the future book - Hope Life Skills

“The Future”
This book has been produced specifically for you,
Samples John
1
2
Hope Life Skills students at the 2011 Rhode Island Hispanic American Chamber
Banquet meeting and adding Governor Lincoln Chaffee to their personal
network.
3
GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS:
INTERPRETATION, OPINION
“This text is not fact, rather the view of one author;
consequently, it should not be automatically accepted as
‘truth’. Two time Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author,
Barbara Tuchman, stated ‘there is no such thing as a neutral
or purely objective historian….without an opinion, a historian
would simply be a ticking clock..…’
Your mission should be to determine the ‘truth’. Your challenge
will be to explain why anyone should believe you.”
BELIEVABILITY
“It’s not a given, we acquiesce too quickly. Be respectfully
skeptical. Do your homework; check the record and the resume.
Ask the question – ‘should I trust this person as a credible
source for the truth?’ Make it a prerequisite before embracing
the claims of anyone who professes to have the ‘answers’.”
4
This book is a partial draft of the final textbook in a series of six
using periods of history to introduce, develop, and refine specific
“life skills”.
The first text focuses on the Founding Fathers period to introduce
and develop “leadership” skills. The second text examines
the Middle Period of American history to explore the concept
of “change” and best practices for managing and exploiting
the opportunities which usually accompany it. The next text
introduces the concept of “success”. This text uses The Bridge
Period of American history to define success, introduce plans
and skills for achieving it, and present several American profiles
offering life lessons to emulate or avoid. The fourth focuses
on 20th century America, from the 1920s through the 1970s,
to introduce the concept of “personal brand” and the power
a brand creates for each person who maximizes its potential.
The fifth text explores the “Information Age” starting around
1980 through the first several years of the 21st century to
reflect on the attitude and the benefits of “hope”. This book,
the sixth, anticipates The Future, from today through the rest of
your adult life, to determine the skills and attitudes you’ll need
to survive, thrive and be successful.
Thank you for your interest.
Steve Cronin
5
Course Description
My name is Steve Cronin. I’m the President of TWOBOLT, formerly Mercury Print & Mail, in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island. TWOBOLT is a direct marketing strategy and services company. We
provide data-based strategy and an assortment of corresponding services for more personalized,
measurable, customer engagements. From variable digital printing, mailing services, and plastic
membership cards to web-to-print portals, e-fulfillment, graphic design, data collection, analytics, and strategic consultation, TWOBOLT is helping companies collect and use information
like never before.
My community service for the past several years has been teaching a weekly class at Hope High
School in Providence, Rhode Island, attempting to turn American history into an experience that
introduces these practical, relevant concepts the students can use for life:
leadership
change
success
personal brand
hope
Related skills, fundamental to understanding and developing these concepts, are also introduced:
networking, risk management, interpersonal, creativity, and empathy.
Ten personalized textbooks are printed ‘on demand’ for each student; each text focuses on one
of the aforementioned concepts. The text presents one of the concepts within a specific historical
period as well as profiling several noteworthy Americans of the period. The text includes activities to reinforce concept appreciation and skill development.
You’ll notice many rectangular boxes, called QR codes (http://bit.ly/i4cZhy), throughout
this text. QR codes are providing a different source for information. Most of the QR
codes in this book link to a video. The video format is purposely offered as an alternative
for any student who more readily processes video information than text. The video also provides
enhancement or enrichment opportunities. For instance, what better way to appreciate the 1910
racially charged World Championship Heavyweight fight between Jim Jeffries and Jack Johnson
than the actual video from 1910! Another benefit of QR codes is for tracking and soliciting
feedback. One of the primary objectives of this program is a two-way engagement between student and teacher, constantly collecting and measuring real data, to refine the program so that the
aforementioned ‘life skills’ do in fact have real, long term value for each student.
A diverse group of community leaders exemplifying each concept participate in the classroom
experience to share their life lessons for a deeper appreciation of the life skills and concepts. Entrepreneur Ken Johnson, creator of Manpacks, an online, subscription, men’s underwear company;
nationally recognized creativity professor, Amy Whitaker, (Museum Legs); US Federal Attorney
6
Richard Rose; TACO INC Training and Development Director Nan Quinlan; Roger Williams
University Associate Director of Admissions Don Mays; former Progreso Latino General Manager
and Founder of the Elisha Project ,George Ortiz; national Boys and Girls Club ‘Youth of the Year’
Carolina Correra; Marta Aparicio, Hope High Alum and Georgetown University honor student
and role model; Collin Bailey, Jamaican born attorney and CVS Corporate Contract Manager;
Soren Ryherd, President of Working Planet; and Rhode Island School of Design Industrial Design
major Tino Chow are guests who have participated in classroom activities.
Business cards are printed for each student to facilitate the development of their networking skills.
Several remote, after-school activities are scheduled to develop and refine the program’s life skills:
The Rhode Island Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce Banquet, the BIF annual Summit,
an annual networking event at a Pawtucket Red Sox game in a corporate suite at McCoy Stadium, a
jobs tour at the CVS Corporate office in Woonsocket, RI, an interschool forum with LaSalle Academy related to the class text, and a college tour .
In an attempt to close the widening technology gap between students from more affluent communities and many of our Hope students, we’ve begun an experimental program awarding tablets
to Life Skills students who have exceptional attendance records, shown maximum effort in all their
classes as well as meeting all the expectations of this class. This text is being prepared as an E-book
for download to the tablet. As Hope students prepare for college or technical schools as well
as career and lifetime learning, they need access to the latest web based software and hardware.
Technology enables them to develop research and analytic skills critical to success in college and
technical schools and, eventually, to compete for jobs in our highly competitive global marketplace.
Access to technology also prepares them for current job opportunities provided by some of our
Life Skills class community partners like Cox, AAA, and Partridge, Snow, & Hahn.
Finally, we are sending students from our life skills program to the National Youth Leadership
Forum (nylf.org) in Washington, DC each year. High schools students from across the country
are accepted for attendance at this week long conference. We also coordinate a college visit in the
Washington area for our student(s) prior to the start of the Forum. Our ‘Life Skills’ program pays
for all student costs to the Forum: air fare, hotel, and program tuition. Marta Aparicio, class
of 2010 at Hope, was our first student to apply and be accepted for the conference. Marta visited
Georgetown University prior to the Leadership Conference. Coincidently, Marta ultimately received a full scholarship from Georgetown and enrolled in the Fall of 2010. 4 Hope Students attended last year’s Forum. These students also visited a University prior to the start of the Forum.
This year’s Hope High Life Skill’s class will begin again in the Fall and continue to the end of the
school year in June. Thank you for your interest.
All questions, comments, suggestions, and/or concerns are always welcomed and can be sent to my
email address - ([email protected]).
Stephen Cronin
7
“The future is not something you enter.
The future is something you create. ”
unknown
8
“Tell me and I may forget.
Teach me and I may learn.
But, involve me (in an internship)
and I learn and never forget!”
Ben Franklin purportedly said all of this except the part about internships. I added that. Stephen Cronin
9
“The future depends on what you do in the present.”
Tomorrow starts today!
Mohandas Gandhi
10
“You may have made some mistakes
and
you may not be where you want to be
but
that’s got nothing to do with your future!”
