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Alive With Possibilities
I met with my friend Janine this morning by chance while she was in the neighbourhood with her mother, and we stopped to talk over a coffee. Her mother, Ruby, is an impressive lady – gracious, good humoured, encouraging, full of life, and passionate.
I had heard previously about her mother’s life in South Africa – an heroic journey! Over coffee, Ruby gave her perspective on possibilities. She mentioned a recent South African tourism campaign called “Alive With Possibilities“. The video is inspiring, and worth watching below (2:02 minutes).
Actually there are two, and the second one shows the diversity to be found in South Africa, let alone across Africa itself as a continent. (a little longer at 5:53 minutes)
“Ok, nice videos, but so what?” you might ask. Why is this relevant to reducing child mortality?
The story of transformation within South Africa is nothing short of inspirational and needs little clarification. Certainly, the journey is not complete, and there is still a lot of progress to be achieved. There is a lot to celebrate all the same.
The same, too, I hope can be said for child mortality in 2015. The problems in sub-Saharan Africa presently are overwhelming. Insurmountable? “An incomplete journey, but much to celebrate“. Time will tell. Our involvement will ultimately determine how this narrative plays out.
Ruby went on to say how South Africa changed the tag-line from “Alive With Possibility” to “It’s Possible!“. Just a few words, but the meaning is completely different. This is the message we should take away for child mortality. It is more than identifying what is possible, but declaring and then working to achieve the possible itself.
During the 10 City Bridge Run, I am asking a question about reducing child mortality: “Is the seemingly impossible possible?” Please join us on this journey.
Maybe Nelson Mandela responded best by saying:
It always seems impossible until its done. (Nelson Mandela)
All I need to do is to believe. (Bishop Desmond Tutu)
Hope for the vulnerable: A Christmas reflection
The story of Christmas as it is told is a little bizarre, even completely weird. Allegedly, if we are to believe the Christmas narrative, it involves a bunch of angels appearing and delivering messages, first to two women who were relatives, and then later to a group of shepherds minding their own flocks.
Whether you believe this narrative or not, I think it provides a story of hope for those who are most vulnerable – newborn babies entering the world. Not just newborn babies, but in this story a baby who was also homeless, born into poverty, and into the care of a young and ill-prepared mother.
Life is such a fragile and precious gift, and we too often just take it all for granted. For me, the Christmas message this year is about the possibility for hope and transformation in all of our lives through the birth of a baby called Jesus. In particular, this year I am thinking about how this relates to the calamity of child mortality – is it realistic that we might we also claim a sense of hope and transformation there are well?
I often think that the book which records this Christmas message, the Bible, is often greatly understated leaving much to the imagination. We could do worse than echo the hope given to a bunch of vulnerable shepherds, who responded in this brief vignette recorded in an historical account from a physician called Luke:
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about”.
Training Tips 101: When fatigue arrives, be proud!
“Everyone feels pain in the last 6 miles- suck it up”. This, and more great advice from Toby Tanser in the video below. Shot by Mike Kobal using a Nikon D90.
I posted this video earlier in October, but liked it so much thought it was worth bringing back out from the vault.
Posted again now as a tribute to Toby Tanser for his recent achievement running “From the Sea to the Stars” – a charity run to get the last portion needed to break ground on Sub Saharan Africa’s first public kids’ hospital. 250-miles from the Indian Ocean to the ceiling of Africa – Mt Kilimanjaro running!
Inspirational journey (you have to watch this video!)
If ever you thought you had it tough and couldn’t push yourself any harder, think about my mate Toby from New York. Toby has a real heart for helping people in Kenya and has been working for a few years on a project to build a medical facility for children (the first in sub-Saharan Africa…) where they have none, and so ran from ‘the sea to the stars’ recently.
From the Sea to the Stars – a charity run to get the last portion needed to break ground on Sub Saharan Africa’s first public kids’ hospital. 250-miles from the Indian Ocean to the ceiling of Africa – Mt Kilimanjaro running!
Awesome effort Toby! Kudos!
Unreasonable!
George Bernard Shaw is quoted to have said: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
What do you make if this sense of Chutzpah?
One of the three objectives for the 10 City Bridge Run is: “Knowledge sharing through engaging a ‘design community’ in a collaborative creative process of inquiry to tackle the issue of child mortality.”
What would it look like to connect people making big impact with great ideas with other people who have never really thought about making a difference at all? That has the potential to exploit the greatest untapped resource on the planet- ourselves!
To get a sense of where these ideas might be, watch this short video from The Unreasonable Institute:
When everyone with the ideas is inside of one room, this concept is simple. When they are distributed across the globe, it becomes a design challenge. How can we engage with this conversation to make a real difference in reducing child mortality. Or is it just unreasonable and fanciful thinking?
Other Mens’ Flowers
I was fortunate to spend some time with Fred Chaney over the last two years. He gave me wonderful advice, whether I wanted to hear it or not. That is the sign of someone who really cares- they take the time to tell you the truth, not just put sugar coating on everything.
One conversation he gave some clues about how to have impact which was profound advice. I summarise it by the expression ‘Other Mens’ Flowers’. Here is what it is about:
- Other Mens’ Flowers: Use what others have produced as a foundation.
- Find Fellow Nudgers: We are not in this alone. Collaborate.
- Small evolutions: Big revolutions are actually rare. Focus on getting the small evolutions right.
- Not random interventions: Focus. Stay focused.
- What is the one big game changing idea?: What are you about?
Reflecting on this was on my mind over the last month as I reviewed the 10 City Bridge Run. I need your help to move forward. Please join with me as a ‘Fellow Nudger’ to help change the game and improve the lives of millions.
