The Futureproof Approach: The Road To Exceptionalism

The following is an edited excerpt from the book Success Hangover: Ignite your next act. Screw your status quo. Feel alive again. by Kelsey Ramsden.

On January 14, 2001, revered French chef Alain Passard announced the unthinkable. He would take his three-star, Michelin-rated restaurant, Arpège, in a new direction by shifting away from meat-focused dishes to vegetable-based cuisine.

Why, at the height of success and with three Michelin stars to gamble (the Holy Grail, only around sixty chefs have ever received), would he do such a thing — and in a meat-loving nation?

Passard’s news rocked the culinary world. The haters took to their soapboxes, saying, “He’ll fail. He’s crazy. He’ll lose his stars.” The New York Times ran an article titled, “May the Force Be with Alain Passard.” In other words, no one thought he’d pull it off. One could almost imagine The Thinker statue shaking his head from its bronze perch in the Rodin Museum gardens just steps outside the restaurant.

Even Michelin declared the move courageous, and Passard admitted to the New York Times, “I am putting all the cards on the table. Putting myself and my entire career in question: my three stars, the public, my clients.”

Guess what? The move paid off. Passard’s vegetable dishes were interesting, provocative, and delicious. He kept his three stars, received global attention, earned his own episode on Netflix’s Chef’s Table: France series, and Arpège was named the nineteenth best restaurant in the world by S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Passard knew he was taking a major risk, so why did he do it?

Why change if you’re doing OK, or in Passard’s case, extremely well? History answers that question. What goes up must come down, unless — what?

We adapt.

Passard internally felt the need to adapt his menu. Yet to remain relevant, the world required him to change, too, even if it wasn’t yet obvious to everyone else. No one tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Psst. Hey, big shot, you better mix things up before they get stale!” There was no tap, because life doesn’t work that way. Passard defined what it is to be ahead of the curve. He futureproofed himself and became exceptional. He knew that success, if sat upon, diminishes. He took action to survive.

Chances are, if you’re reading this book, it’s because you’re feeling restless. Maybe it’s an itch now, a recurring inner voice. Or maybe you’re at the other end of the spectrum and have already reached that “Dammit, I’m done with this!” phase. Whether you’re at the top and living off your past accomplishments or stuck in the status quo, there’s an underlying question — what’s next?

Gravity pulls us toward obsolescence unless we stop and defy it.

What’s Stopping Us?

We have good lives. They may not be great, but they’re good. They’re safe, comfortable. But humans were designed to evolve, and therefore, we can’t help but wonder, is this it?

After entertaining this question, we tell ourselves to simmer down. We think that if we change, people will say we’re insane. Because things aren’t terrible. They’re — good. But at some point, good stops being good. It becomes mediocre. And like a virus, mediocrity spreads. Sales decrease, our relationships fizzle, we look for scapegoats.

There’s a cadence to success that inevitably slows until suddenly we wake up and think, “Wait a minute, I’m stuck. Stuck in the missionary sex of my career. It’s decent, it counts, but it’s hardly memorable.”

We Are Quickly Becoming Outdated

As you’re reading this, the world is preparing to replace you. Most of what can be taught can be programmed. What can be programmed can become a robot’s job.

It once was that you could guarantee someone success so long as he became a doctor or lawyer. Today, those professions are at the top of the line for artificial intelligence (AI) replacement. Our kids will have jobs that don’t exist yet, so it’s crazy to think we can plan our future selves with an outdated checklist. The tools we’ve always used for the future have stopped working.

Vanilla Cake

Let’s say you make the best vanilla cake in town — so, naturally, your sales are great. You’ve specialized in what you do, and to maintain your position, you keep stocking your shelves with the best ingredients for making vanilla cake.

Everyone comes to you when they want it, and ultimately, you’re at the top of your game. Then one day, the world changes, and little by little people are talking about blueberry streusel; before long, the whole market shifts, and it’s blueberry streusel they want! Or maybe, like Alain Passard, you change and you’re sick of vanilla cake. The problem? You’ve stocked your shelves with everything needed to make amazing vanilla cake — and that’s it. You pigeonholed yourself and your career. Now what? You’ve got to go out and get some new ingredients.