Zig Ziglar
11
“Climbing the ladder of job success
requires
constant learning and re-learning!”
Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist
12
“Every student, every person, is
a work in progress.
Don’t judge the worth of someone prematurely.
Each person needs time
to embrace learning, explore and develop their interests,
beef up their coping skills,
and craft a sense of self that lets them know and appreciate
their own worth deeply.”
“Teach Your Children Well: Parenting For Authentic Success. Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies, or
Fat Envelopes”. Madeline Levine, PhD
Preface
13
Think about this today Pick a date when your future will begin.
Whether it’s the next minute, next day,
next week, or next year, choose the date,
right now, as the start of your future.
W
hen: ____________________
_________________________
Now that you’ve acknowledged the
start of your future, what are you, doing to ensure your future will be what
you hope it will be starting on that day?
Write it down, here, what you will be doing
to make sure you’ve got the future you want!
W
hat: ____________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_______________________________________
______________________________________
Rest assured, there is no right or wrong
answer. Every person makes their own
decision, when they’re ready, to make future plans about their life and how they
want to live it.
But, is there a ‘best’ answer? You know, a
logical answer for each person that makes
sense to them for ensuring a good future.
To find this answer, think about this. We
are all often best served by finding a mentor, someone genuinely respected and
trusted, to help us answer the questions
Malcolm X
‘when is the best time to start being serious
about the future’ and ‘what should I be doing and how should I be doing it to ensure
a fulfilling, rewarding future’.
Malcolm X’s answer was
“education!
It’s the passport to the future;
for
tomorrow belongs to those who
prepare for it today”.
Alan Kay believed “the best way to predict the future is to invent it” and the
14
great British Prime Minister, Winston
Churchill, during the darkest hours of
World War 2 said “the empires of the future are the empires of the mind”.
I can understand if you want to procrastinate, you know, delay any thoughts
about the future. It’s hard; others may
add ‘scary’ and ‘painful’ to think about
planning for something as confusing as
the future. But planing for the future can
be exciting! Just thinking about potential
opportunities for future success should
give energy and purpose to your life.
Regardless of your hope for the future,
whether you want your life just like or
better than today, how do you make sure
your vision, your aspirations, your wishes
for the future will happen?
ensure their future success. By being proactive or acting early, they ensure success
for their future.
Well,
how
do
you
anticipate
the future? How does one know how to
act pro-actively, in advance of things happening? First suggestion, find a trusted,
reputable mentor.
Former Secretary of State of the United States,
Condoleeza Rice
This
is
why
I’m
encouraging
you,
to start thinking about
tomorrow, today.
Jack Welch, the CEO (the company
leader) of General Electric and arguably
the most successful business leader of
the 20th century, believed the best leaders and the most successful people were
committed to
“looking around corners”
into the future.
In other words, the best leaders, the most
successful people, were good at anticipating the future! Consequently, the most
successful people start early, pro-actively,
preparing in advance to take advantage of
opportunities they believe will develop to
Fashion Designer Dameion Royes
15
At the same time, don’t worry. It’s more
important to act, not worry! Dan Pink
wrote a best selling graphic novel called
“The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The
Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need”; a
two page sample is shown at the top of
this page about our ever changing lives,
the world of work and keys to a satisfying,
fulfilling future. Pink claims no plan can
completely guarantee a successful tomorrow. Pink suggests developing basic life
skills complemented by hard work, perseverance, insatiable curiosity, academic
and experiential learning and getting out
of your comfort zone to find something
you enjoy doing that leads to success. It’s
worth listing them again:
• Life skills (e.g. networking,
personal brand development, empathy, collaboration, etc)
• insatiable curiosity - con-
stant desire to learn and inquire
• academic and/or experiential learning (e.g. internships, college, job training,
etc
• measured risk taking - requires the courage to step
out of your comfort zone
and the proper perspective
for mistakes and failure.
• perseverance - never give
up!
• hard work - all the time!
So what’s a high school student at Hope
High School or any high school to do to
make sure a successful, fulfilling job and
life in their future will happen?
The objective of this textbook on “The Future” is to have you answer this question.
16
Your Future
The future; more specifically, your future,
We all wonder, at different times in our
lives, what the future has in store for us.
Will it be good times, bad times, or combinations of both?
Que sera? Que sera-ce? What
will it be?
Here’s why. The 21st century world is a
more competitive place than anytime in
history. The number of people you, will
compete against for jobs or starting a new
businesses has never been greater. In the
20th century (1901 to 2000), people competed for jobs or started a new company
against people in their general vicinity,
either in the same town, maybe the same
state, possibly within the country of the
United States.
Today, you compete against
talented people from
all over the world!
Who knows? You do!
This book
isn’t about
wondering what will happen
but rather
making it happen.
If you’re a graphic designer in Providence,
Rhode Island, you’re now competing for
work against designers in cities like Providencia, Columbia, Peoria, Illinois, Prague,
the Czech Republic, and Pretoria, South
Africa! If you’re a computer programmer
in Cranston, Rhode Island, you’re now
competing for work with programmers
in cities like Crazy Horse, South Dakota,
Colmar, France, Colima, Mexico, and Calcutta, India! If you’re a machine operator
in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, you’re now
competing with workers in another state
in America or in a foreign country! And,
17
Graphic designer in Columbia doing work for an American company in New York City
you may be
competing for jobs
with workers
who aren’t human,
that are
robots and androids!
And it’s not just graphic designers, computer programmers, and factory workers.
In your future, some teachers, doctors,
truck and taxi drivers, soldiers, nurses,
prison guards, newspaper reporters, airline pilots, bank tellers, lab technicians,
city and state workers, and other occupations will be replaced by robots, androids,
computers, and algorithms.
Photo of an android working in a factory in Japan
18
“Technology is redefining work..........
A recent study
by the Oxford Martin School
concluded that
47% of United States job are at risk of
being taken over by
smart machines and software
within the next two decades......
for example,
The Associated Press (news service) now uses computers,
not reporters,
to write more than 3,000 financial reports
every three months....”
exerpts from two articles by New York Times reporter Tom Friedman. “How to Beat the Bots” (June 10, 2015) and “Hillary, Jeb, Facebook and Disorder” (May 20, 2015)
19
Front page of the November 30th, 2015 edition of the Wall Street Journal. This photo shows “Pepper”, a humanoid robot, interacting with
senior citizens at a nursing home in Japan. This particular nursing home is testing robots like Pepper leading recreational activities at the
home. The ostensible reason given is to make up for a shortage of qualified people to care for the elderly. Another reason could be to save
the expense of more costly, human caregivers. Yet, in the process of using humanoids, new jobs are created. Can you think of any of
these new, 21st century jobs?
The image above represents a computer program or ‘code’.
A computer program or code is a sequence of instructions written to tell a
computer what to do. A computer and every product which uses a computer to perform its tasks, from mobile phones to automobiles,
require a program to run it. In fact, the robot in the photo above follows a series of instructions written as a computer program or code. A
collection of computer programs is referred to as ‘software’. Computer programs are typically written by people called computer programmers. Computer programming jobs are in demand with high salaries and very good benefits.
20
At the same time
old jobs are being eliminated,
new jobs are being created!
Good jobs!
Exciting jobs!
Well paid jobs!
