Having just experienced the Journey to 100 event, I can honestly say that I am even more convinced of the power of small nations to help the world to make significant breakthroughs. If you watch the talks, you can see that small nations such as Guernsey are truly capable of achieving systemic breakthroughs, like becoming […]
Celebrate Your Bright Spots
By June 7, 2017 1 Comment
‘Celebrate Your Bright Spots.’ This phrase came from fellow community changemaker, Greg Tehven, and it is one that has stayed with me. Greg and others’ work is nothing short of incredible in Fargo, North Dakota – a place that is managing to reinvent itself without (what Greg calls) ‘distractions’: no stunning scenery, mountains or beaches […]
The Journey to 100
By May 31, 2017 4 Comments
What is it, to live a long and healthy life? Mark Twain famously said “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” I remember the day I found my ‘why’. It was November 4th, 2010. I had an epiphany – creating such […]
The Moment
By July 20, 2016 5 Comments
I can recognise in people’s eyes the moment that changes everything. That moment when the fear inside becomes less pressing than the desire to make a difference. I remember my own moment, just over 3 years ago, when the power of possibility and necessity burst through my own fear of stepping out into the world […]
The Best Place to Live on Earth
By July 7, 2016 5 Comments
Just over 3 years ago, my co-founder, Jock, and I first conceived the project to make Guernsey the best place to live on earth by 2020. We were having coffee outside, by the sea, on a beautiful day, observing people walking to and from their workplaces, ignoring the wonder of what was around them. Both […]
The Prophet
By June 29, 2016 10 Comments
You’re never a prophet in your own land. That’s what I tell people who are trying to make changes in my own community. I often see the frustration of people trying to make ideas happen – expecting people to just listen to reason and logic. What they don’t realise is that within your own community, […]
Letting It Flow
By June 22, 2016 4 Comments
Most mornings, I walk my faithful hound along beside a stream, towards a field of dandelions. Daily, it is a therapeutic and life-resetting journey for me. The stream serves as a constant reminder to go with the flow, rather than swimming against the current. Following this principle is key to our project to make Guernsey […]
More Human
By October 28, 2015 19 Comments
I was recently recommended a book called More Human by Steve Hilton. It talks about the many ways we can design a world in which humans come first. All our institutions – from government to business; our lives; our education; our food; our health systems – have all become too big, impersonal and industrialised. The […]
Making the Pan Boil
By October 14, 2015 4 Comments
I often use a particular analogy to describe the work I do. I talk about ‘making the pan boil’. I see every new idea or solution that progresses the world as heat in the system. I see the world as a big bathtub and all the solutions around the world gently heating that bathtub. Because […]
The Impact Pledge
By August 19, 2015 10 Comments
There often comes a time in many people’s lives when they have achieved success, made a great deal of money and they now feel that they want to ‘give back’ to society and to those less fortunate than themselves. But I wonder about the efficacy of philanthropy in general – whereby trusts and foundations are […]