The internet is great because it stores all of the things we need to remember in the cloud.  Why is this great? Because we no longer have to use up our mental space to keep track of things we are supposed to do, so many details, and where we put our house keys (ok we still need to remember that probably).  This externalizing of information outside of our brains should allow us to focus on making higher order connections.

Pretty soon your whole life will turn into one great big brainstorming session: With exposure to more and more ideas thanks to the interwebs, we will constantly be riffing off ideas and adding to them.  Just as basic human tools such at the loom and the plow were slowly perfected through an iterative process, ideas will be iterated and refined naturally but at rapidly increasing rates. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you couldn’t do better than move to silicon valley and surround yourself with like-minded people.  Likewise, on the interwebs, find the places where the ideas you like are proliferating. Once you begin absorbing ideas, your mind will naturally put your own spin on them.

This is when the makers, doers, and experimenters will truly shine.  With access to an abundance of good ideas, the low cost of entry to create new things (with advent of tools such as 3D printing) will allow the risk takers to quickly design and test ideas in the real or digital world. With virtual and robo assistants proliferating, you no longer will have to (or be able to) do much of the basic work you have done in the past. Learn to take advantage of your old job being replaced to move up the ladder and become CEO of your life: learn to plan and orchestrate projects carried out by these highly leveraged tools.

As Tom Watson said “ if you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate”.  The more things we try, the better chances we will have of encountering an option that is extremely valuable to pursue.  The more you try, the lower the relative risk of any one failure.  This is what we scientists call the eureka moment (good ideas don’t come from a vacuum).

The increase in rate and reduced barrier to entry in solving problems will shift the burden of coming up with good solutions to smaller and smaller companies and individuals, away from big corporations and government. This means that you no longer will be able to rely on anyone else to give you a job or bail you out. Deciding what you want to do and then making it happen, will largely be self directed rather than externally directed.  With the new tools, you are the equivalent to 500 people from just a couple decades ago, so make it count!

You should begin thinking of each new avenue you pursue in your life as type of ‘college of real life’. Pick and choose your ‘courses’ to get you the experiences you expect to need for your ultimate goals. This is the most exciting part of the future for me because I believe everyone will be much more successful when they follow their nature inclinations to find their life purpose, rather than following a script written for them by society.

What projects will you work on when you become the CEO of your life?