In fact,
some of these jobs
don’t exist yet
but
will soon emerge
after your graduation from high school,
college, technical school, or graduate
studies. For instance, who among you
is interested in being a robot technician?
Like any machine, a person is needed for
maintenance and repair. Or, how about
someone writing the code that makes
‘droids do what they’re supposed to do?
Or, designing ‘droids?
all this information isn’t meant to scare
or discourage; the opportunities for exciting, well paying jobs in the 21st century
are evolving each day.
The purpose of this text
is to inform you
fulfilling, good paying jobs
will always exist but
your ability to get these jobs
will require different
preparation and training
than
you may have expected.
So, why wait? How do you feel about
at least starting to think about the future and your opportunities in it? Hoy!
Aujourd’hui! Leo! Jodi a!
Are you ready to start, NOW?!
Yes or No?
If you answered “yes”, here is some additional information to inspire you.
Tyler Cowen is a renowned
global thinker
and professor of economics at George
Mason University in Virginia. He’s
written an interesting
book entitled
“Average Is Over”
informing readers of the changes taking
place all over the world in technology,
education, and jobs as well as the steps
Americans need to take to remain competitive and prosperous. Cowen contends
the jobs of the future “will be founded on
meritocracy”; in other words,
people with the best skills
and best qualities
get the best jobs!
People without some of these skills may
have a difficult time finding any good job.
Cowen continues by identifying some of
the most important skills in the near future.
21
Creativity is arguably
the most important skill
for the 21st century!
Rest assured, creativity isn’t limited to
sculpture, writing music or modern
dance. It’s the creative thought process
which enables a person to innovate, to
find a solution to a problem or develop a
new way of doing something. This is the
creative talent companies and organizations are looking for in the 21st century.
Collaboration complements
creativity.
“If you can’t collaborate with others, you
will be less creative” according to Tony
Wagner, the Innovation Education Fellow
from Harvard University. The most innovative people do their best work when
working with others, not alone.
Computer skills will also be highly valued.
People with the
“ability to mix
computer knowledge
with
creative, problem solving skills
will be in
the highest demand”.
And how about
speaking a second language,
“especially Spanish
or Chinese”?
Experts claim bilingual capabilities can
“open new job possibilities” according to
Wall Street Journal columnist Lindsay
Gellman.
Cowens goes on to identify types of jobs
that will be in the highest demand.
Marketing,
the business of using data
to create the right message
to send to
the appropriate people,
will need people who can “blend their
computer expertise with an understanding of how best to communicate with other
people. I see marketing as the seminal sector for our future economy!”
The growing value of
conscientiousness
will give women
a distinct advantage!
The market perceives women to be more
conscientious than the average man. This
perception means opportunities for better jobs and higher wages for women in
this new world of work.
The future of work
will also place a premium on
leadership,
i.e. bosses, managers, and
supervisors.
People who clearly have empathy, can motivate others, improve the performance of
a staff and bring out the best in a team,
22
will be sought and offered higher pay.
Listening and observation
skills,
combined with empathy
and
excellent verbal and written
communication skills,
are essential
for leadership
in a diverse America and a multi-cultural,
multi-linguistic global marketplace!
I’ve given you part of my perception of the
future. It’s a lot of information. In order
to avoid information overload and not be
overwhelmed, let’s break down the information into smaller segments to review.
Let’s start with my perspective of the important skills and qualities that will be
highly valued in our future:
• empathy (ability to appreciate
what it is like to walk in someone
else’s shoes, understanding the
emotions and feelings of others)
• communication skills (writ-
ing, speaking, listening, observing, networking; the way you
present yourself, the way you act
and dress in public, being aware
someone is always evaluating
you when you’re with others.
This affects the way people per-
Cory Booker, former Mayor of the CIty of Newark, New Jersey, is presently a United States Senator representing the state of New Jersey
in the U.S. Congress. He attended Stanford University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master of Arts in
sociology before earning a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford. Upon returning home, he received his lawyer’s degree
from Yale Law School. He gained a national reputation for his personal involvement in public service, particularly through his use of social
media tools such as Twitter to connect with voters. He lost his first election for Mayor of Newark. He persevered to win the next election!
23
ceive you and ultimately shapes
your personal brand, etc)
• collaboration skills (ability to
work with others to maximize
opportunities of the team, organization, or company)
• computer skills (the level or
type of computer skills will depend on the job or career you
will seek. Basic computer skills
for finding and organizing information and communicating to
others will be essential in most
future jobs)
• creativity (e.g. thinking about
different ways to solve problems
or do things)
• commitment to lifetime
learning (in other words, per-
sonal development; always being curious in your quest to find
something of interest to do and
improve the skills associated
with your interests)
• work ethic (working hard all
the time for the organization,
your associates and your family
who depend on you.)
• perseverance (never giving
up!)
• ethics (the discipline to always
do the right thing; honesty, commitment, dependability, good
character, on-time-all-the-time!)
• personal brand (you control
the perception others have of
you; this perception will either
close or open doors of opportunities for you.)
There’s one more, important element of
preparing yourself for an exciting job.
Companies are looking for people who
‘add value’ to the company. Specifically,
the ‘add value’ that companies look for
are in
“design,
entrepreneurship,
and
sales or marketing
with
problem solving abilities
that
can’t be replaced by
a piece of software
or
a cheaper worker in
a foreign country”
writes New York Time’s columnist, Tom
Friedman. In today’s economy, many job
seekers don’t have the skills and the complementary attitudes good companies are
looking for. “Too many of the skills you
need in the workplace today are not being
taught in schools” claims Eleonora Khare
from the McKinsey consulting company. “And what surprises me most about
people’s skills today is how poor their writing and grammar is! Even college gradu-
24
ates. There’s a problem if we can’t get the
basics right!” One remedy is for schools
to change their curriculums to teach the
skills companies are looking for. The other option is internships.
“Internships are
becoming more important
for getting jobs”
according to Tom Friedman. “Experience has become more important than
college degrees for developing the 21st century critical skills companies look for. Internships give you the experience” writes
Friedman in his June 8, 2013 article “The
Internship: Not The Movie”.
In a Friedman 2014 article on ‘mentors’,
the New York Times columnist contends
students with
mentors who
guided and cared
about them as people and had internships
to apply what they were learning “were
twice as likely to enjoy their work and be
thriving in their overall life”. Students
need the ‘right education’ both inside and
outside the classroom. Students need
skills that complement technology rather
than skills being replaced by technology.
Companies also want employees passionate about their work and curious about
‘what could be’ and ‘why’. They want
eager employees committed to lifetime
Hope High School Life Skills student, Manny Rivas, giving a presentation to the CVS Health analytics staff on what he learned during his
paid internship in supply chain management at the CVS corporate offices in Woonsocket, Rhode Island in the summer of 2015 following
his junior year.
25
learning.
Unfortunately, meaningful internships
are not always easy to find. In 2013,
Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment firm, offered 350 paid summer internships. There were 17,000 applicants
for them. So, if you can’t find the internship or job, how about inventing one?
What if you prefer taking a
measured risk
to be an entrepreneur
and
start your own business
and
work for yourself?
