It is his capacity for self-improvement and self-redemption which most distinguishes man from the mere brute. – AUNG SAN SUU KYI, Freedom from Fear

On your quest to be successful, nothing will slow you down more than your belief that “who I am is who I am, and theres nothing that can change that”. I have heard Donald Trump say this on his show, The Apprentice. This belief forces you to also believe that you cannot overcome your flaws or forgive yourself . This limited point of view will discourage your efforts to make yourself better, and should be thrown out. What you did yesterday doesnt mean you are beyond redemption today.

What is Redemption?

According to Wikipedia, redemption is a theological concept that broadly means the deliverance from sin. For the purposes of this post, we define redemption as the following

Repairing, learning from, and evolving beyond the mistakes of your past.

There are a great many so called Christians, Muslims, and other “religious” people who spend Sunday after Sunday talking about redemption and saying they believe in the concept of delivery from sin, and yet they condemn prisoners to death, they say things like “once a criminal, always a criminal” and are hypocrites to their very faiths by passing judgment on their fellow man. If you believe that there is no hope for the next man, then you must believe that there is no hope for you. If you believe “that man” cant be redeemed, you must believe that you cant be redeemed. And in light of that truth, you must abandon your religion – since you dont truly believe that Christ died for your sins, or you dont believe that reincarnation is possible, or you dont believe that 48 virgins are waiting for you.

Redemption is Possible

Believe that redemption IS possible, regardless of whether or not you chose to pass judgment on so-called “scumbags”. A great many of my readers are ex-Convicts (I never use the term Felon, since that term assumes this individual is still the same person who committed whatever criminal act that caused his incarceration), and a great many of these people have overcame their past to go on to great success and total redemption. They have made amends with the individuals who were negatively impacted by their actions (victim impact panels are set up in prison for this very reason), have repaired their own lives, and have achieved great success.

Raphael B. Johnson

Raphael B. Johnson was convicted of second-degree murder in 1992 and was released in 2004. He holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Detroit Mercy.Raphael teaches Professional Development, Conflict Resolution and Anger Management in schools and communities across the country. He is a member of the NAACP, Detroit Parent Network, Sacred Heart Parish, Cass Tech Alumni, Legacy Associates Foundation (LAF) and is the winner of Steve Harvey’s 2008 Award for Best Community Leader nationwide. In 2009, he made a strong showing in his run for the Detroit City Council.

Instead of the prison that he was released from supporting the success of this former inmate, they condemned him and banned his book from the prison. Check this excerpt from the Detroit Free Press

In the three years since he was released from prison, Raphael B. Johnson has become one of the state’s most successful ex-inmates. He has graduated from college, published a book, started a business, become a husband and father, and challenged hundreds of ex-offenders to do better. Instead of touting Johnson’s turnaround, however, the Michigan Department of Corrections considers him a threat. The department has banned Johnson’s autobiography and prohibited him from speaking to inmates.

It makes little sense. MDOC has made much of its Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative to reduce crime and recidivism by better preparing offenders for life after prison. What better way to do that than to offer up the example, and counsel, of an ex-inmate who committed a terrible crime and then re-created himself?

Now heres a comment from a reader (identifying themselves as “prayhard” on the Detroit news website M.Live) concerning Mr Johnson’s run:

…that’s all Detroit knows, is losers. I think he’s the type to use a platform for his own personal gain and make up for lost time in the slammer.

Bikers for Christ and Haiti

Bikers for Christ, whose motto is “No perfect people allowed” run a very successful prison ministry and programs devoted to helping those less fortunate. Many of the organization’s members are ex-convicts with strong construction backgrounds. These individuals mobilized after the earthquake in Haiti, seeking to put their money and construction skills to use in helping the country rebuild. Permission was denied. These “felons” couldnt be trusted to leave the country for any reason.

Whyclef and Haiti

Check these comments out in response to allegations that Wyclef Jean’s charity was a scam:

Posted by Roger, Monday, January 18, 2010, 4:31 pm  What makes us think that a hood can change his spots? This money is going right into his ‘foundation.’ Give us a break. What a crooked scam.

Posted by rlkreiedr, Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:21 am its just another scam created by a minority to get over on majority

Posted by MrMalo, Thursday, January 21, 2010, 12:26 pm The man could very easily join the red cross, or doctors without borders or any other large charitable organisation with the resources and experience to do much good for haiti. This is a vanity charity. Its HIS charity, to show the world what a fine fellow he is. Even if the allegations of misconduct are completely false, it is a very inefficient way to provide the help and services needed. He and the haitian people would be far off if he were to use his OWN money to make TV commericals urging everyone to DONATE BLOOD.

