Today in The Future Is How: Frederik's Summer Best-of Special: "Growing Your Future"

Welcome to a very special summer edition of The Future is How. Frederik wants to take you on a walk through a different kind of garden. This garden has rich soil made of powerful questions, strong trellises of trust, flowing channels of communication, and restorative greenhouses of rest. But it's also alive with the buzz of cross-pollinating bees, nourished by both sunshine and rain, enriched by compost that transforms challenges into growth, and tended by a community that understands how every element supports the whole.

Over this past season of conversations, Frederik had the privilege of speaking with remarkable gardeners of the future - people who've mastered different aspects of this living ecosystem. Today, he shares their wisdom as we explore eleven essential elements in this garden of possibility.

Today, we talk about:

Welcome to the Garden - one small thing that could grow into something bigger

The Soil of Questions - the richest soil is made up of the questions we ask

The Trust Trellis - some plants need support to reach their full potential. In our garden, trust serves as the strongest trellis of all.

The Communication Channels - the irrigation system that nourishes everything we're trying to grow.

The Storytelling Sunshine - compelling narratives don't just entertain - they transform how we see ourselves and our possibilities.

The Rest and Recovery Greenhouse - sleep and rest aren't empty spaces - they're specialized greenhouses where our most important growth actually happens.

The Wellness Ecosystem - A thriving garden (and humans)requires attention to the health of the entire ecosystem.

The Compost of Transformation - Personal transformation often requires composting old patterns to create rich soil for new growth.

The Cross-Pollination Bees - cross-pollination between future thinking and design creates innovations we never could have imagined.

The Connection Root Network - human connections create the invisible networks where our best futures can flourish.

The Innovation & Inspiration Blooms – inspiration, an active force that transforms individuals and communities.

The Beautiful Purpose That Blooms - beauty as the naturalexpression of purpose lived with intention.

In this episode, we cover:

Intro (03:14)

The Soil of Questions The next big disruption will not be technological, but psychological." - MarcChampagne

(06:47) The Trust Trellis "Kids are not luggage — they are human beings. The next generation doesn't need more control, they need more trust." - Esther Wojcicki

(10:31) The Communication Channels "It's about connection, not perfection." - Matt Abrahams

(14:13) The Storytelling Sunshine "Great storytelling is about making people feel." - Kalle Ryan

(17:45) The Rest and Recovery Greenhouse "Quality vs. quantity: What matters most for unlocking better performance." - Dr. Els van der Helm

(21:32) The Wellness Ecosystem "Destigmatizing mental health struggles through openness creates safety and trust." - Newton Cheng

(25:25) The Compost of Transformation "Home is where I grow." - Angela Pferdt

(29:22) The Cross-Pollination Bees "We need to develop a 'futurist' mindset and use our imagination to shape a better world." - Lisa Kay Solomon

(32:53) The Connection Root Network "The surprising finding: connection's impact on longevity is stronger than almost any other factor." - Dr. Robert Waldinger

(36:30) The Innovation & Inspiration Blooms "Inspiration is more than a feeling. It's an active force that fuels creativity, leadership and change." - Adam Galinsky

(40:07) The Beautiful Purpose That Blooms "The future belongs to those who can create beauty in business and meaning in work." - Tim Leberecht

(44:58) Your Future is HOW “HOW will you nourish your garden today? HOW will you plant seeds for tomorrow? HOW will you shape the future you want to see?” – Frederik Pferdt

Music: Andreas Horchler

Today in The Future Is How: Francesco Ciccolella. His illustrations don’t just decorate the page– they challenge how we see the world. Francesco is a Vienna-based artist, illustrator, and designer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, MIT Technology Review, and on the covers of books and ideas that have shaped our thinking. He also brought Frederik's ideas to life , through incredible sketches, including the one-line illustrations in Frederik's book What’s Next Is Now. Francesco's illustrations hold up a mirror to our culture–showing us not only what is, but what could be.

