Creating Our Future History

[Music]

if there’s one phrase

that sums up 2020 so far it’s what the

future many of us imagine we are

marching boldly into the future

but actually we can’t often see what’s

coming right at us

it’s almost as if we’re standing with

our backs to the future

so how do we prepare for the unexpected

and

the unforeseeable future

by studying what’s staring right back at

us

the past now given today’s context

you may expect me to be talking about

the black death or the spanish flu

but i believe that what better way to

look at how to deal with the unexpected

than to talk about an unexpected topic

the d-day landings in normandy on june 6

1944 why

because as a young history student the

world war ii generation

whether they were civilians soldiers

holocaust survivors they taught me that

no matter what

unexpected or unwanted things life

throws your way

you choose your response

and d-day is the perfect example

of how to respond to an unwanted

and seemingly impossible situation

and we’ve certainly seen our share of

impossible situations this year

that’s why i want to offer you d-day

lessons for today

to help you learn how to create your

future history

that’s right your future history

is created through your actions today

our future history is created

through our actions today

now i’ve written about 10 d-day lessons

but today i’m going to talk to you about

three and we’re going to start with the

most basic one

that talks about really our mindset

and that is lesson number one

history is full of people doing the

impossible

yeah history is full

of people doing the impossible

so let’s turn back the pages to january

of 1943.

now hitler had unexpectedly invaded and

then was now

occupying most of europe at this time

stalin

was busy fighting what would be one of

the bloodiest battles

in the war in stalingrad and he was

demanding

that the western allies open a second

front

to divide hitler’s forces

churchill and roosevelt decided to meet

in casablanca

and it’s here at the casablanca

conference that

it’s the first time they

openly commit to making a cross-channel

invasion

sure william the conqueror had done so

in 1066

but what the allies would be attempting

was on a scale

that had never been seen before in

history

and at the time in january of 1943

circumstances didn’t seem like this was

going to be a possible

thing to do the german u-boats

were winning in the battle of the

atlantic

the allies didn’t have the air supremacy

that they would need

for a successful landing they didn’t

even have

the technology needed to land and supply

an army

on the beaches

but i guess they listened to eleanor

roosevelt

who had told them you must do the things

you think you cannot do

you must do the things you think

you cannot do

and so here are churchill and roosevelt

sitting in the sun talking to the press

committing to making that cross-channel

invasion

despite current circumstances

why because they knew

history is full of people doing the

impossible

and circumstances can change

so lesson number one

identify your current version of

impossible

and once you’ve done that then you can

move on to lesson number two

know what you stand for

yeah know what you stand

for because

pursuing the impossible it requires

dedication and perseverance

if you don’t know why you may never try

now venturing out into the unknown it’s

scary

and if you know why you’re doing

something it makes it easier

to keep moving alongside your fear

it can even help you make fun of it

churchill certainly knew the power of

humor when he said

if you’re going through hell keep going

declaring what you stand for also helps

you

it helps others stand with you

and there is power in numbers

so you’ve identified your current

version of

impossible lesson number one

and you know what you stand for lesson

number two

so now you can move to lesson number

three

to get good answers ask good questions

to get good answers ask

good questions

walls have been built throughout history

out of fear

anger insecurity but they rarely stand

the test of time

hitler tried to defend the entire coast

of europe

with his atlantic wall

can walls be made obsolete

if the allies first challenge was to

land an

army on the beaches the second would be

to supply that army

they needed a port

but in the failed raid on the port of

dieppe

in 1942 the allies realized

they would never be able to seize a port

and keep it operational at the same time

well so i guess they’re just going to

have to bring one with them

wait bring a port with them

like drag it across the channel

yeah that’s exactly what churchill

who is renowned for his creative

thinking framed

perfectly in this memo

let me have the best solution worked out

don’t argue the matter the difficulties

will argue for themselves

wow he’s not asking if it’s possible

he’s asking how

and so operational just three days after

d-day

port winston was set up off the coast of

apple marsh

it was an incredible engineering feat

they brought in old battleships that

they sunk to create

breakwaters they built cement caissons

multiple stories high and yeah dragged

them across

the channel

and the technology used to create the

platforms that would rise

up and down with the tide that

technology

is still used today in oil platforms

out at sea the wreckage of old caisson

sits off the coast of ahomash today a

testament to the power

of creative thinking

no matter how high or wide a wall

is there is always a way to move past it

walls are made obsolete by open minds

asking good questions

there will always be impossible

situations

so what happens when you replace

can i with how

can i suddenly

the impossible becomes possible

i never met a veteran or a civilian

who wanted the war to break out

it was as welcomed as the global

pandemic has been today

because you know we plan we build we

imagine

and then a wave of life comes rushing

over us

and all we can do is try to keep our

head above water

i mean how do we keep up with our daily

needs

how can we find joy amidst the chaos

step back gain perspective

study history

think about which stories you want to be

remembering later in life

and how does that influence then the

choices

you’re making today

i offer you three questions to use

as a compass because it’s not about

finding the answers

but really living the questions over

and over and over

one what’s your current version of

impossible

two what do you stand for

and three what happens when you replace

can i with how

can i

people say history repeats itself

but i say it rhymes we

create our future history

so what will you do with your time

[Music]

you