“If you are giving back, then you took too much.” These are my favourite words spoken at TEDGlobal by the genius maverick entrepreneur Ricardo Semler. I also reflect on the words of Peter Diamandis (Co-Founder of Singularity University and The X-Prize) at the recent Singularity Summit in Amsterdam: “If you want to make a billion […]
The Open Door
By January 8, 2015 8 Comments
I look on 2015 as an open door. A door I have looked at for some time, holding back. And yet, somehow I know I will find the courage to walk through. I always do. I look back at every other door I have walked through, valuing the lessons and the experience. I think about […]
It’s Time To Blackmail Yourself
By December 29, 2014 5 Comments
Over the last three years, I’ve worked tirelessly to improve my city (Fargo, North Dakota), to shift its global image and create something special for my community of friends. We’ve had a tremendous amount of success, with glowing local and national attention, plenty of nights with the fondest of memories to fill a scrapbook, and […]
A Moment of Zen Could Be The Answer
By December 3, 2014 5 Comments
I’ve just had my first Zen moment in Japan. For a while now, I’ve been wrestling with what to do next with my life. Something we all face, at some stage. I’m staying on the sacred island of Shikoku – hot springs and 88 main temples, plus 20 minor temples, to make up the magical […]
The Kindness Virus
By October 29, 2014 11 Comments
Last week, I received a masterclass from one of the most remarkable human beings I have ever had the pleasure to spend time with. That man was John Sweeney,, the Founder of Suspended Coffees: a fast-growing worldwide movement that has positively impacted hundreds of thousands of lives with random acts of kindness. A suspended coffee […]
Burning Man – The Extraordinary In The Ordinary
By September 10, 2014 6 Comments
Last month, around 65,000 people met in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for Burning Man which, to me, is one of the greatest events on earth. I was lucky enough to be there with a group of 15 people from all over the world. I am not going to try to explain what Burning […]
Mincome & Mass Unemployment
By September 3, 2014 9 Comments
I recently described my employment status as ‘Self-unemployed’. I am not retired and I don’t earn a living. I am just pursuing what I love to do, while I have the resources to do it. Because of the freedom I have, I am able to focus my entire time on making a difference. I am […]
The Faster Horse
By August 27, 2014 6 Comments
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses’.” This quote from Henry Ford has more relevance now than ever. The gap between what is already possible for humanity and what is actually being delivered is widening every day. We are trapped in a world with governments aspiring only to […]
Build Peaks – Don’t Fill Troughs
By August 13, 2014 5 Comments
There is no ‘one size fits all’ way to do things. I see so many people trying to be someone they are not. There is this belief out there that things should be hard; should be a struggle and you ‘should’ be a certain way. I don’t really buy it. Any struggle provides information that […]
The Power of Safe Spaces
By July 30, 2014 12 Comments
One of the things I have come to recognise in recent times is the power of safe spaces. Without them, we cannot explore our full potential. To me, a safe space is somewhere you can explore whatever you want to explore, freely and without consequence. It can be a crash mat when you are learning […]