2014 - A Year in Review

It was a tremendously interesting year, and I've compiled my list of some the year's extraordinary developments and happenings.  As usual, the order reflects how my brain works, but little else that is discernible I imagine.  Rather than just a list, I've elected to do this as 'awards' - the most this, or best that, or biggest impact.  I hope you will see why I think that makes sense.

BEST MARKETING EFFORT
While there were many interesting events and new product launches and the like, the winner here hands down goes to the Coca Cola company for the names on bottles campaign.  I know many people that wouldn't ever buy Coke, but went out of their way to search for their own names (on a bottle) or
one for someone else.  The ads and supporting efforts were significant and noticeable, but also importantly stayed true to Coke's overall theme.  Perhaps most critically for the determination of success for a campaign, Coke financials for the nine months this year in an operating income sense were up.  In a market segment that is under pressure from many angles and brand that needed a boost, this effort was inspired.  Mark my words, this will become a business school case study in years to come.


BIGGEST NEW THREAT
While it's not a happy story, the reality is that hacking took a few ugly turns in the year, and has emerged as something significant that can have very broad implications, and a lasting effect.  Formerly understood as one of those things that hit a select few in society, hacking has emerged as being a huge financial threat as well as a potent political weapon. Early in 2014, Target lost $500M in corporate value, and their CEO due to a hack, and Julian Assange and his Wikileaks occupied the political headlines for a long time.  Sony's second big hack though seems to have crossed a threshold, as at the time of writing this, it's politically motivated against a company and has swayed that organization into loss making actions.  While that in itself is interesting, put this into the context of the web and the corresponding push to Cloud based everything.  The idea that your information isn't secure (it's not) creates a subtle and fundamental uneasiness for anyone and that's different than we have experienced in the past. Yesterday, we could lock our doors to keep intruders out, but today sees an open acknowledgement that anyone can roam our halls, and take what they wish.   We'll see the emergence of cyber crime detection and tracking move into the mainstream, and the Robin Hood perceptions of the little hacker guy fighting the bad corporation go away, but not before more get hurt.

LARGEST UNSEEN GEOPOLITICAL WAVE COMING AT US
Balance is something we strive for, and this is so true amongst nations and power.  Change happens, but usually not suddenly, and when that has occurred in history it's almost always been accompanied by

bloodshed.  Change is coming fast at us, and we all see it but I fear we don't appreciate it for what it means - the price of Oil.  What isn't being acknowledged here is that economies are built on certain assumptions and the price of Oil being +/- 15% is one of those assumptions.  Russia, China, Brazil, Canada and the US are all being economically impacted by the precipitous drop in the price of crude oil, as all buy and sell oil and that makes up sizeable portions of their GDP's and respective balances of trade.  If the economies are upset in these countries, what's bound to happen...well, I imagine that's the trillion dollar question with my own fear being about Russia primarily.  The culprit here seems to be the Saudi's who have vast stores of cheaply accessed oil, that pointedly remains a profitable source of income for them well below the thresholds of extracting it in other countries.   By continuing to produce at rates beyond market need, the price is dropping which is forcing other players to examine their own production bottom line.  It's akin to Walmart lowering the price of sneakers in recognition that their cost base is the lowest, in order to capture more share.  The underlying issue here however is that Payless Shoes doesn't have nukes at their disposal (or a crazy-ass Czar-guy) when they get hurt.  Let's not celebrate the lower price at the pump, instead let's try to remain calm as economies re-balance themselves into a revised geopolitical order.  Transition without blood is what's desired here.


BIGGEST CHANGE - THE FORMAL EMERGENCE OF NATION-LESS STATES
For what I think is amongst the first time in history, a war pitting one (or more) state against another state without a territory has begun.  ISIS isn't a country, its a set of individuals. While they are occupying land, they aren't the formal or even informal government there, and yet a coalition of many countries is formally fighting them.  This is seminal because it speaks to how conflicts could occur in the future, and the likely demise of bodies such as the UN, who were formed under the auspices of nations speaking on behalf of the people located there.  That ISIS is a terror-based organization and worthy to fight against isn't my point.  In future will we see a nation go to war with a set of individual people, that threat to their way of life being as real as an old fashioned invasion..?  It seems so.  

2014 has been remarkable so far, in the above ways.  Let's see what the next months bring.

I ran (Part 2)

I did it. And am thrilled.