Were any of these people happy to find out that he was one of the few celebrities to help the country? Nah. NOT TO MENTION HE HAS NO CRIMINAL RECORD! His “hood” reputation is derived solely from his music!

Christopher 2x

Christopher 2X, formerly Christopher Anthony Bryant, is a community activist in Louisville, Kentucky. A former drug trafficker, 2X served seven years in prison before being released in 1999. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Nation of Islam temple in Louisville and changed his name to 2X. Since then, he has dedicated much of his time to community outreach programs in Louisville, especially in the West End. After the death of four-​year-​old Ce­sar Ivan Cano, Christo­pher 2X ini­ti­at­ed the Fight Crimes Against Chil­dren Part­ner­ship aware­ness cam­paign.

You would think local residents would be happy about an ex-convict turning his back on the drug dealers lifestyle and using his powers to improve his community. Wrong! Heres an exchange from a forum post entitled who has had enough christopher 2x

kevin d wrote:

this dude is a joke,now he out there with illegal
immigrants,The same ones that are taking the jobs
from his brothers and sisters,Mark my word he will
shoot himself in foot, just wait!

jcmlb wrote:

i hope somebody does

Scientific Proof of Redemption

You are not born a criminal, you are not born stupid, you arent born to fail, and you arent born destined for the penitentiary or the poor house. Yes, there is scientific evidence that you can be born with certain qualities, but there is just as much scientific proof that what we do matters more than what we are born with. Remember the article, What it Takes to be Great?! You may be born with your dad’s bad temper, your mom’s fear of conflict, or your grandfather’s high risk of having a heart attack. But you can also learn to manage your anger, train yourself to take risks despite fear, and change your eating and exercise habits keep your heart healthy into old age.

Genes, rather than being fixed entities, activate or deactivate based on their interaction with other genes. Genes respond to dozens of outside cues (many that are firmly within our control), meaning you can actually shut off certain undesirable genes by changing your environment. Research conducted in 2008 showed that improved diet, meditation and other non-medical interventions can actually “turn off” the disease-promoting process in men with prostate cancer (Changing Your Lifestyle Can Change Your Genes; Newsweek Magazine).That’s why its so important to watch who you interact with, what you eat, the words you say to yourself, and the things you spend your time doing.

There is scientific evidence that your brain and its neurons are “plastic” (the scientific term is neuroplasticity). At its most basic definition, neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to change its neural connections based on new experiences. When you learn something new, your brain “tingles” as new neurons connect with each other and fire off electrical signals. According to the theory of neuroplasticity, thinking, learning, and acting actually change both the brain’s structure and functionality from top to bottom. You can unlearn a behavior just as you learned it. You learned how to give into the desire to rob, steal, or molest. You can redeem yourself and unlearn these behaviors.

By making new learning a priority activity in your everyday life, by regularly exercising your brain, by exposing your brain to the kinds of information, images, concepts, relationships that you would like the majority of your thoughts to be made up of, these are activities that can truly (and literally) change your brain for the better. – From Brain Ready

Becoming Your Own Redeemer

You can modify any behaviors that you have that you dont like. Are you lazy? An over spender or an over-eater? Hateful? A pushover? Insecure? Disorganized? Under-educated? You can redeem yourself!

• You can be successful, no matter if you have failed every day of your life
• You can heal relationships with people you have had it in with
• You can correct the mistakes of your past
• You can overcome your criminal past

The key to accomplishing these things is the will to get started. If you give yourself no other option and relentlessly seek out and apply solutions, you will be victorious. There will always be ignorant and hypocritical people in the world who hold opinions like those in the forums, but as long as we work to keep these behaviors out of our political, judicial, and corporate cultures, then those bigots dont matter. (Note: These behaviors are already there. You must root them out by forcing those politicians out of office, lobby against such behavior, and stop supporting businesses that dont support you! Heres a great post that you need to read entitled “Old criminal records are life sentences in job market“). If you are offended by that comment, take refuge in the fact that you can change your bigoted ways.

What we do matters more than what we are born with! So do the right things for the right reasons, and you can correct ANY mistake that you have made in your life. Thats what success and redemption is all about.

Popularity: 19% [?]