Squaring the Circle
‘Squaring the Circle‘ describes trying to achieve the impossible. The expression is sometimes used as a metaphor for doing something logically or intuitively impossible.
It is essentially a mathematical problem, and until 1882 it was thought that somehow it might be possible with the use of optical illusions through geometry. But in 1882, properties of ∏ (pi) proved that it could not be achieved.
Sometimes we really want something to be possible, despite the evidence we are presented with. People will tell you: “Just accept it; it can’t be done. It is impossible.”
Some people see the world differently. People like Nelson Mandela who said:
It always seems impossible until its done.
Bridge builders share a spirit of what might be possible. It is an act of faith, of believing in the possibility of what you are doing. A belief that our actions actually matter and can make a difference. A vision of what can be rather than what is.
All successful human endeavors – from breakthrough interventions like the telephone to great social leaps forward like the civil rights movement – begin with the assumption that change is possible. (Quote from ‘City Year’)
I had intended to commence the 10 City Bridge Run on 24 September, and subsequently delayed numerous times for a range of reasons, initially due to funding available. I had planned to be in Seoul right now at the conclusion of the 10 City Bridge run, but instead am still in Sydney.
So what happened? I ended up injuring myself through overtraining. I reached a point where I literally could not run. That was disappointing. I followed the advice of good friends and rested, and over the past month since I last blogged I have been stretching, resting, swimming and cross training using high-cardio interval training with weights in the gym. I expect I will be starting to run again in early January.
We have all encountered failure at some point. What is important is to pick yourself up and push on. To learn from the experience, and try again. Trying something different to see how it might work out successfully.
I reviewed what I had been planning, from the training routine through to what it was I thought could be achieved. The 10 City Bridge Run is tightly focused around child mortality as a lever to help unravel extreme poverty. Please take some time to look at the website and see how it has changed. If it is unclear in any area, let me know.
So, can we ‘square the circle’? Maybe not as an exercise in geometry.
But the 10 City Bridge Run will proceed commencing on 1 March 2011. Please join me on the global design challenge. I need your help. Together, we can achieve the impossible.
Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
Legitimacy of G20: Self-appointed for the sake of G172?
Last week the leaders of the G20 met in Seoul for the G20 Summit. For many, the ‘Group of 20’ (G20) is a largely self-appointed and barely legitimate body with no authority to assume its current role. Is this a valid perspective, and what does it mean for the ‘G172’ (the 172 member states of the United Nations)?
Over the next few blog posts I will examine the Seoul Summit Declaration in more detail from a development perspective. What decisions did the G20 make, and are there consequences for other countries excluded from the meeting which are unfair or favourable? What did the G20 Summit mean for influencing extreme poverty, and how does this relate to the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals?
Prototype and reinvention = the freedom to fail expectations
This morning at breakfast a friend David Greatorex who has considerable experience running marathons inside of 3 hours gave me some advice after hearing about my injury. “You know 25% of people who set out to run a marathon following a three month training program never start the race. Injury around the second month.”
John Best was the guest speaker at breakfast. Previously the team doctor to the Wallabies (Australian Rugby Union team). He spoke on ‘How we are wired and how can we function best?‘ Speaking about the highest level of sporting professionals, he mentioned the pressures of public scrutiny and need for acceptance which people respond to that are not altogether helpful. After a period of time, even the most valuable of trophies fade away…
David gave me some advice afterwards in relation to my endeavour to go running: “Those sportsmen almost have no choice. You do. Don’t be compelled to run because of what others expect.”
Fred Chaney is a mentor who has given me some of the best advice I have received. I know he would caution me against racing into something just for the sake of doing what I said I would. It is that pressure that I am feeling on myself at the moment.
Good design thinking emphasises the need for prototyping and reinvention. This requires the freedom to fail expectations of others in the pursuit of concepts that might work. This is different to perfectionism. It is about tolerating game-play and learning.
If I am serious about design as part of the 10 City Bridge Run, I think I do need to say that at present I have developed a design brief as a prototype that seeks the partnering and co-creation from others. My instinct is that the next month until the end of the year is best spent in opening this conversation of design, prototyping and partnerships. Maybe the optimal execution is to commence the run at the beginning of the new year. This is a process of raising awareness and learning- not a race to finish runs.
Let me fail your expectations, maybe failing my own expectations most significantly, of completing this run before the end of 2010. I think it calls for co-creation for more prototyping and reinvention before the project is ready to begin.
Can design change the world?
Emily Pilloton from Project H argues that used correctly, design process can let appropriate solutions emerge from within in this TED Talk. Having design in your toolkit brings a fresh perspective.
But what does that actually mean? It is much easier to just throw these terms around than give them meaning. Pilloton refers to ‘design as learning’, and working locally to create a catalyst for a more connected global community.
In my own reflections this week of what I am trying to achieve through the 10 City Bridge Run I have found this helpful and challenging. I am carrying a small injury from overtraining, I have already delayed the start six times across the last two months, I am not convinced that I have fully developed the idea or conversation that this initiative is about. Should I just start in the hope that a solution magically emerges?
If I consider these ‘false-starts’ as prototypes and game-play to understand new perspectives, and every conversation as an opportunity to build partnerships and concepts that might work how might that strengthen this as a project?
Pilloton argues that design is process of constant education, where we need to reinvent ourselves, to re-educate ourselves around the things that matter. “Working outside of our comfort zones more” for me might mean to let go of a schedule and perceived control to imagine a new future co-created for a better learning landscape.
Just buzz words? I think Pilloton is right when she speaks about the power of the small story.
A step in the right direction.
Building Bridges 