InCourage vlog

We might believe we will be remembered by WHAT it is that we have accomplished in our lives, but we likely will be remember more by WHO we are and how we have touched the lives of others around us. The toungue-in-cheek maxim of the eulogy you never hear "He wished he could have spent more time at the office" resonates for all of us who need to stop and ask "Why am I here?" and " What is really important". This vlog takes place in Italy amongst the most impressive artists, poets, explorers, scientists and other "thought leaders" to ever grace our planet, but it was my nephew Christopher that taught me, it is the people that touch you personally that matter much more than the accomplished celebrities we admire (and worship).

Albert Einstein said that it takes very smart people to solve problems, but it takes wise people to prevent them. This vlog is drawing the distinction between the expertise in individuals we typically value in business and society and the wisdom that is in "the commons". Karl Hendrick-Robert of the Natural Step calls the drilling down of expertise in individuals reductivism if there is no collaboration amonst the experts. It is high time corporations, ngos, all levels of government, international institutions start working together - or we will draw the same fate of the Mayans.

The story of Easter Island is the story of the unsustainable depletion of natural resources on a (very) limited land mass trying to support a (rapidly) growing population. Many suggest this story is repeating itself - more quickly and globally. Will we have the courage to face certain facts about what say we value, and how we behave? Knowing what we know about collapsed civilizations, will have the courage to choose to unlearn an unsustainable path of destruction? Or will we choose different metrics of 'success' for a new way to work and to live?

For too long we have been falsely seeking stability at the expense of resiliency. When people and businesses become 'stable', they stagnate. Even, and perhaps especially, when they are enjoying high rates of growth. You become a 'victim of your success' when you're too busy counting the cash pouring in and can't change fast enough when the tap starts to drip.

A resilient company and society is one focused on continuous change. They change well before they are forced to. If your organization was working on 'what's next' versus applying more steam to whatever success that has now had its day, then you are much closer to being resilient and your ability to weather these economic storms is not so daunting. Complex systems lose resilience when they cannot adapt and learn -- or perhaps more importantly, unlearn. The challenge of the day in my mind is for us all to set aside and get beyond our current concepts of success in order to make space for new and different ways to operate.

In complex situations there are no final answers. Clarity, objective metrics and control is what business strives for, but it is not the reality of complex living systems. Are we relying too much on our leaders and experts to have all the answers? If one thing is clear that has resulted from our fiscal malaise, the 'experts' who did not predict them mess we are in, really don't know the way out.

No one knows that more than the people of Iceland.

Prosperity and abundance has been the norm for many that are now facing a new reality of adversity.  For many, the new challenges at work and at life require a sustained determination.  This vlog is telling the story of my trek with my daughter Alannah on the Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand, and the determination she had to find to finish it.  I know - stories of pushing through adversity are not new, but in these times, few would argue they are not needed.

This vlog is my attempt to have viewers reflect on our complex world, and the many other questions and callings we are all faced with regularly.

They have been inspired by my travels to lost civilizations and developing ones and by the people I have met along the way, especially our youth. This does not classify these blogs as travelogues. I have merely used my place as pilgrim to learn and try to make sense of my world. In my experience, travellers savour the world. In doing so, they want to save the world too.