A Futurist Prepares for Post Election World

    MINNEAPOLIS, MN, November 03, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Last week, a question was posed on social media asked: "Do you have a post-election plan in place for yourself if your candidate doesn't win?"

Since preparation is key to a futurist's work, Jack Uldrich—futurist, author, and keynote speaker does, in fact, have a plan.

He says it's in line with his latest best-selling book--Business as Unusual--it's unorthodox, unconventional, and uncomfortable.

Late last week, Uldrich set out to follow his dreams.

Literally.

And his executive coach, Catherine Glynn of Voce Veritas, actively encouraged him to do so.

She often guides her clients toward following their dreams. It may be to form a new company, develop a new performance piece, go back to school, or tackle a new career. Whatever the pursuit is, once the idea is in place, unlike many coaches who demand a firm action plan, Glynn guides her clients toward having a 'loose script to follow.'

She says, "Know in your bones what you want to achieve, plot a course, and then give yourself permission to release any firm plans you had to adjust to the present."

Glynn and Uldrich are of like minds that today's leaders need to make a spiritual shift in their approach to the future.

So when Uldrich shared with her two unusual dreams he had in August and asked if she thought he was crazy to take the journey he dreamt of, she unequivocally said, "No. Go for it."

With that encouragement in mind, and with the blessing of his family, Jack Uldrich headed off to the Badlands of North Dakota to prepare himself for the post-election world.

Glynn says, "With the results so up in the air, the only things people do have control over is their heart and mindset. Jack's courage to head out into the wild sounded like something a lot of us could learn from."

When thinking about an executive coach, people don't often realize the depth and the breadth of what can be covered. "There are most definitely times," says Glynn, "when it shifts into life coaching—becoming a trusted advisor and sounding board."

Being a writer and a coach, Glynn works with metaphor a great deal with her clientele, and in Uldrich's case, the metaphor that seems most apt is a Vision Quest.

In his dream, he was rapidly falling to earth. At nearly the last minute, a parachute he didn't know he was wearing deployed. He landed in rough, weathered, unknown territory. Similar to what he wrote about in his book about Lewis and Clark entitled, Into the Unknown.

As dreams go, this one continued in a whole new scenario, Uldrich was in a coffee shop trying to figure his dream out, and from behind him, he heard a voice say, "The Badlands." Uldrich turned and saw an older gentleman, with a leathery face and an ashen sheen—he seemed to be descended of many cultures, and Uldrich says, "the being was definitely from the afterworld."

When he queried the fellow further, the man simply stated—"The Badlands, the whale, and the butterfly." And he was gone.

While Uldrich felt capable of discerning the dream's meaning, he still needed a sounding board and thought partner.

This is where he further engaged Glynn. "What Jack is experiencing some might call a midlife crisis—that search for deeper meaning in the second phase of life."

David Brooks calls it the Second Mountain. Bill Plotkin calls it the Sacred Dance. Astrologically speaking, the age of 56 is considered a second Saturn return. (The first occurs around age 28—which incidentally is when many would begin their first mountain ascent or survival dance.)

All of these phrases are metaphors as far as Glynn is concerned and far more appealing than "midlife crisis," says Glynn. She adds, "Finding the right metaphor for where you are on your journey is crucial. It's a name it and claims it type of moment. Once you have found your path and name it in a way that makes sense to you, you can approach it with far greater clarity."

As for Uldrich's personal journey into the unknown, it parallels a great many other American's feelings about the election.

How do we prepare for the upheaval ahead? Regardless of candidate choice, some unrest, uncertainty, or uncomfortable feelings will probably ensue.

Both Uldrich and Glynn believe that people living in the U.S. will have to get increasingly more comfortable being uncomfortable. The pandemic has already set that in motion for the majority of people living in the U.S.

In Jack's case, with the coaching he received, he summoned the courage to enter into the whale's metaphorical belly and now feels convicted he is amidst a metamorphosis.

Both Uldrich and Glynn are fully aware such a journey offers no guarantee of great revelation. Rather it's that Uldrich is daring enough to start the journey, to begin his sacred dance and willingly openly call it that. (To read more about Uldrich's experience, see his latest article posted in Medium.)

Glynn and Uldrich are convinced that if more leaders are willing to share their spiritual journeys, a powerful paradigm shift will occur in corporate America.

"It's not about religion or any set dogma," says Glynn—Uldrich adds, "it's about openly discussing what it means to metaphorically die to yourself—to truly set forth on a path where you attempt to let your ego go, set aside the pursuit of worldly possessions, and listen to your soul."

Where will this get you? How will it prepare you for the post-election world? Uldrich says in his latest best-selling book Business as Unusual, "we aren't just living in an era of change--we are living in a change of era." For that type of seismic shift, the most adept leaders will be those who are willing to explore and connect more deeply with their minds, hearts, and spirits as well.

For Glynn and Uldrich, it is best summed up in this Lakota prayer:

Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery, Teach me how to trust My heart, My mind, My intuition, My inner knowing, The senses of my body, The blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things So that I may enter my Sacred Space And love beyond my fear, And thus Walk in Balance With the passing of each glorious Sun.

So the post-election plan for Uldrich? Remain connected with the Earth. Lean into his coaching with humility--with open ears, eyes, and heart so that he can remain vulnerable enough to share his story. And lastly, to get enough sleep to continue pursuing both literal and figurative dreams.

Jack Uldrich is the author of Business As Unusual; A Futurist's Unorthodox, Unconventional and Uncomfortable Guide to Doing Business. He is currently co-authoring a new book, "Generation RE: The Guiding Spirits of the Coming Renaissance." which will be published in 2021. To learn more about Jack Uldrich, his work, or his speaking availability, please visit JackUldrich.com.

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