Quote of the Day: Alan Kay on Time & Perspective

We often believe the future is a forecast, something smarter people and bigger forces will reveal to us in time. But Alan Kay offers a more demanding, more hopeful truth: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” It’s not a slogan for tech bros or dreamers, it’s a decision to trade passive anticipation for active creation.

Predicting can become a sophisticated form of procrastination. We read trends, wait for clarity, and call hesitation “being realistic.” Kay’s line cuts through that fog: if you want a different outcome, build the conditions that make it possible. The future isn’t just what happens to you; it’s what you repeatedly choose, design, and ship, one draft, one conversation, one experiment at a time.

Practically, this mindset turns uncertainty into a workbench. Instead of asking, “What will the market do?” ask, “What can I make useful today?” Instead of “Will I feel confident later?” ask, “What action earns confidence now?” Agency grows through small acts of courage: proposing the idea, making the prototype, sending the email, practicing the skill. Inventing your future is less about grand revelation and more about consistent iterations.

This isn’t abstract philosophy coming from an armchair. Alan Kay helped pioneer object-oriented programming and shaped the vision of personal computing, influencing how generations would learn, create, and collaborate through technology.

Today, pick one future you want, healthier, calmer, braver, more creative, and “invent” a 20-minute version of it: write the first page, build the rough mockup, take the walk, make the call, outline the plan, and commit to one act of leadership in your own life. May you leave today with something real in your hands that didn’t exist this morning.