Every form of creativity has its own raw material. A sculptor works with clay, a chef with ingredients, a futurist with clues.

Futurists collect, combine, and build future scenarios out of clues to how the future might be different. You can find future clues by spotting weird stuff that others overlook. Things that make you say, "That's strange", and "I wonder why that's happening."

If your imagination feels stuck, spend time mentally immersed in “upside-down worlds.” Make a list of about a hundred things that are true today and rewrite them so that the opposite is true.

For example, libraries are mostly quiet spaces. To flip it, write ten years from today, libraries are loud, wild spaces. Then envision what makes libraries feel and sound so different.

Urgent optimism consists of three key psychological strengths:

1. Mental flexibility is the ability to recognize that anything can become different in the future, even the impossible ones.
2. Realistic hope is knowing which threats you should worry about and which new solutions, technologies and ideas you should be excited about.
3. Future power is a feeling of control and agency to directly impact the future by taking action today.