This essay was a finalist in the How We Saved the World essay contest, where people wrote as if it was 2050 when the world was working, saying how we got there starting with something they did. Here's the intro to this presentation of results, with links to the other finalists and an invitation to make comments about the contest.

16

Near Future News Update: The Trillion Dollar Shift

I have long been intrigued by a lesser known AI – Appreciative Inquiry – which essentially states that  “we live in realities our questions create.”  The questions I have been contemplating are: “How can I be more loving today?” and “How may I best serve?”

One morning I awoke to a voice that sounded like George Burns from the “Oh, God!” movie, which boomed… “Have you thought about the media, schmuck? Everyone is tuned in!”  So with that guidance (and challenge), I embarked on a journey through hosting radio, TV and streamed video content designed to uplift its audience.  Fast forward to now…

In 2024, I produced a captivating video series called Near Future News that was picked up by Netflix.  The series showcases a future world in which humanity thrives, technology empowers and harmony prevails.  Each episode explores what that nourishing world looks and feels like… and how we got there.

One particular fictional pathway from the series, seen by millions, became self-fulfilling.

Polarization, climate change and world conflict were on the rise in 2024.  In response, a group of 7 billionaires (technologists, financiers, philanthropists) and 5 world leaders (one from Asia, North & South America, Europe and Africa) ran a series of AI-simulations, the vast preponderance of which pointed to the high likelihood of impending global economic disaster, potential nuclear world war and massive human casualties.

They knew they would need a new perspective, even a new worldview, to help avert such probable devastation. Together, they agreed that extraordinary times require extraordinary measures.

So, they journeyed deep into the Amazon, into an ayahuasca circle for any insight or epiphany that could be helpful, calling upon their innermost truths, their ancestors and Earth wisdom itself for guidance.  With equal measures of intention and surrender, they each dissolved into a non-ordinary state beyond time and space.  They each went into a deep physical – and emotional – purge… a form of energetic cleansing.

Their prayers were answered as they felt the presence of the Ancestors.  Much to their surprise, they realized that they were the Ancestors!  And that they were graced with financial and political power to accelerate a shift for all of humanity.

With newfound awareness and life purpose, they redeployed their collective trillions of dollars at their disposal to serve humanity more effectively, starting with clean, abundant water, ubiquitous organic food and alternative free energy.  They inspired their peers to do the same.

Countless viewers were inspired by that episode and the potential for a love- and life-affirming world… including the role that financial and elected leaders could play in making it a reality.  Social media was ablaze, beseeching real-world billionaires and leaders to follow the heretofore fictional lead.

Remarkably, many prominent über-wealthy and politically powerful souls responded with a resounding, “YES!”  Ultimately, only those people truly knew what money and influence cannot buy, because they had it all externally, yet yearned for something even more profound.  Their subsequent transformation rippled throughout the world as butterfly cells illuminating the caterpillar of humanity.

And the rest of the future… is history.  And it is a blessing!