 Not only did I finish it, I ran it the way I'd intended.  I had probably my very worst time in doing these things, but I'll chalk that up to lack of rest, some jet lag, the temperature and incredible humidity.  But regardless, even when my calves were spasming and I couldn't summon the will to start running again after walking for a bit, I was still in awe. You know you're doing something special when amidst lots of various body failures and pain, you turn, admire your surroundings and just say "wow".  It was a combination of little high fives from the children lining the route, and the idea we actually had the place sort of to ourselves, the runners owning the road in the otherwise highly congested Angkor area.  The race was well run with water every 2km's and I think I drank 6 water bottles in addition to what I carried and I still lost 8lbs on the run.  

Running as in some other sports takes place in your head. Sure, your legs and toso do the work, but it's your head that makes best times and defines the experience. And from watching another sunrise colour the sky over Angkor Wat waiting to begin, to passing a dozen elephants within the ruins and complexes to the smiling happy faces of the locals that celebrated our personal accomplishment, this was a day for me to cherish until I die.  Sometimes running isn't about the road, sometimes it's about the heart, and mine's bursting today.  

I run - part 1

You may have read a little about Angkor Wat and Cambodia and the big trip I've undertaken lately. It's because I run, or rather running is the reason I'm here.  The 2014 Angkor Wat Half Marathon. 7500 of my closest strangers set off at 06:10 on Dec 7th to run around and through the Angkor temple complexes.  I'm told you don't ever get a PB here - a personal best - and that's because we keep stopping to take pictures.

That's understandable, but it's the heat that has me a little worried.  It's being held at dawn because then it's "only" 25 degrees C / 78 Farenheit.  But by the time the race is done it gets well and truly hot. Factor in time zone difference and funky sleeps and I'm not sure what to expect.

I've been practicing and losing some weight which is surprising effective at helping to run better.  And I've been saying to myself since I got here in a quiet training mantra, "Just run my own run". After-all, I could bundle up and run the distance at home any old day. Here it's the sights, sounds and experience. It's not about running faster, it's about being in the moment.

Running in a race though is different. While pretty much all the others here would need to "DNF" for me to actually win, there is still a tension, a palpable feeling of competition in a properly organized run/race even when you aren't going for the win.  So my race today is about the struggle to just keep calm, keep breathing and just run my own run. 

Part 2 to follow.....

Angkor Wat

The grand-daddy, the poster child of the region.  Cambodia's crown jewel (it's on their flag!) A Unesco World heritage site, and this defining complex is considered the 8th wonder of the world.  So, expectations were a tad high.

 It actually doesn't dissapoint.  I awoke at 3:30 to be there for sunrise, and the play of light brought an etheral-ness to the place.  It's 5 main spires and long causeway can be over-run with people, but the size of the complex soaks it up.  Three terraces make up the structure, set in a monsterous garden, with the fashion of the times - a large 1/2 km bridge terrace depicting the walkway to heaven cutting across the surrounding water-way/moat that is measured in square km/miles.  

 Size mattered to these kings, such that Bayon which was made by the subsequent king was done 10X as large.  But the scale here really works to bring you towards an appreciation of what's in front of your eyes.  Bayon's size means you can't appreciate it all in one view. You can here.

 Angkor Wat is indeed mind-blowing.

Bayon

It's hard to pick favourites.  But I did anyway.

Perhaps it was the heat, or time of the day, perhaps it was because I did this one - the largest - after the others and I found places in the woods where it was silent and I could contemplate what I was looking at without hawkers, or loud fellow tourists.  (The signs all over that say "please be quiet" need to be translated into Mandarin).

I suspect it might be the huge gates with this friendly fellow looking down at all who pass into the city of Bayon. It once housed a million people, and was built after Angkor Wat in a case of royal one-upmanship.  In the west, the only comparable would be Rome, with ruins intact, and strewn about, all being tell-tale signs of what took place before.  The detail work that you see on almost literally every surface speaks to the artisans that made the places.

Bayon isn't all standing. Much of it, is fine, like the Elephant terraces and royal pools (the bgger one for concubines) still hold water, but much is falling as well.  It's 35/100 degrees now in winter and this place was made so long ago that the fact it still remains is testament to the thought, quality and ingenuity of it's makers.

 Indeed I like Bayon the best, because off the main temple there are other monuments and relics of the royal palace where no one else is.  You hear the jungle and wonder at what lies in front of you - or you're standing higher than the trees, 10 storeys in the air.  It boggles the mind a little. It's humbling.

 

Angkor

There are a few Angkor's around Siem Reap, Cambodia where I write this from. I don't mean that purely in a every place has multiple faces sense, there are literally a few different temples, ruins and evidence of the Khmer empire's building spree that took place 800-1000 years ago.

