The concept
The capacity to see alternatives to the obvious present and use imagination as an operating tool for innovation.
Why Daily Inspiration matters to the lineage
A named concept rarely arrives fully formed. Daily Inspiration gives us dated evidence of the language, examples and applications surrounding the idea as it developed.
The entries below are not presented as proof that every use is identical. They are a concept genealogy: places where the underlying thought appears, is tested, is applied to a different context, or becomes more explicit.
Evolution through the series
2005-01-06 — I’ve got my Masters in Business Imagination!!!! Do you?
Huge web traffic has hitting my recent lists, just posted in December — 10 Innovation Killers, 10 Words for 2005, 10 Ideas for 2005 and more of my “lists of 10.” I’m convinced there is a stifling lack of creativity in the world today. Which is why, when I read an article about MBA’s complaining that they “don’t get any respect,” I clued in to what really needs to be done… Fact is, the business world doesn’t need anymore Masters of Business Administration.
2016-10-23 — Daily Inspiration: “Do you keep longing for the good old days? They aren’t coming back - but what is coming are ‘better days!’ If you set your mind and your imagination to it”
“Do you keep longing for the good old days? They aren’t coming back - but what is coming are ‘better days!’ If you set your mind and your imagination to it” - Futurist Jim Carroll ‘’ This was on stage for an event for a senior leadership team, and the focus was on how to transition an industry and company into a world of high velocity change. Some companies establish a culture that embraces the past rather than aligning to the future, and I will often help them to make a transition in their thinking!’’
2016-11-29 — Daily Inspiration: “Establishing a committee is a guaranteed prescription for innovation paralysis”
“Establishing a committee is a guaranteed prescription for innovation paralysis” - Futurist Jim Carroll Why are committees so bad for innovation? Here’s a list of 10 reasons… it sends the message that innovation is something special; that not everyone is responsible for great ideas it often leads to the worst form of group-think, whereas divergent thinking is the essence of innovation and creativity it usually results in the lowest common denominator of idea generation; mediocrity rules!
2017-01-18 — Daily Inspiration: “Combine a touch of imagination with a sprinkling of ingenuity, then mix in a dose of insight. Now top it up with a dash of instantaneity and bring it to a boil with the heat of real initiative - that’s an inspiring recipe for innovation!”
“Combine a touch of imagination with a sprinkling of ingenuity, then mix in a dose of insight. Now top it up with a dash of instantaneity and bring it to a boil with the heat of real initiative - that’s an inspiring recipe for innovation!” - Futurist Jim Carroll
2023-01-11 — Daily Inspiration: “It’s time to move from triage to tomorrow!”
“It’s time to move from triage to tomorrow!” - Futurist Jim Carroll Next month will mark 3 years since individuals and organizations began to go through the largest disruption they will ever know. With lockdowns, a staggering loss of human life, work-from-home, and the rapid emergence of a digital lifestyle and e-commerce infrastructure - we all had to learn to adapt quickly. As I close out this series of 23 Trends for 2023, I’ve been thinking long and hard as to what the final, all-encompassing trend should be; to be honest, I’ve had several.
2023-06-06 — Daily Inspiration: “You’ll never get to the future if you never attempt the future!”
“You’ll never get to the future if you never attempt the future! ”- Futurist Jim Carroll If you are into that type of thing you might have tuned into Apple’s WWDC event yesterday to get a first look at their new VR/AR headset - or, what they are calling their new spatial computing device. And if you are like me, you would have been pretty shocked by the price at $3,499 (or about $5,000 Canadian, my home country.) You would have been really disappointed in the tether wire necessary for longer-lasting battery power.
2023-10-23 — Daily Inspiration: Innovation and Culture - “Give yourself permission to try new things!
“Give yourself permission to try new things!” - Futurist Jim Carroll My wife and I attended the Celebration of Life for the father of one of our good friends at our ski chalet, Cedric Gyles. Although we only briefly met the man once, we knew that the relationship that our good friend John had with his dad was special and that this was a significant loss; we thought it important that we show John and his wife Jane our respect by attending. We ended up with so much more than we expected, learning more about a man who did justice to the phrase ‘a life well lived.’ My good friend Scott Kress, who we also ski with, commented: “When you read his ob
2023-12-18 — Daily Inspiration: 24 Strategies for 2024 #16 - “Fail at fewer first impression failures”
“Fail at fewer first impression failures” - Futurist Jim Carroll Futurist Jim Carroll is running a series that began November 27, 2023, and will end on January 1, 2024 - ‘24 Strategies for 2024.’ Rather than running a trend series for the upcoming year as he has previously, this series will examine a number of his personal beliefs on how to best align yourself with the future. There will be a post each weekday, excluding weekends and holidays, until the series runs its course. You will find it on his blog at https://blog.jimcarroll.com, or on the website https://2024.jimcarroll.com The people you meet are often not who you think - we all suff
2024-01-02 — Daily Inspiration: “10 Great Words for 2024”
“10 Great Words for 2024 - Explore, Imagine, Embrace, Challenge, Strategize, Create, Defy, Avoid, Persevere, Do!” - Futurist Jim Carroll Happy New Year! Keeping up with a tradition that began back in 2006 - starting each year with ‘10 Great Words’ - here’s what I’m thinking for 2024! I had a little bit of fun this year, in that I used an AI to help generate the list; I had it read through the 279 Daily Inspiration posts I wrote this year, analyzing them for the most common words and themes that I used throughout 2023.
