Of course we all dream of being successful, but do we have what it takes to achieve top goals? Skill sets, like other things in life, come in patterns or trends. What was needed to be successful in the 1950s is certainly different than what's needed today.

Today and tomorrow, Promotional Consultant Today shares these six critical skills for success as identified by futurist Thomas Frey.

1. Distraction Management. The average smartphone user checks his phone over 220 times a day, and total addicts will actually check over 900 times in a day. Texting is the most frequently used app on a smartphone, with 97 percent of Americans using it at least once a day, and the average Millennial exchanging 67 texts a day. Plus, the average person has five social media accounts and spends about one hour and 40 minutes a day checking their status and posting updates.

And with all these distractions, let's not forget video. During peak hours, more than 70 percent of the bandwidth for the internet is dedicated to video streaming, with Netflix and YouTube sucking up more than half of that bandwidth.

With all of these outlets, how do you manage your time, your family and friends, and even your job? Distraction management will be a critical skill for successful people to master over the coming years.

2. Emerging Skills Management. How long will it be before you need to know how to pilot a flying drone? If you flippantly say "never," how will your thinking change when you've just been laid off from your job and all your friends are getting high-paying jobs as drone pilots?

Or, maybe the hot, new job will be designing parts for 3D printers or working as a crowdfunding consultant or apps expert for smart clothing? More than half of the jobs of today's college students haven't been created yet. Maintain a pulse on future technology and trends so you can develop skills that will be applicable in tomorrow's workplace.

3. Communication Management. Where do you get your news today? Perhaps some of you still turn to newspapers, magazines and the radio. But a growing number are finding digital substitutes like Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube for their go-to news sources.

And when it comes to those daily and weekly contacts with family and friends, have you ditched the traditional phone call for Skype, Facetime or Google Hangouts?

Yet with all of these options, when it comes to the workplace, one-to-one or one-to-many verbal communication is still a company's most prized skill. How do you incorporate these new forms of communication and keep up with both business contacts and family? Effective ways of managing our communication channels is a critical skill currently not being taught in school.

Do you get the picture? As Ferris Bueller said in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

We must learn to manage these developments and distractions in order to get the most of our future.

Learn about more critical skills you'll need for future success in tomorrow's issue of PCT.

Source: Thomas Frey is the senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute, and Google's top-rated futurist speaker. Unlike most speakers, Frey works closely with his board of visionaries to develop original research studies. This enables him to speak on unusual topics and translate trends into unique business opportunities.