, Blockchain researcher Bettina Warburg explains the blockchain in every age from a child up through graduate school. It then ends with a great conversation with another Blockchain expert.
Lastly with regard to the blockchain, if you click the button below you can see a step by step visual demo of the blockchain in action. I highly recommend clicking through the demo to better understand how blockchains work.
Ethereum:
At age 19, Vitalik Buterin, created Ethereum in 2013. To think about it simply, Ethereum is similiar to Bitcoin but it also allows developers to deploy code and software programs on it's blockchain.
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts; applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference. These apps run on a custom built blockchain, an enormously powerful shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property.
Buying Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies:
The easiest way to get started with cryptocurrencies is by creating an account on Coinbase.
After signing up you will be provided with your own digital wallet, which is stored in the cloud, on Coinbase’s servers. This is important to note because you are trusting a third party to protect your wallet. There are other digital wallet alternatives if you would prefer to not store your cryptocurrency on Coinbase, such as storing your wallet on your computers hard drive or on an external Zip drive. Whichever you choose, be sure to pick a wallet that is secure. Using Coinbase you can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin.
Important Note: Be sure to ALWAYS use two factor authentication. Do not use SMS based two step verification as your phone number can be stolen depending on your phone company. To understand why this is important and learn some more security tips to secure your digital wallet, I recommend reading Cody Brown's article "How to lose $8k worth of bitcoin in 15 minutes with Verizon and Coinbase.com".
If you are looking to get involved with more Crypto Assets & Currencies I am linking to some getting started guides below:
A Beginners Guide To:
Bitcoin Cash
Ethereum
Ethereum Tokens
Monero
Litecoin
0x
Tezos
Decred
Zcash
For more cryptocurrencies you can check out Coin Market Cap to see what else is out there. Clicking on a currency on Coin Market Cap will show you more information about it, including historical prices, as well as tell you the available exchanges you can buy from.
ICO's:
Be wary of Initial Coin Offerings of new tokens. Many new coins that are being created are simply not needed in my opinion. Especially if the same function or utility could be done using an already existing cryptocurrency.
If you do find a crypto currency you like, then you need to evaluate the whole project, just like you would if you were investing in an early stage startup. Make sure you research the amount of money being raised, what the token does, the valuation that the project actually works and is live, the team behind it, etc. Just how with early stage startups, only the top 5% of companies are worth investing in, the same is true of ICO’s. Most ICO's will likely fail. Fred Wilson, has a good blog post on how to carefully evaluate these new crypto assets.
White Papers:
White papers lay out the foundation for how a crypto asset works and what principles it relies upon. In the world of crypto, they are similar to the pitch decks that startups put together today or a traditional business plan, and they are typically shared with the public. To really get a good understanding of what they look like, I am including the original Bitcoin white paper wrote by Satoshi Nakamoto and the Ethereum white paper.
Hard Forks:
Forks happen when a blockchain splits in two, going forward from a certain date. The main cause of a hard fork is because of a new rule that gets created by a certain portion of the community. This can create another currency if the new network is stable enough to sustain itself after the fork. Being as both the old and the new currencies share the same ledger history, customers with balances of the original currency at the time of the fork now have an equal quantity of the new currency. You can read more about forks here and the few most successful forks to date are:
Bitcoin Cash - Forked from Bitcoin on August 1st, 2017.
Bitcoin Gold - Forked from Bitcoin on October 25th, 2017.
Ethereum Classic - Forked from Ethereum in 2016.
Regulation And Sustainability:
Being as regulation can be quite complex, I am going to simply link out to some additional reading materials in this section.
State Regulations:
China
Singapore
South Korea
Historical Incidents:
Mt. Gox: In 2014, 850,000 bitcoins, worth $450 million at the time, had disappeared or been stolen by hackers.
DOA: In June 2016 an anonymous hacker exploited a critical flaw and stole $31 million in Ether in a few minutes.
Energy Consumption:
High Energy Consumption:
Low Energy Consumption:
Wall Street
J.P. Morgan
Futures Contracts
The Future of Cryptocurrency:
I encourage you to clickthrough and view all of the slides Chris Burniske, Author of Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond, has put together. I have shared the first slide and my favorite slide below:
DISCLAIMER: These are just my personal thoughts and resources. I hope it helps you learn about the cryptocurrency industry so you can better make your own decisions. Be sure to do your own thorough diligence before making any financial decisions. Always invest responsibly.
