How to survive and thrive during the 2020s
By: Fahri Karakas
Tags: Work, Self, Technology, Productivity, Creativity

Time for playing or exploring is not wasted time. We need to provide ourselves more opportunities for pure-play, exploration, and adventure. This means sometimes we will be wasting time and that is OK; as long as we keep learning and exploring.

Even if we have no idea on how to solve a problem, we can still figure out what to do and improvise. We may not know how to go forward, but we can always learn, figure out a strategy, iterate, develop, practice, and improve.

We need to take more risks — it is OK to look stupid and try out new things. Change is always frustrating and uncomfortable, but it is the only way forward. We need to treat every experience as a learning experience. Go out there and start again.

Embrace failure

Perhaps we will suck and that is fine — we need to stop taking ourselves so seriously. If we really want to get lucky in the long term, we need to provide ourselves more opportunities for failure. Failures are merely stopping points along the bigger journey. We need to celebrate your failures and use them as learning opportunities. We need to develop more grit and resilience to get back up after a failure.

Take a long-term view

Imagine your best future self after 10 years. Start acting like that person today. Act like the CEO of your own life. Where do you want to be in 10 years? Do not leave it to others to choose your destiny. Make a plan, and work toward it. Take a small action every day, consistently. You need to think and act long term and not give up on your dreams.

Even if the whole world is turning itself against on your ideas, you need to hang in there and be patient. J. K. Rowling was rejected by at least a dozen publishers before she was able to publish Harry Potter. Star Wars was rejected by many major studies until it became a household brand and franchise worth 70 billion dollars.

We need to remember that this is a marathon and we are playing the long game. We should not be discouraged by failures and rejections.

Keep imagining

Imagination has become one of the most successful critical success factors for success and happiness in this age. We can use imagination to tap into rich worlds of possibility, to dream about our lives, to invent new things, to create new theories, and to share our stories with the world.

Imagination allows us to act like children, be foolish and curious, let it go, have fun, mess things up, get out of the rut, and invent new ways of thinking. These actions will increase our neuroplasticity, and enable us to come up with a constant stream of fresh ideas.

The fascinating thing about imagination is that it is unlimited. The more you use it, the more you will have it.

Imagination is the key to success since each plan starts with an image. This might be a vision, a dream, a possibility, or a mental picture of what you want to turn into reality. Imagination is your blueprint, your compass, and your map navigating the future. Imagination allows us to communicate with our subconscious mind and create positive mental imagery. If we believe that our dreams can be realized, we will work harder towards making them happen.

Imagination is like a muscle and it can be strengthened through practical exercises and experiments we can easily apply in our daily lives.

How do you exercise your imagination regularly? You can give our brain puzzles, adventures, problems, questions, experiments, visualization exercises, and challenges every day. You can hunt for the most interesting stuff. You can spend time every day learning new things that excite and surprise you. You can be a hunter and learner of the most interesting things.

You can provide yourself more opportunities for pure-play, exploration, and adventure. Similar to Bill Gates’ think weeks, schedule time in your calendar for learning and exploring new things. Time for playing or exploring is not wasted time. You can be obsessive in following your passions and curiosities.

Keep learning

Invest in yourself and your learning every day. This is the biggest investment you can ever make.

Be an autodidact: A self-taught person individual who initiates and manages his/her own learning and reads voraciously. Assume responsibility for your own learning. Go out of your comfort zone. Learn outside your discipline. Think and act wider. Education as usual is dead. Long live lifetime learning!

Be a polymath: An individual whose knowledge spans a significant number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. To be a polymath, expand your horizons and read books from diverse disciplines. Be greedy about your learning. Read widely and diversely beyond disciplines. Read at least 100 books every year (which means 2 books per week).

To solve wicked problems of the 21st century, you need to think beyond borders and disciplines. Cross boundaries — there are no borders. Play the long term game. Imagine that you are running a marathon.

Image created by Author

Below is the new success equation:

Ask Right Questions + Follow Your Interests + Intense Curiosity + Continuous Learning + Imagination + Passion

You need to design multiple lives and multiple careers for your future. You are not cut out for just one job. Your imagination is without boundaries — why do you limit yourself to one job or one career? Think about where you will be after 10 years. Act according to that vision. You can be as big as your dreams and ambitions. So, dream big dreams, be specific in your vision and capture your wishes and desires in your diary.

Try to master the mental models of different fields and use them to develop a holistic perspective and make better decisions in your life. Live exponentially and compound yourself for the long term. When you are setting your goals, always leave an open room for X objectives(unknown goals). X objectives are goals that you cannot see right now. They will emerge as you navigate uncharted territories. How can you compound your skills and assets for the long term?

Image created by Author

Design your life by surprise. Leave more room for flexibility, serendipity, exploration, and adventure. It is not easy to scare yourself and set yourself new challenges and adventures. In order to do this, you must get out of your comfort zone. You must set sail to new horizons and explore your own blue oceans. If you do this, you will be rewarded. You will be happier.

Forget the career ladder and start creating your own assets. Remember: Imagination and asset creation are linked very closely. Imagine and create your own game. It is never too late to follow your interests, curiosities, and passions. Show up for creative work and use random prompts or anchors to get going. Start small — small is beautiful.

You need to establish a system of creativity to create your own assets:

Consistent Small Actions + Smart Moves + Hard Work + Play Your Game

Image created by Author

You need to astonish and amaze yourself every day. You can use improvisation to increase adventure and quality in your life. Try to apply automated writing, drawing, doodling, story-telling, ideating, designing, creating, dancing, and singing in your life.

Image created by Author

Create your personal poster and manifesto. The world needs interesting, unique, weird people — like you! What kind of super-hero are you? How will you help other people? Brainstorm ways to amplify your strengths.

Image created by Author

This is a marathon and you are playing the long game. If you really want to get lucky in the long term, you need to provide yourself more opportunities for failure.

These strategies will enable you to develop creative solutions, experiments, and innovations for the challenges of the new decade.

This essay has attempted to outline the vision and strategies to create a truly creative life, ready to embrace this crazy world.

The new decade is the right time for you to boost our creativity and imagination.

You can design and create a happy life for yourself by designing a decade full of creative challenges and entrepreneurial adventures.

You can create your own renaissance during the 2020s.

Fahri Karakas is the author of Self-making Studio. You can explore more here.