James Wallman

London

James Wallman

London

Brief update Sep 2015:

— Hello, how are you? If you're interested in knowing what the future holds, or in creating a better, happier, healthier, more profitable, sustainable and positive world, get in touch. Maybe we can work together to make it happen.

— I wrote the best-selling book Stuffocation.

— This pic is from Port Eliot Festival, summer 2015, with my wife and kids. I gave a talk there about the big idea in Stuffocation — that we have too much stuff, and we're better off giving up materialism for what I call "experientialism": instead of looking for happiness, identity, status and meaning in material goods, we should find them in experiences instead.

— My activism is in making the "Experience Revolution" happen. It's like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, but instead of making people healthier by nudging them to eat less unhealthy food, eat more healthy food, I want to make people happier, by nudging them to spend ever less of their focus, energy and money on material stuff, and ever more on experiences instead.

— My futurism is through a think tank I founded called The Future Is Here. We think about what's coming, and help governments, organisations, established companies and startups be better prepared for the future, and create a better future.

— I've given talks and held workshops from Amsterdam to Beijing, California and New York, to companies including Absolut, BMW, and Google. I've been interviewed on BBC One, BBC Two (Newsnight), MSNBC, Radio 4, Radio 2, and many more.

Here's a bit more about me:

— I've written for newspapers including the Guardian, The Times, the Financial Times and The New York Times. And for magazines including the New York Magazine, Men's Health, Esquire and GQ. I was the futurology columnist at T3. I've been writing about trends and the future since 2004. I ran a consultancy called The Future Laboratory's forecasting division.

— In the line of duty, I've interviewed the victims of serious crime and a woman who wanted to marry her alarm clock (for GQ). I've met terrorists in Uganda (for CNN Traveller) and was frozen to -120° dressed only in my underpants (for The Telegraph).

— I previously worked in France, Greece, and Silicon Valley. I've been a mountain guide, sold advertising, bought advertising, won awards in advertising, and did the dotcom startup thing.

  • Education
    • Oxford University
    • University of the Arts, London