Why Sean Ellis, Co-Author of Hacking Growth, Optimizes For Reputation And Learning
In 2010 Sean Ellis coined the term Growth Hacking and now he joins us on Ambition Today. Sean is the Co-author of Hacking Growth with Morgan Brown and currently the CEO of Growth Hackers.
Sean Ellis
In 2010 Sean Ellis coined the term Growth Hacking and now he joins us on Ambition Today. Sean is the Co-author of Hacking Growth with Morgan Brown and currently the CEO of Growth Hackers.
Sean has had quite an impressive career both as a marketer and as an entrepreneur. He was the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout and Xobni and he has taken companies LogMeIn and Uproar from launch to IPO. Sean is also known for popularizing the term product/market fit. We cover some of Sean's best practices for growing your company, as well as how he thinks of Growth Hacking as it continues to grow into the future. The story of Sean's entrepreneurial journey unlocks numerous insights along the way, including:
- What is "Growth Hacking"
- The role of family entrepreneurship on Sean
- The value of spending time abroad
- Being the first marketer at Dropbox, Lookout, & Eventbrite
- How pushing through the fear of failure has lead to success
- Making the leap from employee to entrepreneur
- Optimizing for reputation and learning over money
- How business teams need to be thinking about Growth
- The value of having a chip on your shoulder
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What excites you? What motivates you to keep going?"
The Single Greatest Piece of Advice Sean Has Ever Learned:
Join the Ambition Today A-list to listen now!
Quote Of The Episode:
"For me, the two big motivating factors were reputation and learning. I wanted to build a reputation because that would open the door to the best learning opportunities."
Links from this episode:
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, Learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.
How Adeo Ressi Empowered 2,700+ People To Become Startup Founders
Over the summer we sat down with Adeo Ressi, the CEO of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator program that operates in nearly 200 cities worldwide.
Adeo Ressi
Over the summer we sat down with Adeo Ressi, the CEO of the Founder Institute, a startup accelerator program that operates in nearly 200 cities worldwide. Throughout his time as a founder, Adeo has pioneered innovations in the protection of founder rights, the raising of early-stage capital and the scaling of new businesses.
Previous to the Founder Institute, Adeo has helped to create nearly $2 billion in shareholder value by founding or running nine businesses, including TheFunded, Game Trust, Xceed and Total New York. Adeo previously served on the Board of the X Prize Foundation to pursue his interests in space exploration and techniques to motivate human achievement. Throughout this episode it is clear that Adeo is passionate about mentoring Founders, space exploration, inspiring people to achieve their greatness, and more which includes:
The personality traits of the best founders
How The Funded improved transparency in the VC industry
The role fluid intelligence plays in entrepreneurs
How Adeo helped 2,700 plus founders grow through the Founder Institute
Managing your investors and protecting your equity
How to build startup ecosystems
Why maintaining focus and avoiding distractions is mission critical
How do you give meaning to your life's work
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What is the end game? Where do you see Founder Institute and all your life’s work going?"
Quote Of The Episode:
"There are a lot of shiny things in the sand, that look very appealing to you and may be a cause for you to think about pivoting or adjusting the business model. I can tell you that most of the shiny things in the sand are not diamonds, they are knives waiting to kill you. You have to be very, very, very diligent to remain focused on your core mission"
Links from this episode:
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
You can find the full transcript of this episode here.
Be sure to listen and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.
Listen to this episode now:
Join the shows A-list backchannel for exclusive access to additional Ambition Today content, deeper guest insights, a community of fellow fans, and much more. Plus, learn the single greatest piece of advice this guest has ever learned!
Andrew Weinrich Is Predicting Our Future
On this episode Andrew Weinrich sits down with us at his offices in Brooklyn New York. Andrew is the founder of Andrews Roadmaps and the host of the new "Predicting Our Future" podcast.
Andrew Weinrich
On this episode Andrew Weinrich sits down with us at his offices in Brooklyn New York. Andrew is the founder of Andrews Roadmaps and the host of the new "Predicting Our Future" podcast.
