Tag Archives: Inspiration

Patrick Moore: a life of learning and inspiration

It was a long journey to school, by car, then train and, finally, a walk. In winter months, for added adventure and to uphold the somewhat antiquated view of building character, we still wore shorts, leading to the little known … Continue reading

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Learning from others: inspiration and the power of biography

It’s great to make mistakes and learn from them, but surely better to learn from the mistakes of others. This is part of the enduring power of biographies: to understand how people have achieved things in their lives and to … Continue reading

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Inspiration through stories: what drives you to learn?

Stories are powerful: establishing commonality and pulling us into different emotional states with their immediacy and power. Stories are a great way of sharing ideas and vision and a great tool to use in learning. Which made me thing about … Continue reading

Posted in Adventure, Book, Communication, Community, Engagement, Learning, Stories, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The value of unique. Why i never met Ranulph Fiennes, but still bought his book.

A lot of things are impersonal these days. Dealing with my bank, booking a holiday online, even sitting in this coffee shop surrounded by silent strangers. Last night i was walking through Westbourne, past the bookshop, when i saw a … Continue reading

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Building a boat: functional and aesthetic aspects of design.

I spent time yesterday walking by the Broads, the great expanse of waterways that run through East Anglia. There are still quite a number of boatbuilders active from small yards by the side of the water, many of them working … Continue reading

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Cross pollination. Why generalising can be a great thing.

I’d have to throw my hands up to admit to being a generalist. I flit happily between disciplines, peeking over the edge of the abyss at the vast range of knowledge, picking out a few choice pieces, then retreating to … Continue reading

Posted in Creative, Excitement, Generalist, Ideas, Inspiration, Introspection, Reflection, Sharing, Technology, Thinking | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The role of the leader. Reflecting on the life of Steve Jobs and his legacy.

It would be impossible to let today pass without paying tribute to Steve Jobs, the charismatic leader who drove Apple to it’s pinnacle of success and who, to a greater or lesser extent, changed how we all think about and … Continue reading

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Leader of the pack. Can you learn Leadership?

Revisiting the thorny question today of whether ‘leadership’ is teachable. Is it something that you can learn to do, or is it something you naturally are: a leader? Sure, you can teach techniques and processes, you can even inspire and … Continue reading

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Where do good ideas come from? Inspiration and innovation.

Good ideas don’t often fall out of the sky. They tend to have a foundation in the immediate, but extend their reach into wider possibility. Ideas are how we explore the unknown and seek to create order out of the … Continue reading

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Ignorance is bliss. How to avoid learning to fail.

Tim Smit is the man who dreamt of the Eden Project and made it a reality. Eden is an inspiring location and ethos, a ravaged clay pit transformed into a botanical utopia. It’s the archetypal success story, the vision that … Continue reading

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