On Christmas Day I enjoyed the opportunity of spending some time with my Dad's side of the family in Louisville. After the night was winding down and the presents had been opened, my cousin let us have a sneak preview of a short film he had been working on for the Derby Film Festival. "Hindsight 2020" took place in the year 2020 and looks at what our country could look like if certain things keep on progressing as they are. At the end, the room was completely silent. My cousin Bryan had all made us think.

Using hours upon hours of research, Bryan used real historical quotes from Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and cited real legislation from earlier days that helped back up his 1984-esque prediction of a potential fall of the USA. One portion towards the end shows a reporter describing how the whole situation (in the movie) would've been avoided had the USA just taken a look at how the Roman Empire had fallen way back when.

How easy is it for us to always be looking ahead? Looking into the future is almost something I'm obsessed with. I over-indulge myself in seeing what the newest trends in technology and business are, which isn't necessarily a bad thing being a B2B marketer by trade. I also carry this trend in my personal life, always looking ten steps ahead before making any decision.

Not to say these are bad traits at all. It's could to anticipate future events in order that we aren't caught off-guard. However, I do think it is easy to neglect taking the time to look at our past. I'm just as guilty. History can be one of our most valuable teachers of the future. All events in life are cause-effect relationships and history can help us visualize what could happen in the future. Hitler attacked Russia in the wintertime and failed. He could've avoided failure had he looked at an earlier attempt by Napoleon attempting - and failing - at the same task. Hitler was so focused on the future that he failed to look behind him. Thankfully he did ultimately fail.

It brings a point home for me to not only take more time reading this year but take more looks at history. I aim to be a better student of what's already happened in our world. Our forefathers have already made mistakes. It'd be silly for us to repeat them.

As for my cousin Bryan Dobson's short film? If you're in the Louisville area, check it out at the Derby Film Festival. It will hopefully see some air time in other film fests around the country. Learn more (and "Like") the fan page for it by clicking here.

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