There have been many times when I’ve struggled with life’s meaning and dabbled with nihilism. Existentialism is a byproduct of consciousness, it seems. Some time ago I had a bit of a revelation, in a bluer moment. For some months I’d felt listless, weighed down by the absence of meaning. I’d felt that, as monkeys … Continue reading Finding Meaning
A Year of Not
My fingers have hovered over my keyboard a number of times this year, but I’ve not written. That’s been in keeping with 2018; a year of deliberately not doing many things. I’ve not worked, much. I’ve not tried very hard. I’ve not worried as much. I’ve not written. I’ve not done rather than done. Yet … Continue reading A Year of Not
Founder, Not A CEO – Forbes Podcast
Here's an article and a podcast I did recently for Forbes, now that I'm 'temporary-retired'... https://www.forbes.com/sites/michalbohanes/2018/07/23/founder-not-a-ceo-some-people-need-to-start-companies-not-run-them/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVNyPCaIqZo
A Founder, Not A CEO
In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell claims it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. I guess I’m a slow learner, as it’s taken me a mere 148,000 hours to realise the opposite. Namely, that I’m not an expert at something. After running 3 businesses in 5 countries over ~17 years, I’ve come … Continue reading A Founder, Not A CEO
Swangling
This article first appeared in the Winter 2016 edition of Waterlog Magazine. I once almost caught a trout between my legs. Aged 8 or 9, frolicking in a murky River Itchen, my Dad lifted me up out of the water by my arms and somehow my ankles ensnared an olive brown trout of about a … Continue reading Swangling
Vanity Networks
They say it’s not what you know, but who you know. But who do you know? What does knowing someone mean today? We’re taught that it’s wise to build our personal networks – it’ll make us more successful knowing and being connected to lots of people – and technology now aggressively encourages this behaviour. We … Continue reading Vanity Networks
The Happy Entrepreneur
Is a 'happy entrepreneur' a misnomer? Being an entrepreneur is hard. Really hard. Or, in the words of Elon Musk, "Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.” If that’s what it’s like when it’s working, given Elon is one of the most successful entrepreneurs alive, what hope do … Continue reading The Happy Entrepreneur
Recast
Here's an article that appeared in the wonderful Waterlog magazine this summer and explains why I've not been writing so much recently... My hazy first memory is of trying to fish - a kaleidoscopic jumble retained by my three-year-old mind, reassembled 30 years later. It all started with the discovery of a worm in our garden. … Continue reading Recast
Boarding Up the Soul
To those unfamiliar with the concept, sending ones children to boarding school is a shockingly weird thing to do. Imagine you had never heard of a boarding school before, and I explained to you that parents would not only choose, but spend huge amounts of money (the equivalent of the average UK wage after tax), … Continue reading Boarding Up the Soul
Tom and TEDx’s Excellent Adventure
Simpletom 