I’ve recently joined this platform called Lunchclub recommended to me by my good friend, Ahmet. I met Ahmet via RookieUp two years ago. You are reading this because, chances are, we met elsewhere, on a digital platform somewhere. It’s powerful, isn’t it? We are all, quite literally, virtually connected. Whether we like it or not, the consequences of our actions & choices have never been more… actively felt by the receiving end of it. The internet, in this case.
This isn’t new, though. The internet has been around for at least the latter half of a century. We’ve been using social media platforms for probably a good part of our adult lives, some even from birth, while a few have seen what it can do for the after-life: a South Korean startup recently gave a demo about a mother meeting her deceased child… in Virtual Reality. Talk about a use case for post-life technology. It is uncomfortable, to say the least.
What does it all mean?
If every action we do has an equivalent consequence, big or small, then the future is nothing more than just the collection of those said actions meets luck (or lack of, in some cases). The fragility of it all is always terrifying, and anxiety-inducing, but I’d rather be aware of this, than to live in blissful ignorance. I also firmly believe embracing this hard truth will eventually pay off. I’ve seen it in action— with my own life and journeys.
I was always, without a doubt, a believer in destinies. You can call it however you like— destiny, future, probability, end game, life plan, “what retirement is”, adult life, “American Dream”. It almost does not matter what face you put into it. What does matter is how you’ll actually live it—live as if it’s already happened in the future. Live as if there’s no other scenario. Live as if we are a couple of actions and decisions away from making that happen.
Because, in some cases, we actually are.
We just need to be aware, deeply aware of how much our present decisions will impact, not just our own futures, but the world’s. The scale will be the only thing that varies, but the result is crystal clear: we all have a part to play in changing the world and shifting things around. We are slowly building the worlds (virtual, non-virtual) our grandchildren will wake up to, and live in.
Of course, it is damn well worth truly thinking about and ultimately working towards.
So.. what now?
Consider the lifecycle of a product. You start with an idea, and move towards a proof of concept of some sort. Typically in a form of a prototype. You test it, iterate it and test it again until you eventually release the V1 of it. If everything goes well (it rarely ever does!), you improve it further and relentlessly work on it until you achieve V2. At this point, you probably have a growing group of customers and users already. Ideally, with your product, a part of their lives (and livelihood, for some) are getting better with each iteration, otherwise, what is the point? Once you reach another milestone, you then would want to sustain the innovation… by making more and more radical bets on the technology, while gaining more and more growth along the way.
Societal evolutions are no different, and so are individuals taking part in it. Just like the products and experiences we are designing, we, too, are evolving every day. We are largely driven by the problems we are trying to solve.
The bets we make along the way sometimes break us, but every once in a while, if you’re lucky, a single bet changes everything.
Life becomes infinitely more interesting if one treats it like an experiment, rather than a competition. Experiments allow for more detours, and explorations. They have a higher tolerance for risks, and mistakes. They encourage diversity. But most of all, They thrive on serendipities.
How I play with luck and serendipity:
Avoid over-engineering everything. Part of choosing worthy battles is letting go of control over a few key areas on your life. What they are is completely up to you.
Be endlessly curious. Develop a certain kind of mindset that makes it almost impossible for you to be intimidated by any topic, by any book, by any subject.
Leave room for people. Meet thinkers, makers, people who are building things but be selective of whom you give your time to. Don’t be rigid with your schedule, so when randomness comes knocking, you’ll have the capacity to entertain.
Approach your daily activities as thoughtfully as you would with your financial investments. How will this activity evolve in the near future? Is this worth my time today? Is there a way to automate this? How can I buy more time so I can devote the rest of my life to thinking, writing and living?
Put yourself out there. Write, speak, code, launch products. Destiny has a way of finding us. Make it easier to find you by meeting it halfway. You’ll never know who you’ll reach just by taking that first step. Publish it. Plant that seed.
Wishful thinking is for those that can’t see beyond the present. Whatever the future holds, we can already see glimpses of it, if you know where to look. If we really are serious about changing parts of it for the better, we have to leave nihilism and pessimism behind.
And instead, devote all of our precious attention over our next moves, as a human for humankind.
If it were up to me, what is the most ideal version of the future look like? And right now in 2021, which individual/companies are working towards that same vision?
Join them.
Thank you for reading,
Nikki
Private writings on UX:
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