We tend to listen to the same radio station, watch the same TV channel, read the same authors, go the same way to work, and drink the same coffee — because it’s comfortable. We know what we like, and we stick with it because it’s safe. Adaptation, however, requires exposure to something that’s potentially unknown, unsafe, and even unpractical today. What, no results today? Why bother? So we keep on keeping on until we’re bored as fuck — and we’re no longer all that interesting either.

To survive one’s own success, one must engage in futureproofing. The notion of futureproofing is to break free from the rut: screw stagnation, come alive again, and start act two by collecting ingredients (i.e., experiences, tools, knowledge, and people) to stock your shelves. The 3E Method encompasses the strategy to stocking the right ingredients so you’re ready for anything, more satisfied — and a hell of a lot more intriguing to others and yourself.

How long ago was it when you took on an activity just for the sake of it? Most of what we do has an expectation for a direct resultant outcome. We do X because it does Y. We engage in predictable activities despite knowing innovation, creativity, and adaptation don’t work that way. An innovation doesn’t come with instructions; otherwise, it’s already been done, hasn’t it? You want and need to avoid becoming obsolete, both personally and professionally, which means the pressure’s on now to come up with the next best thing.

How will you do it?

It’s About That Feeling

When was your last breakthrough moment? One of those fuck-yeah flashes when your body tingles with excitement because you just figured something out and you know it. It might have been a brilliant idea, a solution, or even just a sexy hypothesis. Now answer this: where were you when it happened?

Albert Einstein did not come up with the theory of relativity sitting at his desk. Chances are, yours didn’t happen at your desk either. Nor did it happen when you were doing the laundry, or driving your kids to school, or taking the train. You can’t make ice cream in the sun. Why are we asking ourselves to do this?

Naturally, when we create false hope, we’re going to be continually disappointed — and so ensues the downward spiral. Eventually, we undermine ourselves and enter a mundane, low-grade state of life. It becomes our new standard. It might look great on the outside, but on the inside, it’s killing us.

The traditional education system teaches us to jump hoops, check boxes, listen, and regurgitate. It’s like playing tennis. You hit to me; I hit back.

There’s no reason to do anything outside of that, because you weren’t asked to, nor are you provided extra credit or a higher grade. In fact, you might be punished. I happen to be one of those people who was punished for not hitting the ball back the way I was taught, but we’ll cover that in the next chapter. We do as we’re told for the simple reason that mammals respond to positive feedback.

Conversely, we repel whenever we receive negative feedback. We’re taught to conform to a very specific performance, and it’s that rigidity that ultimately stalls both our careers and our lives.

Hoop-Jumping Monkeys

As we progress in our careers, there are fewer hoops and even fewer cues. Just like there was no one to tap Chef Alain Passard on the shoulder and tell him to push his restaurant to a new level, people stop nudging us and reminding us to innovate, or even do something as simple as ask for a raise.

Relationships suffer because our spouse stops reminding us to take him or her out on a date. Before long, we’ve stopped engaging in the world and with ourselves. We go to work, take the train, raise kids, and the space once used to innovate gets crowded out with all the things we think we should do.

Don’t “should” on yourself.

To be fair, sometimes the signs are not that obvious. They’re like cancer; internally your cells could be splitting, but you just don’t know it yet — there are no visible symptoms. There’s a hidden system, however: it’s in your routine. Are you talking about the same thing frequently? Going to the same places? That’s a symptom. Despite that the trigger points aren’t always glaring, if you take a good hard moment to tune in with yourself, then honestly, you will know. You do know.

Alas, if you want to spur innovation, you need to get away from your desk. And by desk, I’m also talking about your safe and predictable little microcosm — everything from your routine coffee shop, to the way you get to work. You need to live off the page, or you’ll be a caricature of yourself. Becoming exceptional requires you to adapt your life’s tried-and-true recipes by slowly incorporating fresh, new ingredients. You must step out of your comfort zone, be open-minded and nimble — that’s the baseline for an exceptional life, and one you feel alive within.

