promised myself then that if my sight came back, I would find my purpose. I knew I’d gone completely off my path and become a really depressed and irritable person. I was very lucky, and my sight did return, so I developed my own personal development course – ‘Emergency Zen’ – which I still run. And then I started to work out what I really wanted to do with my life. Nursing made my heart sing, especially the emergency side, and I had a lot of other life and business skills as well. I realised that I wanted to help people living under dire stress in the hell holes of the world – people who didn’t have a safety net. But it was only when my daug... posted on Feb 11 2016 (12,772 reads)

WARY OF EGO Arrogance can develop within artists, either from artists who believe that their status makes them more important, or those whose association with a creative field entitles them to some sort of superiority. Beware of ego; creativity cannot flow when only the ego is served. WORK TOWARDS A BUSINESS WITHOUT BORDERS The medical field has an organization called Doctors Without Borders. This lofty effort can serve as a model for transcending the limitations and strategies of old business formulas which are designed to perpetuate old systems in the guise of new ones. We’re speaking directly to a system that’s in place, a system that conditions consumers to purchase... posted on Mar 16 2016 (17,451 reads)

monitors for years. Nobody bought one. Dell came out with MP3 players and PDAs, and they make great quality products, and they can make perfectly well-designed products -- and nobody bought one. In fact, talking about it now, we can't even imagine buying an MP3 player from Dell. Why would you buy one from a computer company? But we do it every day. People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe. Here's the best part: None of what I'm telling you is my opin... posted on Jun 20 2016 (23,586 reads)

and intuitive connection to the world went into overdrive like a sixth sense. When his hearing was surgically restored two years later, the medical miracle ignited his passion for music and science which he channeled into his wildly successful 30+ year career as the CEO of the world’s largest and most-awarded audio communications agency, Elias Arts.  It's from this uniquely intuitive and empirical place that he stands against the conventional economic thinking that businesses exist simply to make a profit. Scott’s work is a force for bringing out the very heart and soul of business.  By designing for love in some of the world’s biggest comp... posted on Mar 16 2017 (8,102 reads)

the Post-Autistic Economics Network, a virtual gathering space for those working for greater pluralism in economic thinking. This network, whose web page speaks of a commitment to ‘sanity, humanity, science’, is in many ways a powerful counter to the neo-liberal orthodoxy.3 As the journey branched out further, I found myself in the company of computer visionaries who led the free software and open source movement which has expanded creative freedoms and challenged conventional business models. It has done this by demonstrating that cooperation is, in many situations, a far more powerful mechanism than the command and control approach on which much of conventional business o... posted on May 10 2017 (7,307 reads)

businessman Edmund F. Benson, together with his wife Susan, declined to rest on their laurels when their well-earned retirement began.  Instead, the energetic and service-committed couple in some ways just began (again) their service journeys during their golden years.  They devoted their retirement to establishing the ARISE Foundation in 1986, a global skills-teaching program for at-risk youth.  The Foundation has had a remarkable history and impact, from its initial focus on environmental education for young people to now addressing a range of needs for the young, the elderly, and many populations in between. What follows is the edited transcript of an Awakin Call in... posted on Nov 1 2017 (8,436 reads)

[Mas] was born in Japan and grew up there in the 1950s. He came to the U.S., arriving in San Francisco in 1970. He remembers the day, March 1st. He was 21 years old.—R. Whittaker works:  What was your first impression? Masahiro Nakajima:  Kind of freedom, was my first impression. My friend, Japanese second generation, picked me up and drove to his house in Hayward. works:  Did you feel constrained in some way in Japan? Mas:  Yes, especially by family business obligations and expectations. And in 1970, Tokyo was very crowded, I mean terribly crowded all over. And transportation was not good—like China right now, with smog all over. works: ... posted on Dec 4 2017 (27,456 reads)

follows is the transcript of an Awakin Call interview with Sr. Marilyn Lacey in August of 2019. You can listen to the recording of the entire call here.  Mercy Beyond Borders Micro-Ent moms in Uganda grateful for their business loans Pavi Mehta: Now it's my pleasure to introduce Sister Marilyn, who just flew in from Haiti six hours ago and graciously joined us this morning. Sister Marilyn Lacey is the Founder and Executive Director of Mercy Beyond Borders, a nonprofit organization that partners with displaced women and children overseas to alleviate their poverty. She's been a Sister of Mercy since 1966 and holds a Master's degree in Social Work from ... posted on May 6 2021 (3,613 reads)

think we have to love our sense of place, and champion the heck out of it,” says Greg Tehven, who is turning the world of economic development on its head and inviting people to build the communities they want to live in. Confronted with the business failings of his beloved hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, he asked himself what the community could offer to the public, that would help get it back on its feet. An unexpected answer surfaced, based on the city's small population and open spaces: drones! Fargo now hosts an annual drone conference attracting attendees from around the world. The town has quickly become an appealing city for college graduates, business leaders, an... posted on May 11 2020 (3,425 reads)

do business and spirituality meet? How does one use creativity to unite? How might we walk our unique path in solving problems outside and dissolving the ego inside?    A weekday brand-consultant, a weekend rock-climber, author during nights and a lifetime seeker of Truth -- Kiran Khalap’s journey is a striking example of a life of emergence which defies linear planning.  At the early age of 17, when most are concerned about grades and friends, Kiran’s strongest yearning was “to know the Truth”. He read most contemporary philosophers and ancient scriptures, but finally it was J Krishnamurti’s words which c... posted on Sep 25 2020 (4,555 reads)

