Other Interests: pursuing your passion

Australians of the Year

The Prime Minister has announced the Australians of the Year Awards for 2006: the Australian of the Year Ian Frazer, the Senior Australian of the Year Sally Goold, the Young  Australian of the Year Trisha Broadbridge and the Local Hero Toni Hoffman.

They have all shown persistence and determination in achieving their goals.

Scientist Ian Frazer has invented a vaccine which will prevent cervical cancer in women.

Trisha Broadbridge's story in particular is worth retelling. While on honeymoon on Thailand's Phi Phi island on 26 December 2004 her husband was killed in the tsunami.

She dedicated herself to helping reconstruct the Phi Phi Island School in memory of Troy and the other lives lost on that Boxing Day.She established the Reach Broadbridge Fund which, with the help of the Melbourne Football club, established The Broadbridge Education Centre on the Island.

She has written a book Beyond the Wave.

Do you have the strength and courage to do the right thing?

It's been said before: people only change if they want to, no matter how much they "know" they should.

David Maister is a successful professional services firm adviser who has made a life study of what people want and what firms need to do to be chosen to provide their services.

His new blog gives a clue to his findings: it is entitled Passion, People and Principles.

A recurrent theme in his work is that firms need to give away information in order to gain people's trust as a precursor to forming a relationship.

He argues that firms can be more successful and people can enjoy their work more if they do what they do with integrity and with passion, for clients they are interested in. This is a paradox because most businesses are tempted to take whatever comes in the door, whether it is work they specialise in or not, whether it is a client in a sector they want to work for or not.

Maister's site is full of articles, podcasts and videos and other information.

If you want a great introduction watch his video Think of Work on the videos page.

But he knows that personal change is critical to organisation change: we all know the right thing to do but don't always have the strength and courage to do it. To live for the long term, rather than immediate gratification. Watch his Fat Smokers video.

It's what you do: rebuilding New Orleans

It's often said that actions speak louder than words, it's what you do not what you say.

And that was the point of Wynton Marsalis' Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Address at Tulane University in New Orleans.

The written words of his speech are emotional but it's not until you see the video that you understand the passion of those who have returned to rebuild the city. (via Ernie the Attorney).

Technology and personal relationships

I love this performance by Australian musical comedy group Tripod (via Scobleizer).

Graduation speeches

I have sat through a lot of graduation speeches over the years: some are humorous, some are long-winded, some are academic and most miss the mark and leave the audience (especially the graduating students) squirming in their seats after 20 minutes.

I have previously linked to a commencement speech by Steve Jobs which recounted his personal story in an engaging way.

Guy Kawasaki has now published his Hindsights graduation speech in which he gives ten lessons learned at age 50. His post tells how he came to write the speech .

The content is great (although it's like a lot of advice parents give to kids: they won't appreciate it until they have made the mistake that proves its truth). But just as important is its style: part  conversational, lists, humor and seriousness, and not too long. Worth reading.

Using technology for learning

Wil Richardson has written an article (pdf) that shows how new interactive technology tools (from blogging and RSS to videos and podcasts) can be used for learning and sharing not just reading.

How much money is enough?

I didn't win the Lotto last night (again).

Everyone dreams of winning Lotto, no matter how much money they have.

When people discuss retiring or having a sea change or chasing their passion, the different reactions usually involve money: "I'd love to do it but I don't have enough money."

In DOES MONEY MAKE US HAPPY? Robert Levine argues that "The least happy people are those who focus too much on money and possessions. People who are more concerned with love and caring relationships, on the other hand, tend to be far happier than others." And complementing that notion he says "It doesn’t really matter much how much money you have. If you watch the numbers too carefully, you’ll probably experience more pain over what you don’t have than pleasure over what you do."

John Clarke argues that we can get caught in a success trap: we have the trappings of success but are still not happy.

Po Bronson (author of What Should I Do With My Life?) says Money is our Last Great Taboo. He talks about his experience working for an investment bank:

"Twice a year, in February and August, the firm settled up with the sales force, awarding six-figure checks, so-called bonuses, which amounted to the difference between their earned commissions and their monthly draw. I have never seen such wealthy people so unable to celebrate, so unable to muster anything but anxiety. No matter how much that check was written out for, there was something belittling and disparaging about one's worth being reduced to a number, down to the penny -- a small computer-generated piece of paper stating who you are, and all you are."

Money is important: without it you can't contribute to charity or provide the necessities for your family.

But even your financial planner will ask you: how much money do you need?