Some are in better shape than others, as might be expected in a jungle, in a country that has been

conquered and invaded numerous times and went through what I may graciously call a soul searching period within the last 20 years.  We think of this area as "Angkor Wat", but in fact that simply the best known, most photographed and best preserved site.  It's not the biggest or the awe-inspiring, but this is about word of mouth perhaps more than anything, and it's the one that captured the imagination.

So I wanted to save it, thinking it was best.  I don't think in hindsight that was a good assumption, and here's why - there's incredible richness in this whole place. Everywhere you turn in the jungle, there's another stunning piece of history.  Arguably the best are those off the beaten pathways.

They each have names, distinct histories and are worth exploring.  Some are being eaten by the jungles, and some are completely intact.  All will take your breath away.

Arriving / Glitches

Any plan worth doing can survive hiccups and I've had one today.  Our plane into Shanghai had a minor technical thing that caused us to return to the gate in Vancouver.  The result ? Some stress on my part that my connection which had seemed easy, became less so.

But as I say, hiccups can be survived.  Notwithstanding the negative comments from the airline staff on arrival to help, they did actually help and after an accelerated customs clearance, a 1km run to the adjoining terminal and departure customs followed by another 1/2 km run to the farthest gate, I was told upon arriving 11 minutes before departure that it hadn't started boarding yet. What I mean by that is that I always believe I can make super short airport connections.  Hats off to "Chris" from Air Canada for guiding and pacing me.   He was a track star (literally, the guy ran with me) and I wouldn't have been able to do that without him.

As I write this I am descending into Siem Reap where I need to get a visa on arrival, and a moto-taxi to my hotel.  Where there's a shower and a bed.  I did manage about 5 hours sleep enroute and while the 27 travel hours passed without a movie or any video based entertainment, I feel good. But admittedly tired. Let's see what the new day brings.

The start of Epic

And so it begins.  The big sit, the long agony of flying to the almost exact other side of the world. For other's I'm sure that might be true. but I'm going to be comfortable.  For a start, the longest flight is only 12 1/2 hours long.  And I get to try a new 'lovely to fly in' Boeing 787-8 from Air Canada.

I also happen to be fortunate to be sitting up front, so no sympathy for me please.  I knew at the outset that if the expectation was for me to travel that far, and then run hard, I need not even bother if the travel itself would take a week to recover from.

I also happen to get to stop-over in a few favourite places on the way - Vancouver and Shanghai.  The first flight was indeed painless, the plane is a joy to be in.  Electronic everything.  Enough so actually that not every bit of it worked. But c'est la vie.   It's taking me to where I want to go and that's enough.  

And now the journey continues ...

Epic

It's evocative, isn't it..

You could call it a bucket list, but I'm not fond of the term myself, as it implies I'm about to depart this little blue marble that floats in space.  You could refer to what I've tried to do every couple years as a mid-life crisis, though it's been going on for so long now, that you'd think I'd be out of it by now. You might look at it as I choose to do - spend your days experiencing and exploring all the world has to offer, and don't ever pass up a chance to do something epic.

So in about a week, I get to depart on 3 flights over 30 hours and visit Cambodia and Angkor.  It's a UNESCO world heritage site, and widely known for being quite special.  For me, it ranks up there with Easter Island, the Pyramids, Machu Picchu, Kilimanjaro and Stonehenge.  But my trek is actually aimed at self development too, and I plan to run a half marathon race thru the temples being held on Dec. 7th.  Stunning scenery, huge amounts of history, an exotic land, and a chance to push myself to compete.  A match made in heaven.

I'll try to capture some highlights, so you can ride along vicariously with me.  I do warn you though, about 16kms into the run (in very hot weather), you may have to carry me a while.  I promise to return the favour though.

Going Home

We should all know our back-story, our history. It helps inform future paths we may elect to take, if we know our our own past well.  None of us have just appeared, our families established themselves and played roles in their communities we should be aware of. It's a core element of the nature / nurture approach that brought each of us to where we are today.

So this is an 'old-home' week for me.  Let's see where I've been.

Are we God ?

I read a fascinating article in a recent Economist whereby the rationale for the lack of interstellar aliens or other civilizations was floated.   It's a tad "science-y" dealing with gamma ray bursts, their frequency and effects, but worth the read if you have 10minutes.

It got me thinking  - what if we're the first ?  While statistically improbable, some species does indeed have to be first.  It will be lonely that's for certain, and indeed we may find evidence in the future of other civilizations that have existed, or are at a different stage of growth than we are.