The skills and qualities previously mentioned are as important for an entrepreneur as they are working for someone
else. Here are a few examples to inspire
you:
“M3 Girl Designs” was started
by Maddie Bradshaw,
a 10 year old girl
in 2006,
who wanted something unique for her
locker at school. After
Maddie Bradshaw
tapping into her
creative skills,
Maddie came up with
“Snap Cap’s”.
Snap cap’s takes a simple bottle cap and
turns it into an interchangeable magnetic
piece of art. They were so popular that
Maddie decided to take this concept and
make an accessory that you can also wear.
The first ‘Snap Cap Necklaces’ were born
and the M3 Girl Designs company has
continued to grow ever since.
Maddie Bradshaw now is the President
of her family run company which she
started with a $300 investment. Her sister
Margot, starting at 12 years old, became
the vice president and assistant designer.
Her Mom, Diane, is the glue that ties it
all together. In 2008 (a mere 2 years after
starting) this teen business owner grossed
over $1.6 million in sales with 50,000
necklaces sold per month.
Maddie is also an accomplished writer
with her first published book called “You
Can Start A Business, Too”. Her book
covers a collection of business terms,
ideas, and stories to inspire young entrepreneurs to start their own business.
The book sells for $6.95 available on the
Snap Caps Online Website and is a great
resource for any young person considering entrepreneurship. This is a true success story that is sure to keep growing as
the two girls continue to develop their
‘Brand’. Furthermore, it’s an inspirational
story about how other young people can
accomplish anything they want in life if
they are willing to work hard (and smart)
for it.
26
Cristian Hernandez believes that everyone should be given an equal chance to
excel regardless of age, sex, religion or social standing. As a result,
Cristian’s empathy
caused him to
start a project
to gather and distribute
quality school supplies
to underprivileged students
in the Dominican Republic.
Understanding that education is a way to
create equality, Cristian began the project by collecting school supplies from
traditionally privileged Dominican private schools and then distributed them to
underprivileged Dominican students. He
also coordinated trips to underprivileged
schools where students would spend a day
handing out school supplies to the less
fortunate students. Cristian also served
as sports coordinator. Thanks to his project, Cristian has observed an increase in
student motivation for education which
Cristian Hernandez
quickly led to an improvement in student
success in school. His project has also
taught students to be aware of ‘social’ responsibility and a greater empathy for all
those in need. Cristian wants to be a positive representative of the Dominican Republic and ensure that every Dominican
child enjoys, what he views as, the three
fundamental human rights of a peaceful
society: health, education and a home.
Jamaican born Dameion Royes was
raised by a single mother in Toronto,
Canada. Life in a new country was difficult. “The customs of my new country were
very different from my simple Jamaican
lifestyle and they were in stark contrast to
what I’d been accustomed to back home.
We lived in low income Ontario, Canada
Housing which were subsidized by the government. There was a stigma attached to
the address: outsiders automatically assumed we lived there because we didn’t
pay much of anything for rent and that
we were just lowlifes who stole from the
system. All I remember was seeing my
Dameion Royes
27
mother working her butt off as a maid to
make ends meet! And the ends didn’t always meet! Yet, that particular time in
my life has taught me some valuable lessons such as always being respectful of
people no matter what their station in life
and to never look down on anyone’s native
tongue” Dameion recalled.
Dameion soon decided he would assume
responsibility for his future. His plan was
taking an entrepreneurial, measured risk.
“In 1996, I was working as a
barber
while studying business
at Humber College and
the idea for starting a business
came about”
Royes stated. He named his new company “Big It Up” (www.bigitup.com)
and today the company sells some of
the world’s most popular hats. Celebrities such as Kardinal, Neyo, Jessica Alba,
Cameron Diaz, Naomi Campbell, K’naan,
28
and Wycleff just to name a few, wear “Bit
It Up” hats. Dameion Royes and his hats
have been featured in Style Magazine.
“Big It Up” was the
result of a collaboration
with a Greek hat maker who
had been making
quality European hats.
Together they were able to combine the
classic quality of Greek hats and Dameion’s vision of new textiles and fabrics to
create something special.
And where did the name of his company
come from? Royes explains “‘Big It Up’
reflects my philosophy of life.‘Big It Up’ is
a Jamaican expression to encourage and
give respect”. As far as advice for aspiring
entrepreneurs, Dameion offers the following: “Be resourceful. When you don’t
have it, you find a way to make something
out of nothing. And you must believe in
what you are doing. Support from the
community is helpful too. We all need to
help each other. If we can all manage to
work together, we’ll build a large network
in which things are put in for everyone’s
benefit, instead of things being taken out.”
Now that we’ve identified some critical
skills and attitudes to help you compete
and secure a fulfilling job in the future,
I ask you to use your imagination to
speculate far into the future for a day in
your life at the end of the 21st century as
renowned physicist and author Michio
Kaku’s does in the last chapter of his fascinating book “Physics of the Future”.
Imagine:
A Day In The Life In 2100.
January 1st, 6:15 am.
After a night of partying on New Year’s
Day, you are suddenly awakened the
next morning by the friendly voice and
face of the computer generated ‘Molly’
appearing from your now lit bedroom
wall telling you in a soothing but firm
tone “wake up! wake up!!! It’s time to
start your day”. You quickly realize you
didn’t reprogram your computer for a
later wake up call. None the less, you
drag yourself out of bed and head off to
the bathroom to shower and start the
day. “While washing your face, hundreds
of hidden DNA and protein sensors in the
bathroom mirror, toilet, and sink silently
analyze the molecules emanating from
your breathe and body fluids, checking for
the slightest hint of any disease at the molecular level. Leaving the bathroom, you
wrap some wires around your head allowing you to telepathically control several
functions in your home: your mental message raises the temperature in your apartment, turns on your favorite music, tells
your robot maid to make you your favorite omelet and brew some coffee, and then
order your driverless car to leave the garage and prepare to pick you up. You then
put your contact lenses in which connect
you to the Internet. While drinking your
coffee, you start scanning the news of the
day being flashed into the retina of your
eye. Here’s what you read: Page one - 2
prisoners recently escaped from a South
Korean prison after overpowering several
robot guards. The prison’s GPS sensors
29
located the escapees within two hours after detecting the prisoner’s unique voice
patterns in the city of Seoul thus enabling
android guards to arrest the escapee.
Page two - The carcass of another extinct
animal, a saber-tooth tiger, was recently
found in the thawing tundra of the north-
ern arctic regions of Alaska and has been
recreated through cloning in a Palo Alto,
California laboratory at Stanford University. The animal was delivered to the San
Diego zoo. The
DNA of extinct animals
has been discovered
then cloned to fill zoos
around these world
with previously
extinct species.
Page three - a large leak was detected in
the dikes on South Main Street in downtown Providence at 2am. The Providence
the new Sabertooth tiger at the San Diego Zoo
dikes, similar to the ones protecting the
Russian city of St Petersburg since the
early 20th century, were installed decades
ago to protect the city from the rising
sea levels caused by the melting glaciers
and polar ice caps throughout the world.
Androids immediately responded to the
breach in the dike and, under direction of
state engineer, Maria Ramirez, the leak
was repaired by 7am. Page four - Anthony Gonsalez, from Elmgrove Avenue
in Providence, was declared the oldest
living person in America.
Mr Gonsalez turned
175 years old on January 1st.