In Marine Corps boot camp, recruits are taught that perception is reality. The meaning behind this saying is that if a person perceives you to be powerful then to them you are. If you are perceived to be in command, successful, or fearless, then that is reality. Its no different when it comes to personal power. The more you distinguish yourself as a person of power, the more people around you will give it to you. Here are six ways to create an air of power

1. Have powerful mentors

“…as an apprentice you gain a guide and ally. The support of even one powerful person speeds your way toward success” – from Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide

Selecting the perfect mentor could be one of the most important decisions that you make on your path to power. The right mentor will open doors for you, give you the answers to questions you didn’t even know you had, hold you accountable, and push you to new heights. He or she should obviously be in the field that you wish to excel in. If you are a barber, seek out the winner of last year’s Hair Wars. If you are a dancer, seek out an established choreographer. If you are an architect, find the man that designed the swankiest new condominiums in your city.

A potential mentor must be willing to share their knowledge with you. This is usually a person who is at the top of their game, since younger people in the game might see you as competition or prey. The man on top of his game has nothing to lose by sharing information with you. The younger guy fears that he might create some competition for himself or will see you as prey. This is good news for those who have little to no experience. The less of a threat you seem to be, the more knowledge and trust you will be given. A technique that has worked for me is to offer a potential mentor lunch on you every week in exchange for an hour of his conversation and mentorship. That’s the definition of the term “power lunch”!

2. Be busy

Powerful men and women are busy. They have conferences to attend, hands to shake, planes to catch, calls to make, transactions to oversee, mentoring to receive, and mentorship to give. Their activities are what have gotten them the power they have, so it is only natural that they constantly be on the go in pursuit of ever greater accomplishment. Your schedule needs to reflect the fact that you are upwardly mobile. If you are an office worker, create and execute your own schedule instead of waiting for a manager to hand down tasks. Offer to teach classes or host a symposium with a high profile guest for your coworkers. Actually make things happen – don’t just sit at your computer playing Pac-man and pretending to be busy.

3. Restrict access to yourself

You are surrounded by people who seek to stop you by demanding that you take care of their priorities instead of your own. Telemarketers will call you in the middle of dinner. So called “friends” will call you in need in the middle of the night. Managers will ask you to work into overtime at the worst times. You should have better things to do with yourself than entertain these distractions, so defend against them by restricting access to yourself.

If you can, hire a secretary. If you cant, keep your cell phone off and only return calls. This will let you screen calls and schedule a time convenient for you to return them. This isnt being arrogant or putting up false boundaries: restricting access to your self is good time and focus management. Do whatever you can to stay out of the office during normal office hours, and get your work done during off peak hours (5am-8am, 7pm-10pm). The benefit to operating this way is that you will have improved focus, since no one else is in the office at these hours, you keep away from daily office politics, and you avoid getting stuck with the dirty work that gets passed out throughout the day (assuming you work for someone else).

4. Control yourself

Self control is paramount in your pursuit of power. Be calm, cool and collected. During the last presidential election, there was very little anyone could say or do to make then Senator Obama flip his wig. His calm under pressure and cool in the face of scrutiny did much to help him ultimately become the President. Lack of self control leads to frustration, explosive outbursts, whining, inner office conflict, lack of discipline, and falling apart under pressure, and even incarceration. Trust me, I should know. Heres an excerpt from my most recent eBook entitled The Evolution of a Hustler explaining the disastrous results of my lack of self control:

I ignored my schedule, refused to accept responsibility for my results (“I’m not failing the Marine Corps” I would say, “the Marine Corps is failing me!”), and I started to lose control. Month after month, I missed my contract goal. Once relentless, I became reluctant. Once disciplined, I became random and unpredictable – preferring to take naps in my government vehicle behind buildings over prospecting.

Such is the result of letting yourself spin out of control.

The only time it pays to blow your cool is when your explosive outbursts are tactical and planned. For instance, as a Marine Sergeant, when lower ranking Marines fall out of line or blatantly disobey orders it is necessary to hand out butt-chewings. You might like the guy, but if you chose to let his behavior slide, you risk all the other troops becoming disobedient.

5. Look the Part

Appearance counts for much in the world. What you look like on the outside when it comes to grooming, dress, and other intangible things like smell and eye contact speak volumes about you before you even open your mouth. I don’t care if you are a server in a restaurant, if you are clean, make eye contact with your customers, and smile, you have just earned more money than the average server – and that could also open the way for networking opportunities with your high end customers.