What this reminded me of was a concept I was exposed to years ago in a book by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, noted science fiction writer and futurist.  Mr Clarke is credited with having dreamed up ideas in the 1940's to 1950's such as the global satellite communication network we use today, mobile phones and space elevators.  In one of his works that I've always been quite fond of - Childhood's End - Clarke cites racial memory as a mechanism where the future is "remembered" into the past as it will become evocative or traumatizing to us as a species.  Which got me thinking...what in our past is like that, perhaps nothing more so than religious beliefs.

If I put these two ideas together as I'm often wont to do, what if the role of God in our formative millennia as a species is due to the fact that our lucky position in the universe means we are simply older and more advanced than other worlds..?  In other words, we are the future gods to other worlds, all seeing, and knowing and able to control that which seems uncontrollable.  Even by today's standards, we can 'pull-off' many of the same illusions we credit our Gods with doing in days gone past.  A less advanced civilization watching us fly, communicate over great distance, use advanced powers to control weather and so on might easily assume we are divine in some way.

It's an interesting concept and one that raises questions about our responsibilities to others. Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

I Run

I did a half-marathon run last week.  Without lying, it was hard, and a few times I felt like giving up, citing everything from my sore feet, to tired legs, to being cold and hot at the same time.  There were lots of reasons to throw in the towel.

But I didn't give up, I finished it. Not in a record time, and certainly not my best time, but I finished it.  I even sprinted for the last kilometer (or as much as I could anyway at that point) because I told myself - "What are you going to do when you're done? - Relax, take it easy and calm down."  What was I going to save any reserves for...I knew myself enough that If I hadn't pushed hard, I wouldn't have felt satisfied with my own race.

Running is a real head-game for many of us, me included. There's rarely a time when I think, gosh I really want to run today - of course it does happen, but often it feels like a chore.  Until you're out there, and every few runs, you get this wonderful feeling of everything working in synch.  You've got speed, no pain and are unstoppable.  You're fluid.  

Again..not every time but enough that I keep doing it.  I'm actually not aware of another activity where on an amateur or personal level you get such a lovely little reward.  Call it runner's high, or the satisfaction of not sitting on the couch eating Dorito's in front of the TV, whatever it is, it's the reason I run.  It's the reason, why I've signed up already for the next half marathon, and it's the reason I'll get my kit on and venture into the cold dark morning today.  I run because I can run.  

The Most Important Picture Ever Created

It gave us perspective and made clear we are all on the little blue marble together.

My 9 Most Influential Cars

I'm a car guy. Always loved them.  So I offer my subjective list here so you too can look at cool pictures of cars- and tell me what I've missed. (They are in no order)

1. 1984 BMW 635

As close to design perfection as any car out there, it stands the test of time (it's 40 years old).  The glass cockpit remains unrivalled in visibility terms and the lines seem just perfect.  I'd buy one tomorrow if I could find one in good shape.



2. 1985 Porsche Turbo

It's iconic, it's definitive and it was called at the time the "doctor killer" for it's tendencies when driven hard (The back was a tad heavy it seems).  Nonetheless, it defined the brand, and the space of supercars joined by a rarified few like the Countach and the Lotus Esprit used in 007 films.  Yes it's still around today, but it's been tamed.



3. Land Rover 110

Perhaps the off-road equivalent of the Porsche, the Land Rover 110 (or later the Defender) is what we saw growing up as the truck you had to use when you were off the road.  In Africa, or anywhere else. The spare tire on the hood, the roof racks and snorkel, and the ability to go through anything.  It remains the quintessential Land Rover and where they earned their credibility. Until this year, you could still buy these new in some parts of the word, and I guarantee they will remain on the road after we're all gone.  Just cockroaches driving 110's.


4. Puegeot 406

It's the inheritance of perfect coupe design from the BMW, 20 years later.  Sleek, aerodynamic and lovely.  Unfortunately French (great wine, cheese and romance, not such hot cars), but overlook that to enjoy it's grace and lines.  Widely exported though not to North America, the Puegeot's of the era were a renaissance for the French car maker until they lost their way once more.



5.  2009 Audi A8L

This was a tricky one, the big sedan grouping, as their are many good options to select from.  The Audi just seemed to have it all - a stunning aesthetic, combined with a muscularity that BMW, Mercedes and all the Japanese brands lacked.  Audi was close for a few years before this, but their 'big grill' and sportier wheels made the car that much more special.  Get the optional B&O tweeters rising from the dash, and the car is complete.

6.  Fiat Spider

It is the convertible.  There are many pretenders, but this is the one we think of when the term is used. Designed by the masters at Pininfarina in 1966, this car is timeless.  It seems like the direct father of other classics such as the Honda S2000 and Miata, only it's simpler, clearer of purpose and more fun.  Two seats, no more.  It's not a rocket, it's meant to enjoy the day, just as convertibles should.