Providence Mayor, Patricia Anjou, told
Gonsalez “you look marvelous!” during a
celebration at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
Mr Gonsalez has been taking the aging
reversal compound, Reservatrol, since
2013 and has been a spokesperson for the
175 year old Anthony Gonzalez being interviewed by a Channel 6
reporter at this ‘life celebration on the Dunkin Donut Center
pharmaceutical company which manufactures the anti-aging drug since 2025.
Page five - Richard Branson is missing!
The 150 year old entrepreneur and owner
of Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines, and
Virgin Space Shuttles, departed for the
year 1960 to a London, England, location
in the Virgin Time Capsule transporter
30
on December 31, 2099.
Branson has made
several trips
back in time in
his company’s time machine
before this recent mishap. Virgin physicists have been collaborating since late
150 year old entrepreneur and time traveler Richard Branson
Marta Aparicio receiving the Gates Foundation Humanitarian
Award in 2030
2030 on inner city education, abruptly
challenged government policy on public
education in America’s cities. Ms Aparicio’s vision was eventually embraced in
urban areas throughout the country and
soon dramatically elevated the trajectory
of America’s urban international PISA
test scores. Aparicio, who collaborated
last evening to locate and retrieve the billionaire businessman. Page 6 -
Marta Aparicio named
Time Magazine’s
“Person of the Century”
for her career long commitment to public education. The Guatemalan born and
naturalized American citizen, Aparicio
had been an outspoken advocate for educational change in America throughout
the Middle Period of the 21st century
(2018 to 2060). Ms Aparicio was a Sociology and Government major at prestigious Georgetown University, a 2015
Fulbright Scholar, and a public policy
thought leader at several Washington
think tanks including the Economic Opportunity Institute. Her seminal work,
a cutting edge economic white paper in
Marta Aparicio, second from the left, mentoring some of Hope High
School’s, her alma mater, best and brightest
juniors and seniors during a ‘Life Skills’ class at the Providence
Rhode Island school in 2014.
31
with the Gates Foundation’s Phoebe
Gates, and Salman Khan, the founder of
Khan Academy, is credited with changing
the course of public education in America
by advocating a comprehensive change in
the urban curriculum. Aparicio solicited
business feedback on school curriculum
development. She also created partnerships between business and government
to establish tax incentives for paid high
surpluses. Page seven - Laboratories
in Japan recently shared photos of their
company’s
3D printing
of
human body parts...
3D printer producing human body parts like ears, kidneys, noses,
and skin
After finishing reading the news, you
climb into your car to be once again
greeted by Molly, now appearing on the
windshield of
Salman Khan, founder and President of the free online tutorial service, Khan Academy, and collaborator with Marta Aparicio on the
revolutionary educational white paper, “The Economic Justification
for Changing America’s Urban Education Model”.
school (junior year) internships in 21st
century, high demand jobs like design,
fashion, coding, cybersecurity, marketing and health care. The urban American
school systems implementing Aparicio’s
educational plan saw a gradual and, eventually, dramatic increase in test scores, a
corresponding decrease in urban crime
and unemployment, and an increase in
economic investment and development
within their city. After two decades, each
state embracing Aparicio’s program saw
corresponding increases in median income, corporate growth and state budget
your magnetic,
driverless car,
to inform you of a traffic jam on Smith
Street in Providence and your sister, Felicia, in Olneyville, has left a message for
you. You love riding in your safe, magnetic car; no bumps or potholes or potential collisions to worry about because the
car is GPS guided, computer driven and
traveling in the air above the road. Best
of all, you rarely have to put fuel in your
magnet powered vehicle. Once arriving
at your office building, the office security
system confirms your identity through an
iris and facial scan. You move on to the
conference room for a staff meeting. Despite observing only a few people actually
32
in the room at your arrival, your contact
lens sees the 3-D images of several other
participants who cannot physically attend
the meeting but are there in a hologram.
The meeting lasts until 11:30am when you,
and the three real people in attendance go
to lunch. The holograms of the other attendees are simply turned off like a computer screen image........
So, there it is, a moment in time in
2100. As you hopefully realized reading
this imaginary story, life, as you presently know it, will continue to evolve and
change at an accelerating pace. My question to you is
‘when will you start
preparing for
the exciting opportunities,
some yet to unfold,
in the 21st century?’
Will it be today?
Volkswagon prototype of a magnetic, driverless car. Volkswagon is a German automobile company. That’s right, driverless. In fact, people
will be prohibited from driving cars by 2030. It will be illegal for people to drive cars!
33
Genetic Engineering: The above photo is an original zebrafish found in Asian
rivers. It’s only three centimeters long and has gold and dark blue stripes.
Over 200 million have been sold in the last 50 years in the United States to
adorn aquariums. To the right is a photo of the same kind of fish only it has
had its genes altered. A gene that creates a green fluorescent protein in jellyfish was extracted from a jellyfish and placed into a zebrafish embryo, allowing the florescent gene to naturally become part of the zebrafish’s genome.
This new gene enabled the zebrafish to develop bright fluorescent when exposed to natural white light and ultraviolet light. Singaporean scientists who
performed this experiment were trying to develop a fish that could detect
pollution in the water by emitting a florescent color. Some crops, like some
soybeans, grown on American farms and found in American stores, have
been genetically modified to protect the food from certain insects or diseases.
Some cows have also been genetically engineered to produce more protein in
their milk to improve cheese production.
If scientists can change the genes in fish, crops and animals, they can certainly do the same
for humans. But is this the right thing to do? You decide........
Johns Hopkins University scientists view a normal mouse (left) and a genetically-engineered mouse (right) that is two to three times more
muscular than the normal mouse. Scientists McPherron, Se-Jin Lee and Ann Lawler created the muscle-bound mouse while working on
a newly-discovered gene. The mice may help researchers find treatments for muscular dystrophy or the deterioration of muscles that accompanies cancer or AIDS. REUTERS. GloFish” by www.glofish.com - http://www.glofish.com/images/glofish_005.jpg. Licensed under Attribution via
“
Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GloFish.jpg#/media/File:GloFish.jpg
34
The Future - in some instances, is closer than you think!
High speed trains floating on magnets or electromagnetic fields within the pristine environment of a vacuum tube at speeds of 10,000
miles per hour traveling from Los Angeles, California to New York City in only 21 MINUTES! No motors. No engines. No tracks. The
trains get energy from the braking system; as the train applies its brakes, the friction created as the train slows is converted into energy to
provide power to propel the train through the airtight vacuum tube. Clean, efficient energy. The high speed, magnet trains traveling within
vacuum tubes, mostly buried underground - possibly one stop in Chicago - will speed across the continental United States, from the west
coast of America to the east coast of America. One scientist has proposed a justifiable charge of only $50 for the trip.
technician holding a human ear created in a 3d print lab made from a person’s DNA
35
Two Israeli scientists may have created a tiny, 1-millimeter-diameter robot which is capable of crawling through human veins and arteries.
The ‘nanobot’ can cling to vessel walls using small, powerful arms which protrude from a hub in its center… the ‘nanorobot’ is able to swim
against the flow of blood, as well as squeeze through a variety of arterial openings… a large number of the bots could be used to fight certain
types of cancer. - .
