A while ago, I heard about a man in his 80’s who had decided to take up skydiving. My reaction to this news was a curious mix of disbelief and awe. On the one hand, I had to wonder if the man had utterly lost his marbles, but on the other hand he immediately became my octogenarian hero. Here was a man 4 times my age still grabbing life by the short and curlies at every turn, quiet retirement be damned.

Awesome.

Our intrepid hero didn't just give me something to smile about when he plunged through the troposphere, he…

One of the biggest mistakes that many people make in life is comparing themselves to people who they see as more successful, more important, or more accomplished. I do it all the time, despite the fact that it destroys my self-confidence at least once or twice a week.

In a society that is driven more and more by wealth and fame, it's only to be expected that people will begin to place more and more emphasis on what they haven't got, who’s got more than them, and how to bridge the gap between the two.

Add into the mix social…

MINDFUL TRAVELING

Guten Tag, hola, bonjour, namaste, asakaam alaikum, konnichiwa.

Hello.

Greetings are amongst the most common and most powerful parts of language the world over. Barely a conversation starts without some kind of salutation to get things rolling. Across hundreds of languages in an array of alphabets, grammatical systems, and vocal styles, the notion of saying ‘hello’ is something that unites us both linguistically and, to some extent, socially.

I have long been a staunch proponent of learning languages while travelling. The ability to converse with local and indigenous people in their own dialect, even if it’s only with a few…

Recently, the UK was rocked to its core by the brutal murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of a serving Metropolitan Police officer in Clapham, London. Everard was simply walking home alone one evening when her killer kidnapped her, murdered her in cold blood, and dumped her body in an area of woodland in the neighbouring county of Kent. It is believed the perpetrator used his position as a police officer to lure Ms. Everard into his vehicle.

The horror of this incident has sparked a nationwide conversation about male violence against women and the endemic, daily way it…

Let’s get one thing out of the way — success doesn’t come without other people. If you clicked on here expecting me to tell you about the virtues of hermit-ism, I’m afraid you might find yourself a tad disappointed.

Any business person worth their salt will tell you that interpersonal skills and making connections are the cornerstones of any decent business model. As a general rule, it’s much easier to make stuff happen in this world if you have other people helping you do it.

So far, not much ‘lonering’ going on, is there?

Well, the truth is that no…

The last business idea you had was probably not a good one. I know mine wasn’t. In fact, it was so terrible that I can’t even remember what it was.

Entrepreneurs, by their very nature, spend an awful lot of time thinking up new ideas, always in the hope that the next one will be the one to make them rich. The fact is, however, that 99% of those ideas just aren't great. Sometimes, the hole in the market is there because society doesn't need it to be filled.

And yet, as the professional world moves more and more online…

Representation is vital.

On that, at least, I think most of us can probably agree. Regardless of where in the LGBTQ+ acronym you find yourself, honest and accurate representation of our identities in popular culture is one of the most important ways in which our existence can be normalised in the public consciousness.

How often have you heard phrases like ‘You’re not what I expected a gay person to be like’ or ‘I’ve never met a trans person before’? Lack of visibility allows for our identities to be weaponised against us in the minds of the ignorant. …

Living on your own is something that most of us will do at some point in our lives. For some, it will come when they go to university, for others it might be moving to a new city for work, or perhaps it will come just because you feel it’s your time for it. Whatever the reason for striking out on your own, I can assure you that there will be some things that you’ll wish you had been warned about.

I’ve been living on my own for a while now and, as a young man in his early 20’s…