The Futureproof Approach: The Road To Exceptionalism

What’s your default future? If you continue on the path you’re currently on without making any adaptations, where will you go? What does that future look like? If you can answer that in a way that makes you feel fabulous because you know you’re on the path to greatness, then close this book. Give it to the person sitting beside you. If your default future is anything other than that, then as with most vices, you first need to admit it. After you’ve admitted it, you must address it. That leads us to the good stuff: adaptation. The good news? We’ll start small. I’ll explain how small, daily adaptations will light the way, no matter where you are headed.

But first, let’s get down to business and work on the admit it part of your default future. Feels scary and too soon, right? Sorry, not sorry…because you’re ready. That’s why you’re reading this book. Deep down, you know it’s time.

Head to the back of the book and complete the Default Future Exercise. If you can’t imagine defacing a book, I’ve got you covered — simply visit www.SuccessHangover.com and print it off for your writing pleasure.

When you ask yourself what you want your future to look like, resist the temptation to think about all the things you want to do. This isn’t a book about bucket lists. Try inverting the question. What’s not your future? It could be your career. It could be your relationship. It could be the way you’re feeling.

I pause to note that this book is full of exercises that are meant to enrich your reading experience, among other things. They are somewhat front-loaded, so don’t get overwhelmed and have the exercises drag you down if you showed up for a breezy read. However, if you showed up to dive deep, hit up the full exercise titled What I Do Not Want to complete this exercise before being propelled forward.

The futureproof approach puts you on course to become more competitive, successful, fascinating, and most importantly, alive. The more fascinating part refers to your personal world, your level of curiosity, and your ability to attract other people, including your own interest. The successful terms refer to your career and applicability. Throughout this book, I’ll share my experiences first of what I did myself, and then how I coach business leaders to become more innovative and instigate more aha moments, ignite act two in your life, and as a by-product, you’ll be the most interesting and relevant person in the room (between your ears, too). We will talk about how the 3E Method means better performance at work and at home, but more than that, it’s about feeling more alive and connected to your life — instantly reengaging with yourself.

We’re talking about being exceptional, not just better.

Fantasies Vs. Dreams

Before pulling our hypothetical Porsche into the fast lane, let’s pump the brakes and gut-check everything. There’s a difference between a fantasy and a dream, just like there’s a difference between lust and love. Lust is short term. Lust is good only in the good times. It’s hooking up with that hot guy or girl only to have him or her ruin it by saying something oppressive. Poof. Spell broken. Lust doesn’t endure, and ever so conveniently, when one spell breaks, we just lust for something else.

It’s natural to fantasize about alternate realities with our careers or relationships. When it’s a fantasy, we’ll use it when it’s convenient. But if it’s a dream, we’ll never be fulfilled without it, and we’ll chase it to the end. Simply put, a dream endures the inconvenient the way love does. We’ll keep coming back to the gut-check because our fantasies are damn good at disguising themselves as dreams.

We need to take a good hard look at our dreams, too. Are you in a place of power but dreaming of chilling on the beach and writing books? Great. Will it afford you the life you currently have? Are you OK with it if it doesn’t? Sometimes it’s nicer to have a dream because life is hard. When an artist presents a magnificent piece of work, it was probably one of the hardest he’s ever finished. It was torture. It’s easy to assume Michelangelo woke up and sculpted David like it was a breeze. We overlook his tortured procedure and assume he had a divine, God-given talent. In this way, we give ourselves an excuse for having not reached his level.

Futureproofing Is About Taking Action

You will finish this book with a plan. We’ll work through a sliding scale of exercises from beginner to expert. You’ll start by observing your life, becoming aware of your habits, traits, and behavior. Then you’ll make daily adaptations that are unique to your goals. Futureproofing is an ongoing process that requires you to be constantly engaged.

Most of us know deep down if we’ve reached the summit and are happy to stop. What about you? Are you done, or is there more you want out of this one lovely dance on the blue planet?

For more on how to futureproof yourself and find fulfillment after success, check out Success Hangover: Ignite your next act. Screw your status quo. Feel alive again. by Kelsey Ramsden.