Category — Stuff we love

Like about ¼ of the planet, I tuned into the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony on the weekend. Let’s face it. I’m a complete sucker when it comes to the Olympics. And having kd lang sing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” surrounded by 10s of 1000s of glowing lights did not do much to change that! [Read more →]

A bit over a year ago, through a course in Professional Development, I met Lucy. She and I had teamed up to be each other’s “coaches” in the course, so naturally enough, we got to know each other pretty well over the following couple of months.

It turned out that Lucy and I had a great deal in common – our taste in books, film and music, our passion for good food, our profession in marketing and above all, our love of travel.

At the time, we were both caught in a cross-roads in our lives and careers. We talked a lot about our priorities in life and what actions we could take to live our lives more in keeping with these priorities. Somehow through all this, we decided that both of us needed to be more like the person we were on holidays. [Read more →]

I have just returned from a last minute Christmas shopping trip to Knox. While this would normally be a nightmare for me (and most other people) two days before Christmas, I was surprised to find it a somewhat “spiritual” experience. [Read more →]

In my research about journals, I have noticed an increasingly large number of memory books on the market.

One in particular struck me by its honesty and the depth of questioning it contained – “Memento”, by Michael McQueen www.mementobook.com . Inspired by finding a small notebook his recently deceased father had written, which contained a wealth of stories and experiences from his father’s life, the author contacted all his friends and contacts with one simple question, “What do you wish you could ask a loved one who is no longer alive?” The results of his survey are contained in the book. [Read more →]

I really must stop going into bookshops.

My most recent expedition into Readings led to (yet another) an interesting discovery.

How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Art Life Museum by Keri Smith (inspired by any number of other artists, writers and thinkers). If you ever have writer’s block or are in need of creative inspiration, this is a gem. [Read more →]

Every now and then, I see something on TV or read a book that really blows my mind. (Currently this seems to be happening about once a fortnight. What does that mean for my mind, I wonder?)

The show How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer (5/6 of it is available on YouTube, Part 1 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcCpEf6_Ofg – yes, it is frustrating that it’s missing the last 1/6!) was one of these moments.

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I am fascinated by neuroscience.

After reading pretty much everything Daniel Goleman ever wrote (he’s the emotional intelligence guy – next time you lose the plot, blame him – or your amygdala), I discovered a really interesting book on brain plasticity, The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge www.normandoidge.com.

While this book contains some really interesting stuff all the way through, what was of most interest to me was about kids and electronic media in the Appendices. As a parent in a digital age, it really got me thinking… [Read more →]

Starting a business is a mix of stuff – confusing, revealing, energising (providing you’re not awake at 4am most nights, like I tend to do) and frustrating. [Read more →]