With as many problems as we face in the world today, it can be easy to lose faith in humankind and the future.  When you look to the future, make sure you are including in your vision the exponential growth rate of technology.

Watch this amazing, fast-paced presentation by visionary inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil on TED Talks.  Is it possible that we will continue to create solutions to the world’s problems at an exponential rate?

Here’s what we need to see a lot more of, as we head towards accelerating change in our cultures, economies, climate, etc.  It’s a story of Evangelicals and Scientists, who although they have passionate disputes about the origin of the earth and human life, are standing together to protect the future of the earth and human life.  They are choosing to thinking like visionaries rather than positionaries.

“In 1974, I found it difficult to teach elegant theories of economics in the university classroom, in the backdrop of a terrible famine in Bangladesh. Suddenly, I felt the emptiness of those theories in the face of crushing hunger and poverty. I wanted to do something immediate to help people around me, even if it was just one human being, to get through another day with a little more ease.”

Thus begins the story of Mohammad Yunus, the 2006 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. In his Nobel lecture (watch the video and read the transcript here), he tells his story of how he came to found Grameen Bank and pioneer micro-lending to the poor.

The prevailing assumption of bankers and capitalists at that time was that the poor were not a good credit risk. Over the last 30 years, the Grameen (meaning “village”) Bank has given out loans totalling $6 Billion (US) to 7 million poor people, and the repayment rate has been 99%. Yunus proudly asserts that Grameen Bank routinely makes a profit, is self-reliant and has not accepted donor money since 1995. And, according to an internal survey of borrowers, 58 per cent have crossed the poverty line.

These results have say something about who we are as human beings, and what is possible for humanity going forward. Mohammad Unus sees a future where poverty only exists in museums! The path to get there lies, he sees, in questioning our assumptions about who we are as human beings and using free market principles to help the poor lift themselves from poverty.

“I am in favor of strengthening the freedom of the market. At the same time, I am very unhappy about the conceptual restrictions imposed on the players in the market. This originates from the assumption that entrepreneurs are one-dimensional human beings, who are dedicated to one mission in their business lives − to maximize profit.”

“…Human beings are a wonderful creation embodied with limitless human qualities and capabilities. Our theoretical constructs should make room for the blossoming of those qualities, not assume them away.”

“…By defining “entrepreneur” in a broader way we can change the character of capitalism radically, and solve many of the unresolved social and economic problems within the scope of the free market.”

In his speech, Mohammad Yunus introduces the concept of a “social business,” as a free market solution to end poverty, and as a vehicle for young revolutionaries to change the world.

“Young people all around the world, particularly in rich countries, will find the concept of social business very appealing since it will give them a challenge to make a difference by using their creative talent. Many young people today feel frustrated because they cannot see any worthy challenge, which excites them, within the present capitalist world. Socialism gave them a dream to fight for. Young people dream about creating a perfect world of their own.”

The FLOW Movement being started right here in Austin, Texas is forming an idealogical framework to provide a global context for tomorrow’s young revolutionaries. Michael Strong, Co-Founder of FLOW, sees how these new ideas about human potential, entrepreneurship and free markets can ignite a spark in University students, giving them a viable way to literally change the world for the better.

Mohammad Yunus says that we have poverty, because we accept it as part of the human condition. Once we raise our standards and refuse to accept it, we will easily find creative solutions to eliminate it altogether. The human mind has incredible power to solve problems, but only the problems that we refuse to accept.

“We create the world in accordance with our mindset. We need to invent ways to change our perspective continually and reconfigure our mindset quickly as new knowledge emerges. We can reconfigure our world if we can reconfigure our mindset.”

Of course, this is what we are up to here at VisionForce.com. The visionary mind of the future is one that evolves continually in ways that empower the individual to stand for more, see more as possible and create more. Our free Visionary Mind Shifts course by email is an introduction to this kind of evolutionary consciousness.

Our Visionary Mind home study program takes you much deeper, having you question the biggest assumptions about human beings, which keep us limited; and having you experience your “inner calling” to stand for a better world–your call to “greatness.” You can dive more fully into your visionary mind, and accelerate your evolution with this program by purchasing your hard copy here.