2024-01-15 — Daily Inspiration: Healthcare and the Future - “You can always look forward by looking back!”
“You can always look forward by looking back!” - Futurist Jim Carroll “16 years ago, Futurist Jim Carroll spoke in Washington DC on the future of healthcare. He challenged the audience to think about what the world of healthcare would look like one day in the future - picking an arbitrary, random date of January 15, 2020. Now, 16 years later, take a look at how he did with his predictions!
2024-03-06 — Daily Inspiration: Skills & Reinvention - “Every failure is in reality a critical step in a successful reinvention!”
“Every failure is in reality a critical step in a successful reinvention!” - Futurist Jim Carroll It’s book week! Each day, a post involving one of my books! Today, my biggest book failure!
2024-10-07 — Daily Inspiration - Creativity & Innovation : “See differently and you’ll innovate brilliantly!”
“See differently and you’ll innovate brilliantly!” - Futurist Jim Carroll Most people see a ketchup bottle. Creative people see trends & innovation! Last week, I spoke at the Manufacturers Association for Plastic Processors conference in Indianapolis; my topic was the impact and opportunity of artificial intelligence technologies in the manufacturing industry.
2025-05-23 — Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration – “You can escape the mediocrity you once embraced, but will you ever fully eradicate it?”
“You can escape the mediocrity you once embraced, but will you ever fully eradicate it?” - Futurist Jim Carroll It’s been a wild voyage bringing these two books to print in just a few months, and I’m loving the feedback and comments from those who have picked up copies. (Are you in? You can grab copies at the Mediocrity website !) But while working on them, I’m always thinking.
2025-05-29 — Decoding Tomorrow: Your Daily Future Inspiration – “There is no shortage of big opportunities.. There is a shortage of bold leadership!”
“There is no shortage of big opportunities.. There is a shortage of bold leadership!” = Futurist Jim Carroll One of my fellow futurists recently included this line in a post I read - “We should be pulling more photons from the sun.” He wrote it as an observation when he was flying into an American city, and saw an absolute dearth of solar panels on the roofs of homes and buildings. Solar energy - the infrastructure at least - has become desperately cheap and tremendously productive, and we are missing such a big opportunity.
2026-05-15 — Decoding Tomorrow: The Infinite Pivot Series - #36 “The secret to the art of the pivot? There is no finish line!”
“The secret to the art of the pivot? There is no finish line!” - Futurist Jim Carroll Futurist Jim Carroll is writing a series, The Art of the Infinite Pivot, based on 36 lessons from his 36 years as a solo entrepreneur, working as a nomadic worker in the global freelance economy. The series is unfolding here, and at pivot.jimcarroll.com.
2026-06-15 — Daily Inspiration: “You can’t move a clock faster than it goes!”
“You can’t move a clock faster than it goes!” - Futurist Jim Carroll One of the funniest and more unusual aspects of working with your wife in a home office for more than 30 years is that you still schedule work meetings. For real! Today, we have a meeting to take a look at her latest edits on my book Being Unique.
2026-06-19 — The Future, Mapped: 30 Years of Thinking About What Comes Next
I’ve been a futurist for more than 30 years. In that time I’ve written close to 5,000 posts, delivered over 2,000 keynotes, and tracked the trends that quietly reshape industries long before they make the headlines. Recently I did something I’d put off for years: I stepped back and organized all of it.
2026-07-10 — Daily Inspiration: “Uniqueness is not a quirk to apologize for, it is a weapon to sharpen!”
“Uniqueness is not a quirk to apologize for, it is a weapon to sharpen!” - Futurist Jim Carroll If you do one thing today, do this for me right now - go to Amazon (.com, .ca, other local ones) and buy this book. After all, it will help you out! If you’ve been reading my Daily Inspiration over the years, you’ve watched a theme keep coming back: “Be defiant.
What the lineage shows
Across these dated receipts, creativity imagination belongs to a recurring way of thinking about adaptation: notice change early, challenge inherited assumptions, learn through action and build the capacity to move before circumstances remove the choice.
Strategic question
Where does this concept show up in our own operating model, and what evidence would tell us it is becoming more important?