Verne Wheelwright is a different kind of futurist. Most futurists focus on the big picture; the future of the world, the future of society or an institution, but Verne is a “micro-futurist”, focusing on personal and individual futures, one person at a time. 

Verne became interested in Future Studies after taking a class in World Futures at the University of Houston. He continued on and earned a Master’s Degree there. He was convinced that the methods used by futurists were valid and effective, but in application, they were applied primarily to business and government, and the process was considered too complex for individuals. As a result, he enrolled in Ph.D. research in order to develop a workable system for applying futures methods to individual lives. 

While conducting his research and writing his dissertation, Verne published a number of articles related to personal futures, including an article “Your Personal Future: A Step-by-Step Guide” that appeared in The Futurist. The article explains how use futures methods to explore your own future.  

He has written the Personal Futures Workbook to guide individuals through the futuring process. The newest version of the workbook is digital (PDF) and can completed and saved on a computer.