And if you’re already deep in the game of world-changing and conscious evolution, or if you are committed to living as Mohammad Yunus has lived, we want you to attend this event and be one of the 30 to step forward this spring and create a future that really works for everyone. The revolution starts now!

Listen to this conversation with Kevin Koym, a visionary entrepreneur here in Austin, who believes that entrepreneurs are the revolutionaries who will solve the world’s problems.

This is the first in a series of conversations we’ll be having with Austin visionaries, who are coming together to create a radically different future than the one we’re headed towards now. A future that really works for everyone. What we talk about here directly affects your life and your children’s future. Download it to your iPod and tell us what you think. It’s about 50 minutes long.
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There’s something special about music… the way it can pull you into a whole new world, a new paradigm, a new context–instantly! Musical artists have always been at the forefront of change, evolution and revolution, painting a view of past, present and future that calls people to take the actions necessary to create a new future.

On my trip to Kenya last summer, the kids in a remote town who did not have electricity in their classrooms did have a TV in the cafeteria. And every chance they got, they were listening to Western Hip Hop artists. If only all of those artists really understood–intellectually and emotionally–the reach they have and their potential to cause positive change in the world…

One singer/song-writer who attended our last boot camp, grasps his opportunity and responsibility to create a radically better future for humanity. His name is Sean Clarke, and you can download many of his songs for free to your iPod, straight from his web site.

Sean records all of his music himself and plays all of his instruments digitally. We have entered an era, where one person really can change the world. You can also find Sean on Zaadz.

“In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer

The Visionary Mind is not just a continually learning mind, but a mind not organized around psychological positions. Anyone can continually learn within the walls of their positions. The Nazi, the Roman Catholic, the Jew, the Environmentalist, the Rush Limbaugh Dittohead, the Marxist, the Dove, the Hawk, the Randian and the Patriot can all be continual learners, whose learning merely fortifies their existing positions. What marks the visionary mind is the quality of continual evolution, more than just continual learning.

And in these times of drastic change, it is the continually learning and evolving visionaries who shall not just inherit the future, they shall create it.

No matter your values, your beliefs, your cause or your level of learnedness, if your strength comes from your position, you will become less and less powerful to create the kind of life and world that will further your highest values and everyone else’s. It is your commitment and ability to evolve beyond your well-fortified positions and live from a dynamic stand that will empower you to create the kind of future that will really work for you and for all of us.

What we are talking about here is a complete yet subtle paradigm shift, one that we begin to explore in our free Visionary Mind Shifts course by email. It’s a paradigm shift, which is further rooted and explored with our Visionary Mind home study program, and deeply experienced inside of our 4-day intensives.

Talk, talk, talk and more talk. Everyone talks about change. Like the armchair quarterbacks, they’re usually talking from the sidelines of life, gossipping, criticizing and complaining about what everyone else is doing or not doing. Yet there are two main differences between the armchair quarterback watching football and a well-meaning person being a spectator in today’s world.

1) We’re all in this game called life. Everyone is a player, like it or not; yet so much of our team is on the sidelines, watching, cheering, whining, commenting on those who are on the field.  Can you imagine a football team where most of the team is not just “on the bench,” but at home watching the game on TV? Can you imagine a team whose players don’t dare even play? They might contribute some money or vote on team decisions, but when it comes time to get down and dirty and play… they’re nowhere to be found. Except you.  You’re here to play, and you cannot deny it.  Life lived from the sidelines would be death for you.

2) The armchair quarterback acts as if his yelling at the TV will make a difference, yet there is nothing he can do to affect the results of the game.  We, as human beings in the game of life, often act as if our ideas or our voice won’t make a difference, yet everything we choose to do or not do affects the results of the game.

The game clock is ticking…  A mulititude of crises threaten our children’s future…  Everything we value is on the line…

Are you on the field?

VisionForce is looking for 30 hungry change agents to come play in the championship game of life.  Apply here to be one of them.  For more details about our “training camp,” go here.