• Why you do it

    A tourist in your own town

    A lot of things we don’t realize are completely in our control (much like a lot of what we get worked up over is totally out of our control.) And the excitement and curiosity of feeling like a tourist is another of those things. Unless you’re in your home, you can’t possibly know everything about a place (even then, ever…

  • Why you do it - Why you listen to it - Why you read it - Why you watch it - Why you write it

    The two worst words in the English language

    The words ‘I’m’ and ‘bored’, when put together in that exact order, make up my most hated expression in the English language. (Sidenote: This is what it translates to, in case you’re wondering.) Any library has thousands of books (e.g. my local one has 88,000), each with thousands of words, about thousands of things we know little or nothing about. But I get that…

  • Why you do it

    Me vs. Seth Godin

    Seth Godin writes these pint-sized and punchy posts every day on his blog. Each post is a meaningful and useful new perspective on something we do or how we see things, in life or in an area of business or technology. He’s an authority on marketing, business and making an impact. He’s written 17 books, has a net worth of $34…

  • Why you do it - Why you listen to it

    Silence the Sirens

    One of the advantages of not using social media is you get to make up your own mind. I’m easily influenced, and my opinion’s are swayed by others, and if you’re like me, silencing all the extra reviews, previews, commentary and plain trolling helps you enjoy the things you enjoy much more. Before I went to Splendour in the Grass in…

  • Why you do it

    Look up

    Even if you’re in Times Square in New York City, on Oxford St in London or Flinders St in Melbourne, you’re never far away from nature; you’re never disconnected. Just look up. Even in places where you’re landlocked, hundreds or thousands of kilometres from the ocean… look up. Whether in the day or at night, one look up at the…

  • Why you do it

    Play like a kid

    When you’re a kid, you couldn’t give a shit about dying or consequences. Without realising it, everything you do is: 1) For fun and, 2) ‘Just ’cause’ (or as us grown-ups say: ‘For the experience’). When we stop doing things like a kid, we lose some of the best parts of life. Just doing things and not caring about what happens,…

  • Why you do it

    There’s a ‘why’ behind everything

    One of my former students asked me last week whether I believe everything we do –big or small– we do for a reason. Even things like flicking from channel to channel on tv, scrolling through a Instagram newsfeed, or checking email. I think yes. Every little thing we do –or don’t do– is motivated by something within us. Something we believe, something…

  • Why you do it

    Go First

    There’s this idea that Gabby Reece talked about on The Truth Barrel. And she lives by it too… Go First. It applies to so many things. Walking past someone in the street, saying sorry to your partner, or reaching out to someone to tell them you appreciate them. People sometimes wait for others to say something before they do. And then nothing…