Rural Spain, 1920s. Two characters have just met in Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises. Each one is trying to figure out what the other is doing there. One of them cuts to the chase, asking the other, ‘How did you go bankrupt?’ The other responds, ‘Two ways. Gradually, and then suddenly’.* So often this tempo of change – gradually and then suddenly …
Help – My baby is ugly!
Every time I write a deeply personal blog I get wracked by self-doubt. On a self-doubt scale ranging from ‘a smidgen’ to ‘paralysing’, this leans far towards the latter. I always question whether this will be valuable for my readers? Am I getting too personal (it’s a blog – not group therapy!). I feel vulnerable and fear being judged. I …
Your inner guerilla
What if you looked out of your window and saw acres of unmown public land? Overgrown because the city had run out of funds and could no longer afford the upkeep of its public spaces? If you are Tom Nardone the answer is obvious. You jump on your lawnmower and start mowing the public parks yourself. Before you know it, …
The ‘Whole’ truth or daredevil?
We all love stories of human endeavour, especially when an underdog beats the odds and triumphs over adversity. We admire the person, heavily invest in their success and learn from their wisdom. In a world filled with bad news, these good news stories offer a rare beacon of hope. This seemed apparent when Belle Gibson’s story emerged. Belle depicted herself as a …
Expectations, empathy and elephants
Recently I hurt my left eye. Unfortunately it happened when I harmlessly rubbed it, rather than during a swashbuckling misadventure! My eye was inflamed and red and of course it happened to be smack-bang in a week when I had a helluva lot on. Worst of all, the very next day I was presenting an all-day workshop for a client who had …