7.  Toyota Previa - Generation 1

A minvan...am I bonkers ?  But look at it.  It's not square, it's fluid, and if you find yourself needing to drive a people mover, why not do it in something that didn't assault the eye. Sure in later life it's morphed back to the square-ish mold, but if not for the early Previa, we'd all be looking at Caravans thinking that was the future.

8.  1972 Firebird Formula 400.

It's the hood scoops.  It was when the muscle car was cool still as well, before KnightRider and the plastic body panels.  A real car, not the flashy Vette's or Cuda's that were also around then.  And it was this model - the Formula 400 with the big noise and no-nonsense approach to straight line speed.  It was true guy's car.



9.  Porsche 928 GTS

Ever since 'Risky Business', I've loved this car. In fact I liked water cooled, front engined Porsches  before their rear engine brethren.   I almost bought one, a beat up 25 year-old '84 model - it was a lovely beast to drive, but the maintenance costs scared me off.  The car is fast, super comfortable and in it's day reflected the utmost in what "GT Driving" meant.  This 'shark' still turns heads today, and that says something.



Why 9 by the way ?  Because I was struggling amongst many fine choices for #10.

Honourable Mentions...

There have been many cars that defined their era, and these include the Volvo P1800, the Triumph TR7/8 and the de-facto current 'best of' the convertible - the Boxster.  Or stunning wagons like the Audi S4 Avant. Notably there's not a Ferrari on this list, though the current 458 came close.  Likewise no Mercedes, Maserati's Pagonda's or Lambourghini's.  I'm also not a big Jag fan, but appreciate them, having spent some quality time in E-Types.  But - that's just me.  As I said at the outset, the list is subjective.

What's on your list..?

Cinderella & Superman or How Pop Culture has Ruined Lives

In our society, it's trendy to blame others and other things for our behaviour.  I'm generally not a fan of this approach, preferring instead to suggest we might take responsibility for our actions and situations.  However there's one area that I'll admit discomfort with - and that's the popularization and pushing of archetypes that we might/should aspire to.

For a few years now, I've been vocal about how Disney (and others in the genre)  have seemed to create unrealistic princess expectations amongst young girls.  Name the animated film since 1980 - all feature some young heroine getting their prince charming. Fade out at that point, and don't cover getting to know one another or actually living together successfully.  True love becomes apparent through fate, or first glance.  Yeah, because that happens all the time.  As a real person in the world if you been weaned on these fables, that's what we may unconsciously hope for. (Heck, I woud too)

I think the same mythology applies to young men.  The rise of Marvel studios - The batman, spiderman, any of the avengers and for those with a real taste for green, your Hulks..it means that the message sent to young men is that you can also be a hero.  You should be able to do extraordinary things, in fact it might be that you should expect to.  If you don't, you're not only not a hero, you're perhaps not trying hard enough.

If the mate selection gets messed with for young ladies, the ideas of what it means to be a man gets twisted for young men.  I think there's a fine line that got crossed somewhere in the push to sell T-Shirts and DVDs. And at the time it wasn't noted as it was too easy to daydream about some kind of utopian personal future.   But we should each work to understand the fairy tale ending for yourself doesn't ride a white horse (or lift one around).  Be your own best version of you, and that's hero enough.

Serial to Parallel

In my business life, I often wonder about motivations that drive organizations. I’m talking beyond the make money / become more efficient macro motivations.  Why do we elect to do A over B, in that order, to accomplish our goals ? Is this the only idea we have ?  Or perhaps is this the only way we’ve ever done it before..

How we make decisions on future potential paths would seem to be tremendously insight-full, (as in full of insights) if we can get our heads around it.  One of the trends I see over and over though its rarely acknowledged as such, is the movement from serial work to parallel work.  We know we need to do more with less.  In this case, less refers to resources, time, money, capabilities and so on.  In an effort to do that, the historic model of one foot in front of the other to proceed down our path is being usurped by many feet in front of many other feet to reach the same point 2x, 5x, 1000x faster.  Which is all good on paper, but the devil is in the details.  Time isn’t cheated easily.

Think about a real life situation where we see this.  I'll select Apple as they are well known, and as I write this, recently they had another big launch event.  In some of what they did, they seemed to work well in parallel, while in another, they didn’t do as well.  With the new phone launches, they held an event on Sept.9^th and had the new product in stores and delivered by Sept 19.  Impressive.  They’d developed, tested, refined and put production and delivery mechanisms into place in relative secrecy to move vast quantities of these products almost as soon as they let the cat out of the bag.  Very parallel.  In contrast, they also announced a watch on the same day. It’s not available yet, won’t be for months in fact.  They are still refining, testing and finalizing and no doubt working out production logistics.  Quite serial.  Now they had an advantage as they already made phones, so could tap into that expertise, while they haven’t sold watches before..but still.