While avatars and surrogates were once the stuff of games and movies, virtual reality and computer interfacing, they are taking on more and
more active roles as replacements for living breathing humans. Even the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has budgeted millions of dollars to create avatars that will act as surrogates for real, live soldiers
36
While opportunities for future success
are exciting to think about,
there are
responsibilities
which
always accompany success;
exciting and fulfilling responsibilities to
family, loved ones, to the company you
own or the company you work for, to
your employees or colleagues you work
with. What about them? And, what
about on a global scale? What about
the planet, Earth, we inhabit? Do you
have a responsibility to it?
Responsibility to the changing planet
brings new opportunities, new jobs, for
talented, curious people. Engineers.
Computer programmers. Analysts.
Cyber security specialists. Robot mechanics. Meteorologists. Financial advisors.
Artists. Designers.
Oceanographers. Marketers
and Sales people. Futurists.
And, jobs which have
yet to be created!
All awaiting the curious and those willing
to go out of their comfort zone, today and
in the future.
there is a lot of data scientists are collecting and analyzing concerning rising temperatures on Earth and the impact hotter temperatures will have on oceans levels throughout the world. Some scientists contend, if global temperatures continue to rise, glaciers will
melt and contract in the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica dumping more water into the oceans and cause ocean levels to rise and come
farther onto coastal lands. The map of North America above shows the present coast line and future coast lines if oceans rise significantly. Notice the cities of Boston, New York, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and the area of southern Florida; all under water!
37
“Providence, Rhode Island, has witnessed sea levels rise about 10 inches since 1929. We’re expecting about a foot increase in the next 20
years and 2 to 3 feet by 2050. 7 feet by 2100! At 7 feet, certain areas of Warwick, RI are gone, underwater, as well as the downtown area of
Providence. Even a foot increase takes out the Providence Place Park boardwalks. Climate change is the single biggest issue that the coastal
environment will be facing over the next several decades.” Grover Fugate, Executive Director, RI Coastal Resources Management Council. Providence Business News. February 15 - 21, 2016
38
The top picture shows the tall, white obelisk known as Washington’s Monument, the Reflection Pool leading up to the Lincoln Memorial and the White House in the background as it appears today. The bottom photo depicts a climatologist’s prediction of the what could
happen to this area in Washington, D.C. if the planet, Earth, continues to get warmer and glaciers melt causing sea levels to rise. As glaciers
and polar ice caps melt, more water would flow into the oceans to raise sea levels and move ocean waters farther onto coastal lands. In
this bottom picture, waters could envelope the White House, pass the Washington Monument, cover the Reflection Pool and right up to
the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 2015 was the hottest year on record. As of October 2015, the Earth had warmed by about 1.7 degrees
Fahrenheit since 1880, when records begin on a global scale. Scientists believe most of the warming since 1950 was caused by the human
release of ‘greenhouse’ gases. The greenhouse gases being released by human activity are often called “carbon emissions”mostly from
the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) in power plants producing electricity and from cars, trucks and buses using gasoline and
diesel. Cows emit emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that causes warming. As beef consumption rises as the world’s population grows and economic development makes people richer and better able to buy beef, more beef means more cows and more methane
emissions. Another major creator of carbon emissions is the destruction of forests. Billions of tons of carbon emissions are stored in trees
and plants, and when forests are cleared, trees and plants are burned sending carbon they’ve stored into the air as carbon dioxide. If emissions continue unchecked, some scientists say global warming could ultimately increase the Earth’s temperature by 8 degrees Fahrenheit.
Long term, scientists fear the effects of warmer temperatures will destabilizing governments, produce waves of refugees, precipitate the
sixth mass extinction of plants and animals in Earth’s history and cause the seas to rise high enough to flood most of the world’s coastal
cities. All of this could take hundreds or even thousands of years to play out. But today, many scientists believe this is the future of the
earth’s climate if we don’t stop using fossil fuels to produce electricity and fuel for cars and trucks. Countries with cold climates and large
permafrost areas like Canada and Russia could see some economic benefits as global warming makes agriculture possible where long cold
winters previously prevented it. Many significant events have taken place in American history around the Reflection Pool and in front of
the Lincoln Memorial. The “March on Washington” in 1963 brought 250,000 people to this site (National Mall) and is where Martin Luther
King Jr gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
39
Carbon emission pollution from coal, oil and natural gas electricity power plants in the top photo and emissions from gasoline and diesel
powered trucks and cars in the lower photo. Burning of forests and even methane ‘emissions’ or flatulence from cows, also create greenhouse gases which, according to some scientists, are warming planet Earth causing glaciers and polar ice caps to melt and ocean levels to rise
and creep farther onto coastal lands. Rising global temperatures also create erratic weather behavior according to some scientists.
40
Impact of pollution from factories, power plants and automobiles in Los Angeles, California, United States (top photo) and Beijing, China
(lower photo). Air pollution creates a number of health conditions including respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.
Air pollution also causes breathing difficulty and wheezing, coughing, asthma and the worsening of existing respiratory and heart conditions. 7 million premature deaths are attributed to air pollution according to some scientists. India has the highest death rate due to air
pollution. India also has more deaths from asthma than any other nation according to the World Health Organization. In December 2013,
air pollution was estimated to kill 500,000 people in China each year. There is a correlation between pneumonia-related deaths and air
pollution from motor vehicles. (wikipedia)
41
The top photo shows Elon Musk speaking about his company, Tesla, and his 21st century plans for saving planet Earth from dirty greenhouse gases by using clean, non-fossil fuel energy from the sun, solar power, stored in Tesla batteries. The top photo shows solar panels on
the roof of a home collecting solar energy to then be stored in a Tesla powerwall home battery. Because Tesla batteries have “infinite scalability”, entire cities can discontinue getting electricity from power plants using dirty coal and oil which emit greenhouse gasses and, instead,
use clean, solar energy stored in millions of Tesla powerwalls in Tesla “gigafactories”. “16,000,000 powerwalls stored in Tesla gigafactories
can meet all the power demands of every person and company in every city in the United States of America.” The photo directly above shows
a Tesla electric, driverless automobile getting its power at a Tesla automobile electric charger found in most major cities throughout the
United States by 2030. Cleaner energy means less greenhouse gases and cooler Earth temperatures. Think about all the new jobs created by
Tesla products!
42
What about Mars? Could the closest planet to Earth actually be a place humans could survive and eventually colonize and live? Scientific
evidence is now building that Mars once was habitable. Water has been found on Mars although only in a frozen state. On January 24, 2014,
NASA reported current studies on the planet Mars by the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers will search for evidence of ancient life. Just
think about the new kinds of jobs which could be created with missions to and, eventually, life on Mars. Are you interested? Elon Musk is.
43
Activity One
Creativity:
Creativity is arguably the most important skill a person could
possess to create exciting job and career opportunities in the 21st century. We all have
it; unfortunately, many of us are skeptical of our possession of it. Bill Gross, Founder of
the IdeaLab in Pasadena, California, claims the
only thing it takes to be a creative person is “courage. People
need to get rid of their fear of failure or the critical comments of
others and go for it! The biggest barrier to creativity is lack of
confidence.”
