We are searching for leaders for a dangerous journey

Pandemics. Wars. Climate change. Artificial intelligence. Economic collapses. Each of these events was meant to define an entire generation, but we caught them all at once.

And, to make matters worse, we’re trying to manage this mess with the ideals of the last century.

Don’t believe me? Think about how many times you’ve heard this story:

“Behave yourself. Study. Get good grades. Get a stable job. Save money. Buy a house. Start a family.”

For generations, this was the story we were told about how to be successful in life. And it worked when you kept the same job your whole life and a single salary was enough to support a family.

But today, a young person enters university without knowing if the profession they are studying for will still exist when they graduate. Some people pay for a room what their parents paid for a house. And workers with decades of experience have become dispensable, replaced by an algorithm.

The 21st century is the century of chaos.

A collision of cultures, ideas, and people, never before seen, at a speed none of us have learned to keep up with. To deal with it, we need more than the wisdom we have inherited. We need a new way of looking at ourselves, our organisations, and our governments.

Essentially, we need a new generation of leaders.

But what does it mean to lead in the century of chaos?

For centuries, we’ve seen leaders as confident, assertive, and certain of the path to follow (the word itself, in its origin, means “to guide” and “to lead others”).

But in a world that never stops changing, nobody has the slightest idea which way to go.

Therefore, I’m giving you a warning.

What you’ll find in this project isn’t a formula to solve your life, much less to solve the world’s problems (nobody has that formula, and I’m suspicious of anyone who claims to). It is, however, a starting point to lead your life amid uncertainty.

To accept the little control we have and learn to move forward into the unknown. In fact, it invites a journey into madness, which reminds me of some other madman who decided to cross Antarctica.

A One-Way Journey

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton wanted to test his limits and cross Antarctica, one of the most dangerous journeys imaginable at the time.

Legend has it that, to find someone to accompany him, he published an advertisement in a London newspaper that said something like:

“Men wanted for dangerous journey. Low pay, extreme cold, long months of total darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful.

Honor and recognition in case of success.”

Not a word to soften what was to come. And that’s precisely why the right people appeared.

Let me do the same with you. This path doesn’t promise you a life without chaos. In fact, it’s more likely to bring you more questions than answers.

• You will realise you don’t control your life, no matter how hard you try.
• That plans fail, no matter what you do.
• That the “perfect” decision doesn’t exist.

That’s how, a hundred years ago, someone read an advertisement that promised nothing but discomfort and volunteered to explore Antarctica.

I extend the same invitation to you. No guarantees of return, but with the certainty that it’s worth exploring the corners of your own chaos, however uncomfortable or intimidating they may seem.

From here, the choice is yours.