I’m impressed with how some rappers have transformed their image to give their hustle more legitimacy. Jay-Z, T.I. and Diddy have all evolved from saggy pants, buffoonish chains and oversized white Tees to style icons. There’s a reason for this, and to prove that power and respect follows appearance, who do you respect more, T.I. or T-Pain?

Yea, see what I mean?

The book that I have used as my style guide is Bereolaesque: The Contemporary Gentleman & Etiquette Book For The Urban Sophisticate, available only by clicking the hyperlink. Check it out.

6. Obey a code of silence

Being quiet is a blessing in three ways: First, people will let slip all kinds of personal information to you that could be of use later on. Second, the less you say the smaller your chance of saying something you shouldn’t have. Third, the less you say, the more value your words have; people actually pay attention to you on the rare occasions you offer words of advice.

Asking questions to understand a situation is one thing, but keep your statements concise, and keep your opinion to yourself. If asked for advice, keep it short and to the point. Avoid long stories and rants, and when you do open your mouth, speak intelligently. Nothing diminishes a mans power more than having an uneducated drawl.

People tend to think the person that runs their mouth the most has all the power in a conversation, but the result of motor mouthing is that people will actually avoid conversations with you, or not hear anything you say. The result is actually a loss of power and respect.

Apply these 6 Principles to everything you do, every day, and the power you desire will manifest. Perception will become reality.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Recently, Freeman of Rise and Grind ( a website that I have written about before) did me a great honor by allowing me to submit a podcast to his Rise and Grind Radio Show. The podcast aired today and I invite you all to check it out. And while youre there, show my man Freeman some comment luv. He is doing a great service to the blogosphere and community of readers.

Popularity: 18% [?]

These are the 5 technologies that are bringing the future to the here and now – and how to cash in on them.

Photovoltaics Technology

Whats photovoltaics? Solar panels. Photovoltaic production has been doubling every 2 years, increasing by an average of 48 percent each year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into electricity. An example of how photovoltaics will be integrated in our future architectural landscape can be seen in the Co-operative Insurance Tower in Manchester England and in solar parking meters that use the suns energy to power itself while feeding electricity into the power grid.

• Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENER) manufactures and sells thin-film solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology. Distributed globally under the UNI-SOLAR® brand, the company’s products are ideally suited for cost-effective solutions for roofing applications because they are lightweight, durable, flexible, can be integrated directly with building materials, and generate more energy in real-world conditions.

• The current market leader in solar panel efficiency (measured by energy conversion ratio) is SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRB) a San Jose based company. Sunpower’s cells have a conversion ratio of 23.4%, well above the market average of 12-18%.

• Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) has been around for awhile, making a name for itself in the semiconductor and LCD markets. They have recently announced they will be jumping into the solar power market and have launched the Applied SunFab Thin Film Line, sure to revolutionize the market. Check out the Bloomberg company spotlight in my video section.

I own all three of these companies to make sure if one takes off, Im there for the ride.

Biomechanics and Bioengineering Technology

Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to living organisms, and Bioengineering is the application of engineering principles to address challenges in the fields of biology and medicine. Translation: Biomechanics and bioengineering is using science to make the human body “better”. Its creating prosthetic legs for quadriplegics, its creating nanocells to help the immune system battle disease, and its giving vision back to the blind using implanted camera-brain interfaces. Researchers at the University of Washington have even Here are the 3 companies that will turn us all into cyborgs.

• Human Genome Sciences (NasdaqGM: HGSI) operates as a biopharmaceutical company in the United States. The company’s clinical development pipeline includes novel drugs to treat hepatitis C, lupus, inhalation anthrax, and cancer. According to their website, HGS is working to create and develop novel therapies that can extend and improve the quality of life, and with a stock that has been consistently upgraded since July (Yahoo Finance), they are on track to do just that.

• According to my sources within the company, Sandia National Laboratories (managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation – NYSE: LMT), have successfully built a bio compatible contact lens with working LEDs (see pics). They hope that future versions of the lens can act as a biomedical sensor, or provide a display that is superimposed on a person’s field of view. This technology is useful because drivers or pilots could see a vehicle’s speed projected onto the windshield, video-game companies could use the contact lenses to completely immerse players in a virtual world, and people on the go could surf the Internet on a midair virtual display screen that only they would be able to see.