He is the author of the book Emotional Intelligence, a book that has more than 5 million copies in print worldwide, in 40 languages. And recently, has been released as a special 25th Anniversary Edition. And Dan has written a new introduction to this 25th Anniversary Edition. Dan is also a faculty member of Sounds True’s new Inner MBA program, which is a nine-month immersion training program on developing the inner skills that support people to manage and lead conscious businesses and turn business into being a force for good. You can learn more about the Inner MBA program at innermbaprogram.com. Dan Goleman has a supremely precise mind and a warm heart.... posted on Jun 28 2021 (5,735 reads)

taking a break. It’s more about investigating how we can commune with the world around us. It’s about investigating what it means to eat together, is about investigating grief as activism, loss as a way of researching our entanglements with the world around us. I would probably even think of it as an ento-epistemological Sabbath, like a Sabbath, but not just a Sabbath that is once a week, but a Sabbath that has come into the world, ushered into the realm of things and disturbed the business as usual. A Sabbath that imposes itself on the business as usual and insists on rest and a deeper rest is what I speak about. Let us make sanctuary, is my invitation. It’s not just m... posted on Jun 16 2022 (2,543 reads)

the life stage of the human family? When you look at the behavior of the whole human family, do you think we are behaving like toddlers, adolescents, adults or elders?” After asking the question there would often be a few moments of silence and then the room would explode into conversation. After a few minutes, I would then ask people to take a vote so we could learn from our collective wisdom. Invariably, a consistent response would come back: Whether it was schoolteachers in India, business leaders in Brazil, students in Europe and the US, a common response came back. Roughly three-quarters of audiences would vote that we are in our adolescence as a species. When I asked people ... posted on Jan 6 2021 (5,551 reads)

me, which by itself is a big testimonial in this community. He briefly intros me as someone he tried to convince to take the commercial route, but didn't succeed. :) In short, he tells people -- "Look, this is going to be way off the wall for you but you better listen up. This guy has done stuff and I'm vouching for him." It was a big risk for him to put me up in front of this crowd. :) I open. I had asked some close friends for their thoughts on what insights would be relevant to business crowds. And ultimately, the crux of our message is pretty simple -- do a small act of service, and the insights will appear; if they don't, keep doing more small acts. :) Yet, this is not exa... posted on Nov 14 2011 (34,438 reads)

we had a great conversation and a nice, human connection. I didn't tell people that I'm a writer or that I run a consulting company or any other role-defining facts. I just met them as Peter. And they met me as themselves. It took some getting used to, especially at a conference where we tend to define ourselves by our roles and people talk to each other while looking around to see if there's someone more useful to talk to. But it's a mistake to launch in to your business plan when you meet someone new — even at a conference where the point is to peddle your business plan. People invest in you first, then your plan. So show them you first, then your plan... posted on May 7 2012 (21,099 reads)

Einstein’s was estimated at 160, Madonna's is 140, and John F. Kennedy’s was only 119, but as it turns out, your IQ score pales in comparison with your EQ, MQ, and BQ scores when it comes to predicting your success and professional achievement. IQ tests are used as an indicator of logical reasoning ability and technical intelligence. A high IQ is often a prerequisite for rising to the top ranks of business today. It is necessary, but it is not adequate to predict executive competence and corporate success. By itself, a high IQ does not guarantee that you will stand out and rise above everyone else. Research carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Techn... posted on May 5 2012 (79,275 reads)

of the more heart-warming stories to zoom around the Internet lately involves a young man, his dying grandmother, and a bowl of clam chowder from Panera Bread. It's a little story that offers big lessons about service, brands, and the human side of business — a story that underscores why efficiency should never come at the expense of humanity. The story, as told in AdWeek, goes like this: Brandon Cook, from Wilton, New Hampshire, was visiting his grandmother in the hospital. Terribly ill with cancer, she complained to her grandson that she desperately wanted a bowl of soup, and that the hospital's soup was inedible (she used saltier language). If only ... posted on Aug 31 2012 (128,039 reads)

strategist and engineer Juan Carlos Méndez-García, who consults with both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. According to Méndez-García, one of the best models for making sense of a non-linear world is the S-curve, the model we have used to understand the diffusion of disruptive innovations, and which he and I speculate can be used to understand personal disruption — the necessary pivots in our own career paths. In complex systems like a business (or a brain), cause and effect may not always be as clear as the relationship between the light switch and the light bulb. There are time-delayed and time-dependent relationships in which hug... posted on Oct 11 2012 (20,379 reads)

prayers in a mosque with thousands of worshippers. In accordance with tradition, he climbed down into a muddy grave to receive his son’s body. A group of men lowered Tariq down. As Khamisa held his son for the last time, his feet sinking into the mud and rain pouring over his head, saying goodbye seemed so abhorrent that he lingered for a few long moments.  In the weeks that followed, Khamisa contemplated suicide. Just months before, he’d been going from one international business trip to the next and working 100-hour weeks; now he could barely rise from bed. Things like showering and eating lunch seemed to be enormous tasks. He couldn’t sleep, so he began medita... posted on Dec 4 2012 (29,929 reads)

while in county jail, was tasked with teaching others how to do the same. Former addicts also help their peers kick their addictions. Recovery sessions happen in groups, led by people in recovery themselves. “You hear about yourself from people who know you,” said Lewis. “They are your mirrors. Your peers understand the things in your life you have tried to forget through drug use.” Residents also learn at least three marketable job skills through Delancey’s business enterprises—run by ex-offenders. They work at one of many ventures such as the on-site restaurant, the moving company, the Christmas tree sales lot, the landscape business, or the digit... posted on May 24 2013 (11,552 reads)