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I celebrated my 50th birthday six months ago. This is only noteworthy because I actually hit 50 two whole years ago! But you know how things are. Life gets in the way, and if not for my wonderful wife, my 50th celebrations would probably have coincided with my 60th!
As for this blog, well it’s also been a little delayed. I wish I could say I’ve been trekking in the Himalayas in search of enlightenment. Or locked away writing an epic, sweepingly historical novel like a 21st century Tolstoy. Or even just busy working on that one project of a lifetime that’s so exciting and so revolutionary it’s occupied my every waking moment. In fact, I have several exciting projects on the go. That’s why I love my job! But the real reason I’ve not been writing my blog is more mundane. When you have plenty of rewarding work to do, as well as a family and friends you enjoy spending time with, there’s always something that seems more important or enjoyable than sitting down in front of that blank screen.
An opportunity to think afresh
Like most of you, I’ve been spending a lot more time at home in recent weeks, and I’m sure I’m not the only one to have thought of taking the COVID-19 lockdown as an opportunity to catch up on things. Like filling up that blank screen. But it’s also been an opportunity to think afresh about what this blog is for. A global pandemic certainly forces us to take stock and consider what really matters. It’s a chance to question the way we do things, to ask if our daily, unthinking routines before the crisis really reflected our priorities in life.
But then I never intended this blog to be something I did out of habit – that was why it was so easy to let it slip! I’m relaunching it to share the insights and ideas that inspire me to think differently and to see the world in new and exciting ways. Those insights and ideas often come from exceptional entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators I have the privilege to rub shoulders with every day (or, these days, catch up with via Zoom of course!). But they are just as likely to come from artists, writers, political leaders or athletes.
True heroes are among us
Wherever human beings are striving to achieve something, there are examples to follow, insights to glean, stories to learn from. Right now, the heroes of the hour are all the brave men and women working tirelessly in our healthcare systems, the medical researchers working on a vaccine for COVID-19; the frontline carers diligently (and bravely) tending to the sick; the supermarket (and other critical infrastructure) staff working hard to keep us all supplied with the daily (or, better, weekly!) essentials – and also thinking creatively about how to do so while keeping us all safe.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be thinking and writing about people like those, but I’ll also cast the net wider to consider ideas and insights that have nothing to do with the current crisis. Life goes on, and it’s up to all of us to play our part in making the world a better place not just today, but in the years and decades to come.
I’ve always been focused on impact and working with entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators to turn their passions into businesses that improve the world. After an extended break, I’m now freshly enthusiastic about sharing the ideas that inspire me to do that every day. I hope you’ll join me on this journey; one of the few journeys we can make right now without needing to leave the room!