• Synthetic telepathy, the foundations of which lie in neuroscience and signal processing, is based on reading electrical activity in the brain using an electroencephalograph, or EEG. Similar technology is being marketed as a way to control video games by thought. This technology was recently the subject of a $4 million grant awarded by the US Army Research Office. The intent is to develop a system that could equip soldiers with portable noninvasive brain imaging technology able to interpret thoughts related to speech and commands. The decoded thoughts could then be transmitted wirelessly. The lead researcher Michael D’Zmura, chair of the UCI Department of Cognitive Sciences, is confident that the technology can be made to work. There are technical hurdles that need to be overcome no doubt, but keep in mind that 20 years ago people would have thought that Skype and YouTube was impossible. If you think about it, synthetic telepathy is the way internet wi-fi and cell phones work - the only difference is that you have to physically move your mouth.

In an early success for the two-year, $19 million, Brain Machine Interfaces program, a research team led by Duke University neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis outfitted the brain of a small, South American owl monkey with 100 hair-like sensors. The sensors allowed the researchers to analyze the monkey’s neural impulses as the animal manipulated a joystick to match a cursor with a series of lights displayed on a nearby computer screen. The impulses were then converted into code that computers could understand. The monkey repeated the motion – only this time, two robotic arms (one in an adjacent room and another 600 miles away in a Boston laboratory) also moved in response to the wireless signals sent straight from the monkey’s brain. – http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1103/111003nj1.htm

Weapons and Armor Technology

MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) is a lightweight 40 mm semi-automatic, 6-shot grenade launcher manufactured in South Africa by Milkor

30 Years ago, the existence of a Stealth Bomber was the stuff of conspiracy theory. 20 years ago, space weapons were laughed at. 10 Years ago, the thought of killing enemies with remote controlled robots was silly. Today, the thought of killing each other off with beams of light or concentrated air or even the manipulation of the weather and tactical earthquakes is the stuff of science fiction. Or so your thought.

Two months ago, the US Air Force acknowledged that the RQ-170 actually exists. God only knows what else exists that you wont hear about for another decade. Force fields, invisibility for soldiers, and wirelessly transmitted explosives are confirmed government and university projects that have been underway. Here are just four of the companies that are at the cutting edge of combat.

Photo of the RQ-170 in Kandahar, Afghanistan

• General Atomics, the company that made the Predator and Reaper UAV drones in use in the Middle East, has a capacitor product line that includes energy storage, high energy density capacitors, high repetition rate pulse capacitors, DC filter capacitors, high frequency AC capacitors, and very high voltage capacitors. They are also producing fusion based, cryogenic, meltdown-proof reactors and advanced gas turbine technology. In other words, high tech weapons and facilities.

• Ceradyne (NASDAQ: CRDN) produces ceramic armor that has the same bullet proof effectiveness of steel, but is 70% lighter. Their plates of armor are light enough to fit aircraft, be worn as body armor in Iraq (I wore some) and can also be used to coat bullets. Check out this video from Ceradyne recently aired on the History Channel

• From the early 1900s until his death, Nikola Tesla (the dude that made those electric globes that look like lighting in a fishbowl) worked on plans for a directed-energy weapon. In 1937, he composed a treatise entitled “The Art of Projecting Concentrated Non-dispersive Energy through the Natural Media” concerning charged particle beams. You think the military would just sit on this and not develop the technology for a hundred years? “Project Pandora”,  conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research included externally induced auditory input from pulsed microwave audio-grams of words or oral sounds which create the effect of hearing voices that are not a part of the recipients own thought processes. Microwave pulses can also affect the skin and the dermis, the thick sensitive layer of skin and connective tissue beneath the epidermis that contains blood, lymph vessels, sweat glands, and nerve endings, generating a burn from as far as 700 yards. Directed energy weapons such as Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) Airborne Laser which can be mounted on a 747 jet is able to burn the skin off enemy missiles. They wont confirm or deny that these weapons are currently in operation.

Nikola Tesla

Even though higher level agencies wont confirm they use these technologies, the police force actively showcases them. The Active Denial System (ADS) is a strong millimeter-wave transmitter primarily used for crowd control. Defense contractor Raytheon has developed a smaller version of the ADS, the Silent Guardian. This stripped-down model is primarily marketed for use by law enforcement agencies, the military and other security providers. The system is operated and aimed with a joystick and aiming screen. The device can be used for targets up to 550 m away.

