heathervescent

Leveling Up

Six years ago I compared the way I viewed my life to Diablo II (ok, yes, I was a gamer at one time). I was going through some challenging things after kicking major ass at everything I had previously done. I felt pretty awesome and had new (audacious) plans.

But here I was getting my ass kicked in what seemed like all my new endeavors! What was the deal? I was the one kicking ass just moments ago. And in fact, my past ass kicking lead me to my current ass getting kicked. What the hell happened?

I'll tell you what happened. I had leveled up.

The playing field changed. The demons were stronger, sharper, faster. I had to up my own skills to kick these demons, skeletons and undead asses.  And I was taking a beating. That's the bittersweetness of leveling up. Paying homage to your awesomeness, even while eating your humility. The Zen Mind / Beginner Mind. The challenge of/for growth. Evolution.

I probably don't need to write this, but all kinds of things level up: individuals, companies, teams, ideas, products. It's a natural part of the process. But it's never easy, in fact, it requires more diligence, attention and effort. But it's worth it, because you're playing in a new game.

You've passed the previous levels and it's here you find worthy challenges. Challenges that you will pass, another level complete. The levels themselves don't really matter, except in the play, practice and execution you engage in. No one level is particulary better or "higher" than another. The importance is present awareness and attention to the worthy challenges. And practice. Lots and lots of practice.

 

Announcing the Future of Transactions Survey, Year 2

In September 2010, I conducted an initial survey on the Future of Transactions. The response to the survey was overwhelming and launched my obsession into Future of Transactions. 

The Scenario, "Dinner with Friends" based on my research results

• Won an Honorable Mention by the Association of Professional Futurists 
• Was produced into a short commercial (with financial support from Innotribe @ Swift) 
• Is nominated for a Most Important Futures Award

I shared the results of the survey in 2011 at 

• Future of Money and Technology,
• World Future Society in Austin and Vancouver, 
• Web 2.0,
• Mindshare,
• Sibos,
• Compass Conference and
• Association of Professional Futurists Virtual Conference

Finally, I was invited to join the Swift Innotribe team as their Innovation Leader for the Americas in August 2011 where I am working to make my preferred future, co-re/creating our financial systems with the financial community, a reality.

This year, with the help of futurists Emily Empel (http://localrat.com/meet-the-rat/) and Justin Pickard (http://justinpickard.net/), the future of transactions survey is back with a bang!

The intention of the updated survey is to gather yearly information in order to explore how we may "pay" for items in the future. Results will be shared at upcoming conferences including SXSW, Digital Money, World Futures and the Future of Money & Technology. 

--> I invite your participation in The Future of Transactions Survey, year 2. <--

The Thunder Breaks

I alway use January 1-29 to put the finishing touches on my yearly goals/plans/intentions/focuses. This year I've got two very different sets.

1. Americas Innovation Strategy: which is focused on what I want to accomplish as Swift's Americas Innovation Leader. It is focused on activities that support and encourage collaborative innovation in the financial industy by the community for use of the community.
2. My personal 2012 Plan aka my Warrior with Heart.

Both of these strategies/goalsets were well focused before the end of 2011, but these 30 days in January have been a series of conversations with intersted and impacted parties (in both my professional and personal life) to get feedback and be open to comments. To makes these two yearly plans more co-created.

So these past few weeks have been more like honing and polishing and trying on different situations, taking actions to try on these situtations. As these actions unfolded, and I gathered new information, situations changed. Even without completing the action, new pathways opened up. Stuck energy flowed forth.

Note: the previous paragraphs were written on Jan 31. 

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In the past two weeks, I've begin to walk the pathway I mapped out. Walked down West Hollywood streets, through airports, train stations, pristine stone 45th office hallways, dirty city streets, subway undergrounds, talking with friends, the boyf, the dog, weaving through strangers and tourists. Walking with elation, depression, tears, desperation, intention, celebration.

I stopped hanging on. Spinning center. A ball, cracked, whacked in a home run dream come true execution, traveling far beyond the fence, spinning, speeding, pinball branching quantum possibilities. There is no grounding. This is the jump. The flying. A springboard high dive into the the deep unknown.

I asked for this. I took the leap, but one never gets used to the free fall speeding, passing all possibilities except that one out there, the one you're headed too, the one that is so far away, and yet laser beam focused. Every pedaco, your guts of steel, impossible possibilities, passing hundreds of impossible possibilities in a split moment. 

Free flying. Spinning. Hands pulled in tight, no resistance.