Those of us who made New Year’s Resolutions or plans for the year have done something which is nothing short of remarkable: we’ve taken a step to envision and create our future. Let’s put the somewhat cynical (albeit possibly justified) comments about the short lifetime of resolutions and plans aside for a moment and focus on the act of creating our future.

It’s a bold move to envision a future for ourselves that’s different from what we do and who we are today. It can mean stepping outside our limitations, our comfort zone, and maybe even out of what we can fully grasp. If we talk about that future, we’re at risk of not being understood and possibly ridiculed. The further we reach into the future, and the more we see our future as different, the higher that risk becomes.

In 1995, Bill Gates was a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman asked Gates about the internet. It was a time when it was difficult to imagine what would become of the internet. The conversation between Gates and Letterman is an insightful example of a conversation between someone who can see the future and someone who can’t. The two-minute video is well worth watching. Here’s what you will see:

• It’s so easy to criticize and ridicule something we don’t understand
• It’s hard and powerful to show grace in the face of ignorance
• The future belongs to the ones who create and not those who criticize
• (and admittedly, it’s easy for me to write this 25 years later, and hard to grasp at the time)

If you haven’t made plans or resolutions to shape your future, I want to encourage you to do so. If they’re beginning to lapse already, my encouragement is not to give up on them. My wishes to you for this year are this:

 

Be bold in what you chose to create

Be ready to stand up for your choices

Be graceful when others don’t see what you see

 

All the best for a fantastic 2020!