Close

TIME TRAVEL GUIDANCE

Tools, skills & cognitive fitness for the more adventurous, ambitious (& anxious) of our species.

Our beautiful human brains, billions of years in the making, are no biological match for the pickle we’ve got ourselves into. For some, that is an invitation … 

Without the luxury of 1000 year lives, discerning where to invest our time &
how to grow our precious mental wealth matters.  [I have some suggestions]. 

Me: Maximillian Kaizen (shoutout to my fellow weirdly-named people). 

Work: Futurist, technologist, cultural diplomat. 
I help people “time-travel” and explore realms they wouldn’t ordinarily – mostly for building systemic resilience – but also the pleasure of intelligent leisure.

[oh wait, let me explain that a bit]

A futurist ≠ shiny/scary trend forecaster or opinionated oracle. Possible realities are constantly competing for dominance. Which means we have a hand in choosing which future triumphs. 

I act as a scout, gathering evidence to help select routes, where the golden opportunities and hazards might be, and fitness for the future terrain we WANT to live in vs. stumbling ahead magically hoping for the best. 

Assuming continuity is seductive but ultimately, silly. History smashes the error of predictability every time. But, being aggressively scared yet prepared with shotguns, bunkers, & baked beans, is no good for your general enjoyment of life. 

We ARE in a precarious, dangerous place but – as timeless stories have primed us – humans up against improbable odds, will eke out the win that nobody saw coming.
Which may just be the kind of fun for which you were born.

Raiding history, interrogating data & non-human intelligence for clues, understanding & tinkering with the constituent parts and properties of emerging tech, shaking out business models, (bizarre) cultural behaviour make my work fascinating and useful.
Come do this with me. Quality minds wanted for exploration, observation & experimentation: 

STRATEGIC FORESIGHT

Bias alert: #SDG innovation 

Advisory & custom research observatory: for better decisionmaking – if you prefer your big questions enriched with evidence, expert insight & qualified hunches of what’s next & what to invest in now.  

[Ingenuity isn’t confined to anointed academics & geek gods. Bring your brain. Let’s build a research community for a new age]

extelligence community
TEACHING & TALKS

Yes, I speak at conferences, trend-briefings, industry think tanks & universities – chiefly on emerging tech & cultural learning.

Lifelong learning is key to avoid panic & stacking-up measurable advantage. Join or co-design a program on future-fit skills & fluencies.

[Come teach & share what you know. Each1teach1 yo]

speaking + skill-ups
EXPLORERS SOCIETY

Holidays are awkward for smart people. Do you find aliveness in cognitive challenge or intensely learning & trying stuff – for kicks? Polymath who regularly reinvents their identity … because living only one version of life is a horrible waste?

Expeditions! Sabbaticals! Cultural diplomacy! Citizen science! Makeathons! Brainy travel! 

Sounds delicious? Welcome weirdo …

walk this way

EXTREME LEARNING

Learning has become an adrenaline sport. 
Not very long ago “the future” had a ±plannable trajectory, with room for statistically-bothersome black swans.

Between rogue governance and mad mad tech – those anchoring constraints blew wide open. Reality got VERY weird. And [editable] by almost anyone. Terrifying, but also thrillingly liberating, especially for bright people who may otherwise have responsibly pursued their socially-approved ambitions. 

Safely navigating through hazards & opportunities expanding simultaneously all directions – is bewildering – if you’re using maps for a world that’s no longer working. 

This formidable new frontier demands mental athleticism, generosity and robust preparation that traditional education rarely offers us. 

For restless polymaths and brainy bucket-listers (I see you, friend), just keeping up isn’t nearly enough. 


PREPARE & DARE (learning from the nutjobs)

We’ve been able to dramatically push our physical bounds because antibiotics and emergency medicine allow us to take more extreme risks in reducing the chance of death, or worse. Mobile data for comms and realtime mapping, mean we can venture where others haven’t been. Even if many are daft or even deadly – GoPro and Youtube reward brave experiments.

And maybe the biggest gift of the internet: anywhere/anytime access to how-to’s that reveal the once-hidden “genius” magic of the masters – even for humble noobs. No school needed.

We’re porting this spirit of adventure into the mental space, with its all its big challenges and jaw-dropping craziness. We’ll use tech augmentation – like VR, AI or soft robotics to embody extrasensory realities and blast through constraints we can’t assail unaided. Or be lured by biological enhancements like nootropics or genetic tweaks. Who knows where it’ll lead. 

Better than fear or reckless improv, let’s scoop up the best lessons from the maniacs and be safe out there while recreating reality & having fun together at the pixelated edges.