Author: The 99U Team / Source: Adobe 99U
The cofounder of Socos Labs says developing purpose won’t necessarily help you predict the future, but it will certainly make that future feel richer.
When we set the theme for our 2019 conference — The Creative Future — we imagined a future where creative skills are more pervasive and prized, and how that might reshape the world around us.
As we prepare for the event in May, we’re asking our speakers to share a skill they think is important for all creatives to navigate what’s to come.***
After pursuing research in cognitive neuroprosthetics at UC Berkeley, Vivienne Ming founded Socos Labs, an independent think tank exploring augmented intelligence and the future of human potential. Vivienne will be speaking on the main stage at the 11th Annual 99U Conference, taking place May 8-10 in New York City.
Q. What is a skill you believe to be futureproof?
A. It’s not programming or machine learning. In my work and my research, I find myself repeatedly returning to purpose, or more specifically, the psychological construct of strength of purpose. For a concept that might sound very soft, purpose has very hard, tangible positive returns on life: education attainment, wealth and income, health and wellbeing, and even simple happiness. Purpose-driven people likely always have and always will lead richer lives.
Strength of purpose takes time and commitment to develop. But, there are immediate strategies to cultivate. One of my most valued is to always be ready to walk away if I believe that I’m not serving my purpose. No matter how lucrative the opportunity, how prestigious the job, how profound the potential, my purpose must come first in all of my decisions. I’ve learned that my life is best when it’s not about me.
Q. Why will purpose be so important in the future?
A. There are any number of answers that I could have given to the first question, and the one thing they all have had in common is that they have no unique value in the…
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