Your assignment: Imagine you are a waiter or waitress in an
expensive restaurant. Now think like a waiter or waitress. ‘How’
would you do your job that will differentiate you from the average
waitress or waiter, in a positive way, that would cause your customers to give you a bigger gratuity (tip) than they usually would? Tell
the story of how you would act, what you could do, to make your
customers value the service you provide them during the course of
their meal and, as a result, give you a bigger tip than usual.
No fear! Coraje!
This essay must be well written with perfect spelling and grammar.
44
Activity Two
Critical 21st Century Skills: On Sunday, January 12, 2014, The Wall Street
Journal published an article identifying 5 critical skills for the best job opportunities of the 21st
century. Place a check in the circle next to the critical skill you believe you already have a
basic ability and understanding.
❍❍ Computer:
You need basic computer skills able to search for information on
the web as well as ability to use Microsoft Word. The next computer software competence should be Microsoft Excel for organizing data and then MicroSoft Power
Point to present the information. Once you’ve mastered these, try more opportunistic tools like coding. If interested, check out a free site designed to help you
teach yourself coding skills - codeacademy.com.
❍❍ Communication:
Whether you’re applying for a job or collaborating with
fellow workers, your ability to present yourself is critical. Tom Gimbel, from a Chicago based staffing company, encourages everyone to refine basic ‘Life Skills’ like
“knowing how to make eye contact, a good handshake, and introduce oneself in a
networking situation”. Resume writing and job interview skills are essential communication skills.
❍❍ Foreign Language:
the ability to speak a second language opens doors of
opportunities that otherwise might have remained closed. Spanish and Chinese
are probably the most important simply because of the number of people speaking
these languages throughout the world today.
❍❍ Data:
Understanding and possessing the ability to gather information and data,
much of it from the web, and then the ability to analyze and use data will be invaluable for opening multiple doors to well paying, very interesting jobs. “Understanding data has become an increasingly important part of everybody’s day-to-day life”
says Christine Bolzan, the founder of a Graduate Career Coaching company. You
should make an effort to know how to analyze data and information and how these
findings applies to your job, career, life or the company you own. “If you walk into a
job interview and talk about how you would use data to make better decisions and
improve efficiency”, you’ll have an advantage over most others competing for the job
writes Bolzan.
❍❍ Networking: As important as ‘what you know’, is ‘who you know’. The ability
to create and use personal networks is fundamental to job creation. Developing
a strong, positive personal brand goes hand-in-hand with building the optimum
network.
❍❍ Creativity: This Wall Street Journal didn’t mention ‘creativity’ but it is clearly
the most important skill. This is why I’ve added it. By the way, you all have it; it’s a
question of having the confidence to express it!
45
Activity Three
Self
Evaluation: I am asking you to evaluate yourself. Honestly. Fairly. Realistically. Constructively. Review the list of skills and qualities which were listed in our text on page 20 and 21
and now, here, on this page, listed below. Please place a check in the circle next each skill you feel you have
a satisfactory level of expertise; in other words, you believe you already perform each of these skills fairly well. Leave the other circles blank indicating you think you do not adequately possess this skill; in other words, more time is needed to develop this skill or quality to a level you are more comfortable with.
❍❍ empathy (ability to appreciate what it is like to walk in someone else’s shoes, understanding the
emotions and feelings of others)
❍❍ communication skills (good writing skills, a good listener, good observation skills i.e.
you can read a person’s body language to know how they truly feel and you interpret the setting where
you are to interpret what others are interested in; the way you present yourself, good eye contact when
you speak, a good handshake, a sincere smile, when you meet someone you are perceived to be genuinely
interested in the person you meet, you always dress appropriately for the group you are with, being aware
someone is always evaluating when you are with others that affects the way people perceive you and ultimately shapes your personal brand, etc)
❍❍ collaboration skills (ability to work with others to maximize opportunities of the team,
organization, or company)
❍❍ computer skills (the level or type of computer skills will depend on the job or career you will
seek. Basic computer skills for finding and organizing information and communicating to others will be
essential in most future jobs)
❍❍ creativity (e.g. thinking about different ways to solve problems or to do things and the courage to
share your creative ideas)
❍❍ commitment to lifetime learning (always being curious in your quest to find
something of interest to do and to improve the skills associated with your interests; you continually look
for new things to discover or learn about)
❍❍ work ethic (working hard all the time for the organization, your associates and your family who
depend on you.)
❍❍ perseverance (never giving up!)
❍❍ ethics (the discipline to always do the right thing; honesty, commitment, dependability, good character, on-time-all-the-time!)
❍❍ personal brand (you control the perception others have of you; this perception will either
close or open doors of opportunities for you.)
❍❍ Read: (a lot! Take it from Marta - read, read, read, and, then, read more! You can’t read enough.)
❍❍ Networking: (It’s a commitment to meet, greet and engage the kind of people you would like to
be associated with and you believe may, at some time in your life, help you achieve your goals and dreams,
e.g. help you get a job, an internship, admittance to a college, an organization or club, introduction to
another person you’d like to meet, etc. You also understand the value of a diverse network so you seek to
meet people different from you, e.g. different interests, from different geographic areas, different talents,
different ethnically, BUT ALWAYS with good values, i.e. honest, compassionate, etc)
46
Activity Four
Creativity and Telling The Story: In our previous text books, spe-
cific concepts were introduced (leadership, change, success, personal brand) within the context
of specific periods of American history (Founders, Middle, Bridge, 20th century). A summary
of each historical period was provided as well as profiles of several interesting and influential
people from each period of history. The objective was to illustrate how each person profiled
in the text personified skills like networking, creativity, collaboration, risk taking, and empathy
associated with each concept. Since we’re now looking to the future, there aren’t real people to
share their story. However, we have you! You will live, work, and hopefully thrive in the coming
years and into the later decades of the 21st century. It’s your story I want to hear.
Telling your story will be an important skill throughout your life. It will help you build
your network and, in the process, create or eliminate internship, job, and career opportunities. This exercise will begin the process of refining your story.
Assignment: Write the profile of your life for a specific year in the 21st century.
Please follow the format of the profiles written in our previous texts. Pictures
and photographs can enhance a story; you are permitted to include photos and
pictures in your profile if you so choose.
Indicate the year in the 21st century you have chosen to write
about your life: ________________________________
This profile should tell a compelling story of you in your future.
Your skills and
attitudes. Where you were born, raised and educated. Significant moments in your life: for
instance, adversity you encountered and how you reacted to it; important relationships which
affected who you were and who you eventually became as an adult; turning points in your life;
the job(s) you had throughout your adult life, and finally, whether you found the success you
hoped for. Include any interesting moments in your life which give the reader insights into who
you became and why you became this person.
Your profile must be well written. Spelling and grammar must be correct. All sentences well
structured. Have a mentor proof read your profile before submitting it to me. I prefer an electronic copy; if this is not possible, hard copy will be accepted.
You have one month from today to complete this assignment.
47
‘Why’:
Activity Five
‘why’ is the personal reason each of us acts the way we do; it’s our
motivation for doing what we do and, at the same time, it’s the best way of inspiring
others. The ‘why’ is what drives us everyday! On January 17, 2014, two successful
guests to our ‘Life Skills’ class, from different backgrounds, spoke to us about their
‘why’, the reason they worked, persevered, and tried every day. Rodrigo ZetinaYglesias, the Guatemalan born Operations Manager of Alex & Ani, and Louis Wells,
recently moved from Texas to Rhode Island to be the Sales Executive at Ananke IT Solutions, shared their ‘why’ and how it affected the way they acted and what they were
doing in their personal and professional lives. According to author Simon Sinek, the
author of “START With WHY”, knowing your ‘why’ “gives you the strength to keep going; to keep pushing; to keep getting up after a mistake or failure to move on day after
day”. Knowing your ‘why’ enables you to persevere, to never give up!
