Learn Radical Optimism from Google's Original Innovation Evangelist

Frederik Pferdt shares 5 key insights from What’s Next Is Now: How to Live Future Ready.

Photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash

What does the future hold? Of course none of us can know for sure, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait around to find out. In the new book What's Next Is Now: How to Live Future Ready, Frederik Pferdt argues that with the right mindset we can create the future we want. Frederik was the first Chief Innovation Evangelist at Google and founded the company’s Innovation Lab. He’s also taught at Stanford and advised government agencies, organizations, and businesses ranging from the United Nations to NASA to the NBA. Here he is to share 5 of his big ideas.

1. The future shouldn’t be something that happens to you. It should be something you make happen.

I call myself a future optimist because I believe in running headlong toward the opportunities that the future holds instead of fearing the uncertainty the future brings. The formula is simple: The choices you make create your future. The greater the number of new and intentional choices you make, the more opportunities will reveal themselves. The more of these opportunities you pursue, the more control you have over what your future looks like.