As a serial entrepreneur, Andrew created the first ever social network called, Six Degrees. At its height, SixDegrees had around 3,500,000 fully registered members before being bought by YouthStream Media Networks in 1999 for $125 million. In more recent years, Andrew has sold 2 more businesses including Xtify and Meet-Moi. He is currently the co-founder and Chairman of Indicative, a data analytics startup. He also hosts Predicting Our Future, a podcast about the next revolutions in technology. Andrew shares many incredible lessons from his experience over the last 20 years, such as:
- How the first social network, Six Degrees, was created
- What it was like to exit a company for over $100 million
- How Social Networking has changed over the last 20 years
- The future of Social Media
- What ties all of Andrew's companies together
- How to ride the "wave" of new technologies as they emerge
- How he is Predicting Our Future
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"What advice do you have for people who are obsessing over getting rich and making a large amount of money to solve all of their problems?
Quote Of The Episode:
"You want to be a critical thinker. Investors assume first and foremost, that whatever plan you have is wrong. That whatever you launch won't be right, it will require pivoting. The question is are you someone who is capable of pivoting? If you're a critical thinker, you will be capable of pivoting."
"Entrepreneurs take advantage of moments in history. They are not determinative of those moments."
Links from this episode:
- Andrew Weinrich on Twitter
- Andrew Weinrich Linkedin
- Andrew's Roadmaps
- Predicting Our Future podcast
- SixDegrees.com
- Founder Institute New York
- Toptal
- Audible
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today on iTunes Store Apple Podcasts for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android.
Listen to this episode now:
From Israel to Silicon Valley, Niv Dror's Journey To Conquer Social Media
Season Two of Ambition Today is happy to welcome Niv Dror, head of social media for Product Hunt. Niv boasts in impressive resume in both startups and finance, stemming from his education at UC Santa Barbara.
Niv Dror, Shrug Capital
Season Two of Ambition Today is happy to welcome Niv Dror, head of social media for Product Hunt. Niv boasts an impressive resume in both startups and finance, stemming from his education at UC Santa Barbara. After moving to Silicon Valley at a very young age, Niv had surprisingly little involvement in the tech world. It surrounded him entirely and thus he never noticed it, as water to a fish. However, after auditing a few hedge funds and VC funds as a CPA, he knew where his skills truly belonged.
Niv Dror’s taste of the tech community flourished very quickly, landing non-engineering jobs at DataFox, Meerkat, and Product Hunt. He aspired to add value without asking anything in return, and was rewarded with the experience and skills to climb the ranks at multiple organizations, currently aiding the curation of the world's most cutting-edge technology on Product Hunt. Kevin and Niv explore what's behind this drive, the man he gives credit to involuntarily kickstarting his success, and much more:
Growing up in Israel and moving to the U.S. at a young age.
Pursuing a finance degree and applying it to the startup world.
Getting exposure to the tech industry by auditing a successful VC.
Building an engaging community around a product.
What changes we can see in social in 2017.
The war of pronunciation for “gif”.
We why all love gifs and how Twitter is the perfect platform.
Ambition Today Question of the Day™:
"Should people optimize for learning or for earning?"
Quote Of The Episode:
"Community is everything. Without the community, Product Hunt wouldn't work."
Links from this episode:
Thank you so much for listening and applying these useful tips and strategies to your life! If you have a chance, please drop by and leave a review for the show on iTunes by clicking here. Also, who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review in the comments below. It keeps me going…
Be sure to listen and subscribe to Ambition Today in the iTunes Store for iOS, on Google Play Music or Stitcher for Android.
Listen to this episode now:
The iPhone Is Ten Years Old
The iPhone is officially ten years old this week. I know, I can't believe it has been ten years either...
Steve Jobs, 2007
The general consensus in the technology industry is that the expontential growth of mobile has finally peaked, after years of driving massive technology growth and value for venture capitalists. While it is undeniable that the hyper growth mobile experienced during the past decade (which venture capitalist rely on) has slowed, I have fought the notion that mobile has truly peaked. Today for the first time though, it hit home for me that maybe mobile phones have reached most of their potential by something I didn't see coming; time.
