What if you could Design Your Future?

How I helped 20 people do it, the way I've been doing it for the last 14 years.

Aug 16, 2024

After two trips to 2099, we need to charge RED 🚘.

In past issues, we have seen that the fuel or our Strategic Foresight motor is the energy of people—you, me, and everyone involved in that Future vision.

So, it is the perfect time to share how I helped 20+ entrepreneurial women and mothers this week with a project that literally, saved my life.

But to tell this story we'll have to go, just a little bit, back in time.

Let's use that fuel reserve on save mode to get through. Bear with me.🐻

BACK TO THE [NEAR] PAST: RIO DE JANEIRO 2010

There I was. 23 years old when my mom died.

It was a tough time, but I had no time to grieve. I couldn't stop, I had to move fast.

I had no job, a grandma to take care of, and expensive bills to pay.

Oh! I also had to finish my graduation project to get my Double Major.

It was a lot to deal with, but I just had to do it. I needed to do it, I owed it to my mom. I owed it to myself, to prove myself and not to think about the harsh reality of that time.

Our minds work in amazing ways when we are faced with our primal survival instincts. I wouldn't even think of what happened or was happening, I could only think of what I had to do in order to afford peace of mind.
The peace of mind that allowed me to cry only one year after my mom’s passing.

So, what could a 23-year-old me do to figure out a way out of bankruptcy?

Well, I did the one thing I knew how to do. I designed.

I used all the tools I had. I researched, I visualized, I ideated, I tested.

I intentionally and intuitively created a process to Design a strategy for my Personal and Professional Life, and it worked!

One freelance project I did grew, became a job and led to the founding of the Industrial Design area at a renowned graphic design studio in Rio—Boldº a design company. Things were finally stabilised.
As far as full-circles go we've just finished designing their futures strategy with my Foresight Sprint! Keep an eye on them to watch it unfold xD

Every 5 years or so, I had to go back at it again. When things did not feel right anymore it was time to realign. As time went by I refined it, assessed it, redid it. Added strategic design, later Strategic Foresight. It got more and more robust.

To be able to review where I was 5 years earlier was very powerful. To see all the progress I had made, was a mind-blowing experience. And a deep formative one.

That kept that initial fire always burning, how can I pass this torch on? 🔥

How can I share this so anyone can use it?

That's when I decided to formalize it in a series of workshops called [DYF] Design Your Future. I offered it to friends who were navigating uncertain and tough times to beta test it.

The results were great! Some things needed improvement, but it helped them. Each session helped me to improve it.

“The most impactful part of the process for me was understanding what is success for me.”

— Project manager who's gone through the process and the 1-year review

I even got to do a couple of one-year reviews with them. Evaluating their progress, what changed, and how it had helped them. It was amazing to see the results and how it has shaped their choices. Avoiding a lot of setbacks by acting strategically, they were both much better off one year on.

But you know, life happens. With 2 kids, becoming a solopreneur, and delivering projects it got de-prioritized.

Until 5 days ago…

BACK TO THE PRESENT: 2024

Last Sunday my wife invited me to give a lecture at her ‘OP’ community [for Portuguese speakers only]. She has built an amazing community of entrepreneurial women and moms that she helps by teaching storytelling and making Instagram accessible as a business tool.

It is really cool! Shout out to her for years doing this beautiful work. Building a business that has helped THOUSANDS of women worldwide on their way to financial independence, by democratizing design, digital tools and marketing to such an underserved audience. ❤️🙌

She asked me on Sunday if I could be their monthly guest speaker on Tuesday.

I “agreed”.

Suddenly I had to figure out what to share with them. What would really help them in an actionable way?

What could be accessible yet powerful… The Design Your Future [DYF]!

The catch? I had just 1 day to adapt it to a simpler exercise.

There were not one but 21 people to guide and instead of three 3-hour sessions, it would be just one hour.

I chose and simplified one of the main exercises, making it more straightforward.

It was the first time I shared [part of] the Design Your Future out in the open and it felt great!

Especially after hearing their insights and feedback. Because in the end, my goal is to generate positive impact, and what better crowd than them to impact, right?

Some of their reviews - sorry it’s still in Portuguese.

With all that renewed and recharged energy, I've decided to share it with you!

You just need from 30 to 60 minutes alone and you will have an initial blueprint to help you shape your future.

DYF | DESIGN YOUR FUTURE ROADMAP

Below you will find a step-by-step walkthrough to fill it on your own.

If you would like to do the full Design Your Future workshop, sign up below ↓

I want to Design my Future

DYF ROADMAP | STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

1. WHY?

If you haven't heard about Simon Sinek's Golden Circles, you can watch this video before filling in the first 3 steps.

But basically, it is:

—Why do you do what you do? What is your purpose in doing so?

2. HOW?

—How do you turn that into reality? How do you make it?

3. WHAT?

—What do you do? What do you deliver to your clients? What is the value?

4. SCENARIOS

Here we have 3 slots to explore different future scenarios. These are simple archetypes that are completely open-ended and will depend just on your reflection and imagination. First:

4.1 I'LL FEEL SUCCESSFUL WHEN...

Fill in the blank by answering to yourself:
—What is success to you?
What it means to you, not to anyone else. Not to anyone's standard but yours.

4.2 MY WILDEST DREAM WOULD BE TO...

The extrapolated version of that success. Go for the most preposterous and amazing future you can think of.

4.3 WHAT I NEED TO BE HAPPY IS...

Things do not always go as planned, but most of us can be happy and fulfilled with very little.
— What is your minimum viable happiness? What do you actually need to be happy? What are the people, relationships, and comforts you need to be happy?

5. MILESTONES

Here we will do what is called Backcasting in Foresight jargon.

We will travel to those futures, and figure out what we would have to do to achieve them. What would be the boxes we would need to check to get there?

We will go backward from the Future.

Got it? Back From The Futures 😉

THAT'S NOT ALL FOLKS! ↓

This tool is just one part of the full Design Your Future workshop.

DYF | DESIGN YOUR FUTURE

An immersive 3-hour workshop divided into 3 parts:

. Look within - Beyond Ikigai

. Look Forward - Roadmap to Success

. Look After - Taking Care Metrics

If you would like to know more about it, click the link below ↓