It’s a Wonderful Life.

We all feel that we are failures, at sometime in our lives. Things don’t work out, ideas or projects seem to fail in our eyes, or they take a lifetime to come to fruition. During that dark, seemingly hopeless period, it is imperative to keep the faith, eyes on the ball and keep tilling the soil. Shoots ultimately will come out.

Recently, my wife, Rieki,  experienced the ultimate Frank Capra “It’s a wonderful life” moment. My wife started a Hotel School in Bhutan, called the Bongde Institute for Hospitality and Tourism about 2 years ago.  She struggled continuously trying to get the school off the ground in a frontier market, with no funding, no infrastructure, no income, with continuous challenges and obstacles that she needed to overcome. Recently, she finally saw what she had created and what Jimmy Stewart felt like in It’s a Wonderful Life (Experiencing what would have happen if we didn’t exist).

To reward one of her best students, Kinley, Rieki decided to bring her to Amsterdam for an internship at a four star hotel in Amsterdam. This was the first time that Kinley was ever outstide of Bhutan. Kinley started working at the hotel and her work was exceptional. So exceptional, that one day a gentleman who was having a meal there, called her over and inquired about her background. He said “why is it that you are so good at your work in comparison with the rest of the food and beverage staff”. She said “I studied at the Bongde Institute of Hospitality and Tourism in Bhutan”. He said “WHAT. I want to meet the person who started that school”. A hotel school that trained its staff well and was based in Bhutan was quite a shock. It turns out that this man was a very successful hotelier, entrepreneur and had a large enterprise owning and operating 5 star hotels in Asia.

Rieki and the Hotelier met and he was overwhelmed by what Rieki had done and was planning to do next. He offered to take interns from her school, send equipment if needed, and wants to discuss collaboration on her hotel school in Bhutan, and potential hotel development in Bhutan. In addition, he was particularly interested in her next project. Building a working hotel school for the Governor of the Karen State in Myanmar to help the 100.000 refugees, and developing a culturally authentic and carbon neutral hospitality sector.

We are all an overnight success when we least expect it. Congrats Rieki and your Learning Exchange Foundation.

Sweden sets goal to phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2045

Stockholm is the setting for our next TBLI CONFERENCE NORDIC 2017, Sept. 28-29. Come join us.

Support TBLI Foundation in building a Global Value(s) based Investment Community.

February 21, 2017 2017, Emerging Markets, Impact Investing, Investment, Sustainability, TBLI Conference No Comments on It’s a Wonderful Life.

Follow your heart

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Believe it or not in a previous life (1975-1978), I had a carrier on oil rigs. My world wind career had me working offshore and on land in Iran, the North Sea (UK and Norway), France, Texas, Colorado and Oman (actually didn’t start, quit before I was sent there). In less than 2.5 years, I had a meteoric rise in oil and gas exploration, something that I never considered. I went from dishwasher, to roustabout (kind of go for), roughneck (guys who all seem to be missing fingers), derrick man (lonely person at top of oil rig snapping pipes with a rope into place to store them) and finally, Air Drilling Engineer.  This rapid rise surprised me. It wasn’t an inspiring job and as I got to see the environmental destruction we were doing, and the military hierarchy of that company (subsidiary of Schlumberger), further career moves upward were just not appealing.

It always seemed strange that I was sent to Iran to do air drilling, as I was not trained or experienced to do the job (air drilling in fractured formations to find oil or gas). Right place, right time, wrong job. I really enjoyed the theater working with some of the funniest characters, I would ever meet. Will always have great stories to tell and memories upon which to reflect. Some of my former colleagues were fantastic. I remember Jean who was a mechanic and started a goat farm, making cheese. He worked on the rigs to help get his business going and cover his costs, in order to follow his dream. He sent me a care package of wonderful goat cheese. I also learned some of the most obscene French expressions that would make even hardened criminals blush, and I still use them from time to time, as they are visually brilliant.

The CEO offered to fast track my career even more, in order to keep me from leaving. The finances were fine, and I worked 4 weeks on and then got 4 weeks holiday (6 months a year). I didn’t have to worry about anything. When you finished your 12 hour shift,  covered in mud, you dropped your clothes on the ground, and the next day, my room was clean and my work clothes were spotless. We ate wonderful French food, with wine and aperitifs. This was something American rigs wouldn’t allow. I remember having long periods of doing nothing, as we worked only if there was a problem with the drilling. If that happened, we would start up the compressors and perform air drilling. Other times, we would have a great deal of free time on our hands and would go exploring the remote areas of Iran. After 4 weeks of working, I had 4 weeks of holiday and I used that time to travel, which expanded my collection of characters. Yes it was very hard work. Hammering a pipe connection in 48 degrees celsius was very exhausting.

There was, however, something missing, I wasn’t happy or fulfilled and I still needed to find my passion. When I look at some of the photos of working on the rigs, I often think of a tv show called Dirty Jobs hosted by Mike Rowe and the podcast he made about how people doing horrible dirty jobs are financially secure and happy, even though they are not following their passion.

I wanted more. Not more stuff or money. I wanted to be fulfilled. What I am doing now, with TBLI, provides that in abundance. Most important, when I am really doing what fulfils me or am in “The Zone” , it costs me no energy, but actually gives me energy. Oh yeah, I don’t have to work in dangerous situations, like Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) gas explosions, or losing fingers when running pipe back into the well.

Are you following your heart? Try it. You won’t regret it.

Looking forward to meeting you and others who are following their heart at TBLI CONFERENCE EUROPE 2015 in Zurich, Nov. 19-20.

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August 17, 2015 2015, Impact Investing, Personal Note, TBLI Conference 1 Comment on Follow your heart

A mensch in Detroit

My son, Sam, sent me an email saying “you have to watch the documentary Searching for Sugarman”. So, I said fine. I will go look for it. He came the next day and we watched it together. It was one of the most moving films, I have ever seen.

It is about a brilliant “unknown” singer, song writer from Detroit, named Rodruiguez. He wrote fantastic songs, made 2 albums, in the early 70’s, that no one bought. Financially a failure, but artistically  pure genius. His record got to South Africa and was distributed (copied) and became the inspiration for many artists who took up the struggle against apartheid.

There were rumours that he committed suicide on stage by blowing his brains out or pouring gasoline on himself. Discovering what ever happened to Rodriguez was the basis of this film. I won’t spoil the movie by telling you what happened. Rodriguez is a great inspiration for all those that work tirelessly, quietly, extremely hard in making life more fulfilling and joyful for others, as well as themselves.

Rodriguez. Thank you for being such a mensch and lifting my spirits, immensely and showing the potential of the human spirit. Rodruiguez’s story inspires all those that are doing the important work that they love, staying true to ourselves, and remaining authentic, no matter what.

To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” Not Rodriguez or me. How about you?

Watch the movie and join TBLI in Singapore for inspiration, opportunity, and meeting new best friends.

April 12, 2015 2015, Climate Change, Impact Investing, Personal Note, Sustainability, TBLI Conference No Comments on A mensch in Detroit

Lewis Gordon Pugh’s Challenge

One of the keynote speakers for the upcoming TBLI CONFERENCE™ EUROPE 2009 that we’re very much looking forward to hearing is Lewis Gordon Pugh. His commitment and passion for raising awareness about climate change and the effects of our actions on places such as the arctic, is nothing less than inspiring. Of course I don’t expect you to just take my word for it, watch the video below to learn about his journey and mission:

October 26, 2009 2015 No Comments on Lewis Gordon Pugh’s Challenge