The iPhone is officially ten years old this week. I know, I can't believe it has been ten years either. I still remember when new iPhones were the hottest thing you could get your hands on. You could touch it with your fingers to use it. It had pinch to zoom and slide to unlock! Included a 2 Megapixel camera, headphone jack, single home button, accelerometer and a proximity sensor. It talked to the internet and all of it was in your pocket!
The past year has shown that investors are looking for new industries and technology sectors to invest in. Fred Wilson has predicted artificial intelligence will be the new mobile. As proof of this, Amazon's new home speaker that you talk too, the Echo, was one of the most popular products of the year. Other technologies with the label artificial intelligence seem to be creeping into many of our existing products. For example, my to do list app, Todoist, now uses A.I. to learn from me overtime and automatically reschedule my tasks that become past due.
This implication means many things to Apple and it's need for new product lines. The Apple Watch was a mild success/failure depending on how you view it. Airpods seem to be a new favorite and I personally love mine, but deep diving into Apple's future is much more then we need to get into here. Instead I would like to recognize it's past. In honor of the ten year anniversary of the iPhone I found Steve Jobs keynote from 2007 and shared it below. I encourage you to watch the first few minutes to remind yourself just how revolutionary the new iPhone was at the time and how funny Steve Jobs was while announcing it.
Then just let it simmer that the iPhone is now ten years old- and what that means for the technology industry. Putting that number ten on the age of the iPhone makes it feel a lot more like my laptop in terms of excitement. As new innovations come from wearables it is only logical that mobile is going the way of desktop computers & laptops. My phone is now something I use multiple times a day, everyday, but just is not as exciting in the long run.
Mobile will continue to grow as it expands into new markets and territories across the planet. But as with the greatest of technologies we rely on as a species, without large innovations it will fade into the background of our lives, perhaps even for he better. If mobile fades into something we use everyday without thinking, then maybe it can truly enhance our human experience instead of drawing us away from things we should be focusing on. It will go the way of electricity, where we just turn it on without thinking. To become such a utility in our daily lives that it just fades into the background, to be taken for granted the miracle it truly is.
A Consciously Fresh Perspective
It is time for a consciously fresh perspective. I have always been extremely curious about what is happening in the world around me. In college I mixed that curiosity with scientific analysis when I majored in Cognitive neuroscience...
It is time for a consciously fresh perspective.
I have always been extremely curious about what is happening in the world around me.
In college I mixed that curiosity with scientific analysis when I majored in Cognitive neuroscience, the analytical combination of Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics, and Artificial Intelligence. If that wasn’t enough, I then minored in Philosophy as I enjoyed solving deep and challenging logic problems.
Fast forward to today and I work with startups. As a result over the years, I tend to have a habit of early adopting new technology before the majority of people get it. Some of which I have written about before such as Fitbit, Google Glass, Apple Watch, Boosted Boards, and several innovative companies. I do this because I believe there is an advantage while working in Venture Capital to experience and understand new technology first hand in order to be able to accurately see future trends.
Also, I live in New York City, which means that anything I can think of is literally accessible within walking distance of me every day.
Combining all of the above, if I were to describe myself today I would say I am an extremely curious, analytically scientific, deeply philosophical, and optimistically futuristic person. Side-note: I still like having fun too 😉 .
The reason I have been thinking about this and am sharing it with you, is that along with 47.9% of America that went blue I did not see the U.S. election results coming. Brexit and the rise of populism have caught me by surprise as well.
The point of this post is not to dive into political waters though. So putting aside specific political candidates, echo chambers, inaccurate polling, my own personal beliefs, and more; what this post is really about is me reconciling that I failed to empathize with the other 47.2% of red America.
To be clear, empathy doesn’t mean you need to agree with someone. It means you understand another person's experiences and emotions; the ability to share someone else's feelings. I have not done a good enough job of that in recent months. Last week was a sobering reminder for the need to stay constantly aware of the lens that one views the world through.
It is important to keep a clear and honest perspective that balances the past, present, and future at the same time. To force oneself to take a step back and keep a consciously fresh perspective. To grow the personal self awareness to be able to see that at times there are differences between how your own experiences cause you to perceive the world, how other people are perceiving the same situation, and what is really happening.
Lastly, while personally working to view the world through that unbiased lens it is important that we talk to more people. Including those who disagree with our viewpoints. Exposure to the opinions and beliefs of others is the only way to gain a wider and more accurate view of the world.