Please share your ‘why’, your reason for doing the things you do every day. State
your ‘why’ in a well written sentence.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
48
Activity Six
Reflection; Analysis; Projection; ‘Futuring’:
Please reflect on your future. Then, write an essay describing what you will be doing 5
years from today. Please explain, in this well written essay, the following:
• what you hope you will be doing in 5 years.
•
If it’s a job, describe the job and what part of the country or world the job is
located. Please explain why this company hired you? What value did you
convince them you will add to their company?
•
If it’s college, what part of the country the college is located in and what you will
be studying. Please explain why this college accepted you and what value you
will add to this college community. Also indicate any extracurricular activities
you will be involved in and explain the internship you have recently completed
or planning to start.
• explain the steps you plan to take to make this vision of your future possible.
•
For instance, explain your networking strategy (the type of people you plan to
meet to add to your network and why you believe this person or type of people
will be beneficial to your aspirations for success). What steps will you take to
make sure these people want to be in your network?
•
what activities will you be doing outside of your comfort zone that will benefit
your future success
•
if this vision is a future job, what training will you receive that will make you
a credible candidate for this job?
•
• describe any challenging decisions you must make to ensure the
fulfillment of your 5 year plan
• describe your personal brand, i.e. how others will perceive you
in 5 years.
• beyond this specific vision of a job or education, what, if anything, will you hope to do to help less fortunate people in 5 years.
Be realistic in your 5 year vision. Aspirations for the future must be accompanied by realistic plans
which include hard work, persistent networking, a strong brand, getting out of your comfort zone, good
values like honesty and kindness as well as perseverance through failure which all people encounter
in their journey through life. Without an action plan, our aspirations are nothing but fantasy which
ultimately creates frustration and despair.
49
Activity Seven
Research and Analysis:
Please answer the following questions
below about Elon Musk. Please make sure your sentences are well written with perfect
spelling, good grammar, no run-on sentences (this means cramming too many ideas into
one sentence) and good punctuation. Please , only answer the following questions after
thorough research and analysis of each question. Please review the Bibliography in this
text before beginning your research. You will then see the sources this author used for
his research while writing this text; you may consider exploring the author’s sources as
well. Thank you. I look forward to reading your answers.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
who is Elon Musk? (write no more than 2 sentences to answer this specific question)
name 2 of his companies and the products these companies make.
would you consider buying an Elon Musk made company product? yes or no If yes, identify
the product and why you would buy it. If no, explain why you wouldn’t buy any product made by
an Elon Musk company.
where does Elon Musk’s money come from? How did he become so rich? Please explain what
he invested in which enabled him to become so wealthy. (He’s a billionaire!)
Please explain what Elon Musk calls a “gigafactory”, what this “gigafactory” will produce and
what benefits to you and I this “gigafactory” will provide.
Please explain similarities between Elon Musk and Preston Tucker. You have a story about
Preston Tucker in your “Brand” textbook (The Development of the American Brand. page 107)
Please explain one similarity between Elon Musk and Tony Stark, aka Iron Man.
What is lithium and please explain why is it so important to one of Elon Musk’s products?
I am interested in your opinion. I am making an assumption you, like I, observe some redeeming
qualities in Elon Musk. Like any person, Musk has accomplishments and failures. Please describe
Elon Musk’s greatest quality or character trait. A character trait is not an accomplishment; it’s an
attitude. For instance, ‘stick-to-it-iveness’ and ‘humility’ are traits. Building a rocket is an accomplishment. So what ‘trait’ do you most admire about him. If you haven’t observed any redeeming
quality or trait of Elon Musk, state “I don’t see any redeeming qualities or trait in Elon Musk”.
You may be right; but be prepared, I will challenge you to defend this observation. NV Energy of
Nevada is a competitor of Solar Energy, one of Elon Musk’s companies.
Please find information about the debate in the state of Nevada between Solar City and NV
Energy company and its corporate parent, Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Also, research a
decision by the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (Nevada PUC) against Solar City and in
favor of NV Energy. Please give your opinion why NV Energy wanted the Nevada PUC to rule
against Solar City in Nevada.
Elon Musk uses the terms “infinite scalability” when referring to his ‘Powerwall’ batteries.
Please explain, in a well written statement, what Mr Musk means by “infinite scalability” and
also give an example of how this statement would apply to his “Powerwall” batteries.
50
Bibliography
“Entering The Shift Age: The End of the Information Age and The New Era of Transformation”, David
Houle, Sourcebook
“Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny And Our Daily Lives By The Year
2100”, Michio Kaku, Doubleday.
“The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need”, Daniel Pink, Riverhead
Books.
“Average Is Over: Powering Amercia Beyond The Age of the Great Stagnation”, Tyler Cowen, Dutton.
“That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind In The World It Invented and How We Can Come
Back”, Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum. FSG
“The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power Is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and
World”, Jeremy Rifkin. Palgrave MacMillan
“Creative Intelligence: Harnessing the Power to Create, Connect, and Inspire”, Bruce Nussbaum. Harper Business.
“The Race Between Education and Technology”, Claudia Godin & Lawrence Katz, Belknap Harvard
“The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity In A Time Of Brilliant Technologies”, Erik
Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, W.W. Norton.
Wikipedia
“Solar City and Tesla Hatch a Plan to Lower the Cost of Solar Power”, MIT Technology Review, September, 2104
“SolarCity to Eliminate 550 Nevada Jobs, Citing New Rates, Wall Street Journal, January 20016
Thomas Friedman, New York Times columns:
• 1/29/2013 - “It’s P.Q. and C. Q as Much as I.Q”
•
•
•
•
•
4/30/2013 - “It’s a 401K World”
5/28/2013 - “How to Get a Job”
6/8/2013 - “The Internship: Not The Movie”
9/9/2014 - “It Takes a Mentor”
6/10/2015 - “How to Beat the Bots”
51
Stephen Cronin
is the author and graphic designer of this text.
Stephen is a novice graphic designer under the tutelage of TWOBOLT Creative Director, Nick
DeCesare. Stephen has exhibited moderate, at best, potential in graphic design. You can reach
Stephen at
[email protected]
The Cover:
by
Syd Mead. Sydney Jay Mead,
commonly Syd Mead (born July 18, 1933), is a “visual futurist” and concept artist. He is best
known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron. Of his
work, Mead was once moved to comment
:
“I’ve called science fiction ‘reality ahead of schedule.’”
52
Each year Hope Life Skills students are invited to attend the two day BIF Forum
at the Trinity Theatre in Providence to listen to and meet international change
agents and thought leaders. From a 14 year old robotics designer invited to
the White House by President Obama to a Chinese immigrant who became a
leading 3D printer of designer shoes, BIF is an opportunity to build Hope High
School’s and each student’s personal brand as well as adding successful people
to each students personal network.