Working in parallel requires more than experience.  It needs systems, skills, forward thinking and safeguards.  And let’s not ‘mistake’ the late cycle product announcement for parallel work – it usually just means serially they saved the announcement for the end of the cycle. (Apple does this a little admittedly too but the parallel work started months ago, not just in September).

Beyond products though, we seek to multi-task (parallel work) in our daily lives, we try to achieve life-work balance personally, and we try to refine this skill understanding that the world is throwing more at us every minute, then historically was done in any given days.

So, my prediction for the future is that parallel work will continue to be the aim in it’s many forms for the foreseeable future.  Companies will sell ideas, systems and approaches to enable this. Scale (a code-word for parallel work) and accessibility (cloud anyone?) are needed to allow parallel to be achieved.  Until that is, that the fundamental concept of parallel is itself usurped by another way to achieve the desired end-state.  After all, developing new ways to cheat time is always interesting.

What Happens When We Die

It was a time-waster, a conversation filler, or at least a way to keep the discussion going I'm certain.  I was asked this yesterday, and answered in a perhaps too sincere manner, such that I lost the audience of one.  That bodes well for what you're about to read.

The reason to re-hash the answer I offered isn't to make it clearer, or even perhaps different.  The reason is that I think the answer matters. I'm not pushing religious dogma here btw, though I do think there is some elegant metaphysics in the answer I'm about to offer.

Let me start by saying I think we as a species think ourselves too important.  We very quickly lose historical perspective and assume that the last couple centuries have been infinity, where we will rule the galaxy forever.  Poppycock. (younger generation pls use Wikipedia to get that reference). Science tells us that the planet is about 4.54 Billion years old, about one third the age of the universe.  In that time, almost 4 Billion of those years saw an earth populated by very small and/or microscopic life.  So life as we'd acknowledge it only appears in the last 550-580Million years.  The first 4B years are referred to hereafter as Heaven's soft opening.

In that last 550-580 Million years, vertebrates and other creatures evolved, and amongst them was some early ancestor or two of ours.  Dinosaurs had their day, for 160+ Million years and the first recognizable hominids - those we can look at and say, yes that looks a little like us -are really appearing only 2 Million years ago.

Evolution as they say takes time, and it wasn't until Cro Magnon man that we've unearthed the first signs of spirituality - about 32,000 years ago. Burying the dead, cave paintings and some early symbols.  So, if we grant this point in history as the evolution of a soul (A huge uncertain leap), our ancestors were soul-less for 98.4% of their evolution.  Herein lies the first issue I see - we take today's level of spiritual awareness and assume it's always been like that.  It hasn't.  In fact if we rounded these numbers just a little, we still don't have souls, statistically.

The second argument I'd make concerns the body v soul division.  We came up with that I believe as a handy way to get around the fact that once a body is dead, and placed into the ground, it begins to no longer be a body. Said nicely, it re-joins it's surrounds.  That clearly doesn't fly if I'm trying to fund a great new religious building (cathedral, synagogue, mosque, temple etc) as there needs to be something more than the physical that can't be proven or disproven.
The spirit is a beautiful answer here - the good have their spirits rewarded, and the bad are punished.  But wouldn't that be the case for animals too ?  Wouldn't your loving dog, dolphin, whale or whatever also have this spirit that could move on..?  Seems not in our humano-biased view.  Its the same issue with zombie movies, why are there no mammal zombies, just people..we know we share diseases across species, why not spirit life as well. Factor in time on top of this, and you have an empty Heaven waiting for us to become self-aware and when it finally happens they no longer admit our furry buddies. Bummer.

While it's a little too easy to poke holes in some established theories, the real trick is arriving at one's own.  I do offer this, for your scoffing and smiling pleasure. Poke away..

There are a finite number of atoms in the universe.  I'm currently 'using' some Oxygen, Carbon and Hydrogen atoms (96% of each of us) and some smaller amounts of others. On the universal scale, I'm gonna live to be 100 (as if) and so I'm really borrowing these for 0.00000769% of the time. Again...we're rounding errors.  The elegance to which I earlier referred is that "I" get to rejoin the universe in another form quite soon.  I may come back as dust, or a plant or perhaps this assembly of atoms may never assemble again, but "I" will have existed, made some kind of impact and the cycle continues.  I'm not preaching reincarnation in a traditional sense - we can't all have been King Richard or Shirley McClaine.  But we all do come back.  The trick of course is recognition, or perhaps should I say appreciation of what's around us.  Birds have wings, fish have gills and people have a sense of self-awareness.  Enjoy your time in this form.