Today, we talk about:

• The Power of Visual Thinking

• Making the complex visually accessible through empathy
• The power of reduction
• Between the lines-Francesco´s book, a visual philosophy

• Everyone Is an Artist (as long as we overcome our fears)

• A well of inspiration—exploring world views and travelling

Where to find Francesco Ciccolella:

https://www.francescociccolella.com/

Between The Lines The Book: https://www.francescociccolella.com/Between-The-Lines-Artist-s-Book

Where to find Frederik G. Pferdt:
NextLetter – ⁠https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/#nextletter⁠

What's NextIs Now The Book: ⁠⁠https://www.whatsnextisnowthebook.com

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgpferdt/⁠⁠⁠
YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/frederikgpferdt⁠⁠⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/frederikgpferdt/⁠⁠⁠
Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Intro
(03:13) Francesco's future bio: A space between words and images

(05:45) Complexity in one image—empathy and the visual vocabulary
(08:07) The viewer's shoes—a repertoire of different angles
(09:01) Stripped to the essence—the Zen garden story and finding beauty in reduction
(11:59) Creative challenges—quick pace and the flow mode
(14:55) Between the lines—Francesco's book on dealing with mental health crises
(17:34) Discovering the inner artist—it's about taking away the fear (or: there are no perfect lines)

(21:03) A Mindstate Moment with Frederik
(25:31) A three word-game-visual creativity from scratch

(27:30) Finding inspiration—travelling, exploring world views, new paths

(29:09) Provoking emotion—The illustrator's playbook

Music: Andreas Horchler

In this episode, we explore how trust shapes the future — in parenting, education, and leadership.

Esther Wojcicki is known as "The godmother of Silicon Valley", a legendary educator, journalist, and author of How to Raise Successful People. She has taught thousands of students, raised three remarkable daughters (a CEO, a doctor, and a professor), and sparked a global movement with her TRICK philosophy: Trust, Respect, Independence, Collaboration, and Kindness.

“Kids are not luggage — they are human beings,” Esther says. Her message is clear: the next generation doesn’t need more control, they need more trust.

Together, we dive into:

• Why respect and independence are key ingredients for raising changemakers

• How 20% of time for personal projects (even in school!) unlocks creativity

• What happens when we stop helicopter parenting — and start trusting

• How TRICK can transform classrooms, companies, and even family dinners

• Why children’s ideas might just change the world

We also explore how TRICK applies not just to kids — but to how we lead, live, and even treat our parents.

Plus: A “Mindstate Moment” to help you reflect and activate your own TRICK.

Where to find Esther Wojcicki:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heywoj/?hl=en

Where to find Frederik G. Pferdt:
NextLetter – ⁠https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/#nextletter⁠

What'sNextIs Now The Book: ⁠⁠https://www.whatsnextisnowthebook.com

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/fgpferdt/⁠⁠⁠
YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/frederikgpferdt⁠⁠⁠
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/frederikgpferdt/⁠⁠⁠
Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.frederikgpferdt.com/⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Intro
(02:36) Esther's future bio: A world of respect and trust for children

(05:53) A future with TRICK- Trust Respect Independence Collaboration Kindness
(11:40) Balancing Structure and Freedom-Raising children today
(15:07) Kid's shopping experience-building trust and independence
(18:00) Kids are not luggage-what parents get wrong about children
(19:51) Frederik on the road-let the kids do the travel planning
(20:40) Worries and things we can do to shape our future

(24:50) Belts for the homeless-how children's ideas help
(26:36) Showing up for children with TRICK-empower education

(29:53) A better school-play, take time, explore

(33:09) In it together-Having patience, as kids and as parents

(35:49) Lost kids-The Helicopter Parenting crisis

(40:04) A Mindstate Moment with Frederik
(42:47) TRICK for companies and leaders-mistakes and room for creativity

(47:45) We are all children-what we can offer our parents through TRICK

Music :Andreas Horchler