When Martin Luther King fought for racial equality, he was being idealistic. When Florence Nightingale worked for better medical care, she was being idealistic. When Malala Yousafzai protested against her education being taken, she was being idealistic. But in the end, it turned out that these idealists were realists too. Because they all made change […]
Monthly Archives: May 2020
It’s not OK that we’re not OK
You’re probably familiar with the phrase, “it’s OK not to be OK.” It’s so popular, it’s in mental health campaigns, hashtags, and even pop songs. I live with depression myself, and this phrase helps on the bad days. It’s OK not to be OK because sometimes the world is too much for us. Then, it’s […]
When will the economy be big enough?
Can you imagine if people could grow forever? If, instead of becoming an adult, we just kept on getting taller and taller and bigger and bigger until we died? What would we need to sustain ourselves if we kept on growing throughout our 20s, 30s, 60s, 80s? We’d need more food; more clothes too. More […]
5 reasons to apply design thinking to the economy
As a design student, I learnt that design was all about solving problems. The problem might be frivolous (I want better packaging to sell more fish fingers) or serious (I want to convince more people to get tested for cancer), but there’s always a problem. And whilst creativity is key to finding great solutions, solving […]
The ‘no cookies in the house’ philosophy
I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m a 36-year-old man who can be defeated by a cookie. Any cookie really, but Chocolate Hob Nobs are my favourites. If I have them in the house, I always have a niggling voice at the back of my mind saying, “Just have them now! You’re going to eat […]
The fear behind the phrase ‘just enough’
Have you ever stopped to think about the phrase ‘just enough’? We use it all the time – “I’ve got just enough to make this recipe” “He’s done just enough to pass the exam” “They have just enough money to get by” Whenever we use it, we’re implying a negative situation – sure, you have enough, […]
The radical act of aiming lower
“I’ve got a meeting with a new client on Tuesday.” I was talking to someone I trust about an impending business opportunity. “I’m reading about the project tomorrow to see if it sounds interesting,” I continued. “I’m already over capacity. But I’ve been thinking and I don’t want to grow the business.” A confused look […]
Marie Kondo, you’re tackling the wrong problem
We have TV shows that teach people how to throw away all the unnecessary stuff they’ve bought. But not that teach people to buy less things they don’t need in the first place. Perhaps it’s only appealing to learn about throwing away things after the pleasure of buying them? Whereas learning about controlling your purchases […]
Life is too valuable to be ruled by a spreadsheet
Budgeting is something that sensible people do. Right? Idiots (like me) just get by on a wing and a prayer, without really much of a plan for their money. That’s something I’ve been wanting to change for some time, but something has never sat quite right with me about budgeting. And I think I’ve finally […]
We are all developing countries
Rising rates of depression and anxiety. Politicians telling lies and undermining the free press. Unprecedented levels of consumer waste and pollution. People freezing to death in winter. I’m not talking about some far-flung failed state. These points could describe the UK, US, China, and – frankly – probably any developed country in the world. If this is […]