So, it's your turn now.  Answer the question for yourself.  You don't have to tell anyone, or you can - your choice.

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

I am that old dog.

I'm fortunate to be around a wonderful person that is quite positive.  Looking for the bright side, grasping the moment, and actually living that way rather than just talking about it.  It's starting to rub off I think.  I know it's taken a while - change is hard after all.  This special person has eroded my crustiness bit by bit, layer by layer.  Sure I still am bound to swear in heavy traffic occasionally and get frustrated with work, but by and large the effect of all this positiveness has me leaning uphill too.

I'm not a fan of preachers, or those pushy with their opinions, but when someone can 'walk the talk' and it turns out very well for them, then I'm going to pay attention.

So, thank you for that.

This is What I Should Have Said

I had a wonderful surprise Birthday party thrown for me.  It was thoughtful and I'll admit until almost the very last minute, I had no idea at all.   It was also quite uncomfortable, or at least I was, as I'm not fond of that much attention.  There's irony here in truck-loads, and I'm going to just ignore that for now.

There were some lovely comments by my Dad, my best buddy and my number one son.  And I'll also admit I was quite happy to not speak at that point, searching vainly for words as I was silently doing.

But here's what I think I would have said, having the benefit of a few days to mull it over.

Firstly, I'm flattered and thrilled that everyone made the effort to come over and attend. Notwithstanding how persuasive my wife and daughter can be, and how great the food was, I was really touched to see so many people gathered together that actually all mean an awful to me. Long time friends, new friends, old friends and family. Folks I hadn't seen in a long time and some I get to spend time with frequently.  At times like these it strikes me wealth isn't about stuff, rather it's a measure of the depth of strong relationships we have, and Saturday night I felt extremely rich.

Secondly, my wife is pretty incredible for having engineered all of this.  On one hand it was a predictable occasion to have something done, but even with that knowledge she was low key and I know now to take extra care with her poker-face.  My daughter guarded me all day, and was in hindsight quite chatty.  She engaged me on things she knew I'd bite at, and she was also good at camouflaging true intention.  Another one to watch.

Lastly, I know I veer towards the pointed comments, delivering the smart, cute insightful thing to say when in a pressure situation, and in the moment, it doesn't always work. What I really wanted to say was a simple 'thanks'. The evening made me feel embarrassingly special, and I think that's what was intended.

The Fifty Best Moments of My Life

I’m turning 50 soon.  So I thought it would be an interesting exercise to put together what I consider to be the top 50 moments or situations in my life – so far.  There is no rank here, no order and I’m sure you’ll strain to capture my train of thought that connects these events.  They take place over 5 decades.

1.     Marrying the love of my life - the smartest, brightest, toughest and prettiest lady I've ever known.

2.     Holding my newborn daughter, our first child, in my hands and realizing the incredible joy that lay ahead and the knowledge that everything was different now.

3.     Meeting my ‘new’ father for the first time when I was 5, and it was ‘all-official’.

4.     Listening to my son start singing at 2am in the blistering, blowing cold as we went for the summit together.

5.     Completing a half marathon and sprinting the final 200meters to break the two hour mark, my goal.

6.     While camping with my family, ‘trying’ some wolf calls from a canoe at night to hear them promptly answered by real wolves from shore 50 feet away.

7.     Viewing Jupiter’s moon’s and Saturn’s rings clearly with my own eyes through my telescope.

8.     Summiting Kilimanjaro with my son, best friend and his son, watching the most sublime sunrise in the history of sunrises on the dawn of my 46^th birthday.

9.     Picking my family up at Kai Tak airport, after I’d already moved there for work, and seeing them again after weeks apart, my very tired wife balancing hordes of luggage and two little ones post her 21 hours inflight.

1.   Riding my bike along the pathway and roads at Lake Simcoe’s edge, enjoying a sunny summer’s day.

.  .  Seeing my daughter graduate three times, each more meaningful, each with a clearer vision of who she is.

1.     Helping my mom celebrate her 75^th birthday, the planning, the surprise and joy on her happy face.

1.   Watching my wife work and focus and struggle and succeed in her work, never giving up, always aiming for excellence.

1.   Cheering on my son as he scored four times in a game on the centre pitch, when playing an exhibition match during the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.

1.     Balling like a baby on a Qantas flight, admittedly a little buzzed watching The English Patient, ashamed and not at the same time for the film's emotional impact and probably many times since on various flights and different films.  There's something a little special about crying in your airplane seat at an evocative film after a few glasses of champagne, 5-10 miles above the earth somewhere.