Travel Technology

Trains

When it comes to long distance land travel, Maglevs are the way of the future. Even in infancy, this new technology has the power to transform the way we travel. Videos can explain better than I can:

Space Planes

Virgin Galactic is a while away from going public, but has already gotten major money from some private investors (Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments is paying $280 million for a 32% stake in the business). This puts VG in the “top three” Virgin-owned companies, according to a spokesman, alongside Virgin Atlantic and gym chain Virgin Active. Personally, Branson has put $100 million into his space tourism company, which already has 300 people signed up at $200,000 per ticket. Keep an eye on this company, and jump on its IPO as soon as its available!

Automobiles

The Tesla Roadster

Its 2010. Wheres my flying car? Not quite here yet, however, we are getting close. To help solve our oil dependency and create more economically friendly car, Tesla Motors Inc. engineers and manufactures electric vehicles (EVs). It is currently the only automaker building and selling highway-capable EVs that are affordable and modern. Tesla Motors is currently developing the Model S, an all-electric family sedan with an anticipated base price of $57,400 or $49,900 after a US federal tax credit. It will have three battery pack options for a range of up to 300 miles per charge. Tesla has taken more than 1,500 reservations for the Model S and expects to begin production in late 2011 for the 2012 model-year. Currently, Tesla produces a $100,000 Roadster -the first production automobile to use lithium-ion battery cells and the first production EV to travel more than 200 miles (320 km) per charge.

When it comes to cars, my prediction is that as Maglev technology becomes more feasible, cars will be replaced by maglev transports or systems.  From the Discovery Channel website: Meet SkyTran, a proposed rapid transportation system that uses computer-controlled vehicles that use magnets to “levitate” from their rails. A passenger would enter a pod, type in where he or she wants to go, and the computer system would do the navigating (and driving). The pods would carry up to three people and travel up to 150 mph. The system would be computerized to deploy the pods to crowded areas, and smart enough to re-route to avoid traffic jams.

With no engine, tires or batteries, a SkyTran vehicle is small, light and aerodynamic. It consumes 1/10 the energy of a car, even at higher speeds.

Computer-controlled SkyTran vehicles, mechanically locked to micro-freeways (with no intersections) above the traffic, will be much safer than cars. In emergencies, their brakes can stop much faster than a car, since they are protected from weather inside the guideway shell. Because of the closer spacing this permits, a single guideway has the passenger capacity of a three-lane freeway.

When it comes to personal flight, Trek Aerospace has already invented a single pilot Exoskeleton Flying Vehicle (first image) with a top speed of 113 mph and a range of 184 miles. The retail price is $1.25 million USD, but expect the price to come waaay down as technology advances.

This next personal helicraft is the Hummel itwo passenger lightweight helicopter. When you’re done flying it folds into a box shape for easy storage and transportation.

Quality of Life Technology

How we live is usually determined by environment: Skyscrapers are the result of limited space, and with more and more people taking up less and less land, we will either have to build bigger, badder skyscrapers, or move off land. And with the increasing threat of climate change, we might have to make some major moves. Im talking about space stations and sea cities.

Mega Skyscrapers

A few years back, the Takenaka Corporation pitched Sky City 1000 as a solution to Tokyo’s land crunch. This 3,281-foot tower will accommodate approximately 36,000 full-time residents and 100,000 workers. To invest in them, you will need to buy Japan International Stock Funds. I talk about these in Part 4 of my post entitled Welcome to Wall Street.

Underwater Cities

Crescent Hydropolis Resorts PLC is the company behind the Hydropolis in Dubai – the world’s first luxury underwater hotel. It will include three elements: the land station, where guests will be welcomed, the connecting tunnel, which will transport people by train to the main area of the hotel, and the 220 suites within the submarine leisure complex. It is one of the largest contemporary construction projects in the world, and could pave the way for more advanced undersea structures.

Facial Recognition Technology

Facial recognition technology is going to be used to enable future homes to identify and interact with specific residents. For example, wall-mounted sensors will identify you as you  enter the bathroom set the shower to your favorite temperature, remind you to take your medication, and recite your goals back to you while you brush your teeth in the morning. In addition, future homes will use a combination of voice and facial recognition technology to let homeowners inside, making house keys obsolete. “What’s a house key?” The kids won’t even know what that is 20 years from now. This technology could be included in the average newly constructed home by 2019 and retrofitted into most existing homes by 2024. Facial recognition is already being used by some people by companies like Brillertek to let you log into your accounts just by taking a picture of your face with your webcam!

Wrap

So now that you have taken a glimpse into the companies that are powering the future, put your bid in and invest. These could be the Googles, Microsofts, and Wal-Marts of this decade and beyond!

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