1.     A curious sense of pride and/or accomplishment when doing things that I was literally quit passive in.  For example I flew around the world one weekend, almost without stopovers when I was 22 just because I could (I worked for an airline). Bombay and Hong Kong for the first time and alone both scared me, but I seem to have survived.

1.    Playing 'hokey' (look it up) from school for week when nine years old, spending the week on the frozen lake I lived near, and playing with my dog. It never really occurred to me someone should notice or care.

1.    Swooning over a girl when I was 17, and in fact really didn't know the girl that well. Through a love-struck summer I somehow forgot to eat and lost almost 80 pounds.

1.     Finishing and understanding and enjoying some of the great astrophysics books by Sir Martin Rees and Stephen Hawking.

2.     Buying & driving around in my first dream car. It felt like I'd arrived.

2.    The feeling of accomplishment when my work goes well - when the client is very pleased and I know I've given it 150%. Recognition is nice, but when you hit a home-run, you know it.

2.   From a young age, on the last day of school, I started walking home from school taking some quality time to cover the 5 kms.  The sunshine, warmth and knowledge of 2 months off of school meant I never really touched the ground of those days.  I still get that feeling at the end of a work engagement.

2.    Years ago, after my son had done an exchange program, we hosted the exchange student for a month.  The three of us (My son, Me and the little French lad) went camping and rarely was I so proud and thankful for my own boy for his strength, and focus as it became clear to me what he could have been like.

2.     The realization I had of how lucky I am - my life took a fortuitous twist when I was 5, and I had literally no control over it.  If my life hadn't worked this way out based on events 45 years ago, then I'm not sure I'd even be writing this.  Thanks Dad.

2.   Proposing to, and actually marrying my bride was clear to me in hindsight.  I wasn't nervous (or at least that's not the memory) nor was I uncertain.  I knew then, just as I know now - this incredible lady and I should be together.  I've been as certain of few other things in my life.

2.   We lived in Hong Kong and during a period of about a year, I'd take the ferry across to work, and it coincided with my daughter's school schedule.  In fact, her school bus passed a walkway I went along in my 10-minute post-ferry walk to work.  There's a point where the roadway elevates to go overhead, and it coincides with a walkway above street level.  One day, her bus passed at exactly that spot where I was walking and she looked out.  I saw her, she saw me and we waved furiously, as if we hadn't seen one another for years.  The surprised recognition and elation lasted for days.

2.   I got my scuba certification when I was 47, and have had some incredible experiences underwater - awe inspiring, frightening and impactful in ways I'd never imagined.  I need another (expensive) hobby like a hole in the head but diving exposes me to unimaginable scenes and situations.

2.   We lived in Hong Kong around the time of its’ handover to China in the late 1990’s and I travelled extensively for work.  One day while traveling back to Hong Kong from Sydney, I was on Cathay Pacific and got an upgrade to First Class.  It became of those defining moments, it struck me halfway through the flight – “Is this it?, Is this as good as life gets…” I had a wonderful work role, and had the good luck to be able to enjoy many of the finer things in life.  Money wasn’t an issue, and I was on top of my job. But I was bored - I longed for challenge so gave up luxury for yet another move.

2.   I was under 10 and quite enamoured with little planes, tanks and ships I’d build myself from plastic model kits. I recall digging up the grass on an entire side of the house and making a fort in the dirt for my army of tanks and trucks – I’d created an empire.

3.   As a family I recall we’d play flashlight tag in the woods called Mossington’s at night near our house. It was scary in the dark, but good-scary to the then 6-7 year-old me.

3.      Killer.  A post dinner game of killer always made a meal better. Taught me how to subtly wink.

3.   When we weren’t playing tag or murderously winking at one another, we’d play Monopoly, and it taught me about business, playing fair and luck. Rule #1, always be the banker – you never know who you can trust.

3.   Any of the days spent watching my son’s back as we paddled though some wilderness lake or river looking for the next portage, and chatting the days away about everything and nothing.

3.   Doing family hikes in the stunning Westonbirt Arboretum, or hiking the hills in Hong Kong as a family - one kid on my shoulders, or exploring the woods in Northbrook. Being outside together always seems to work.

3.     At about the age of 23, popping open a bottle of champagne on a small island off of Fiji’s coast and wondering vaguely what the rest of the world was doing – enjoying but not really appreciating the freedom of youth, and airline staff travel.

3.   Observing the wreckage of the previous night in the woods while ‘camping’ with friends in a van beside a Muskoka resort. The trail of dropped beer bottles highlighting how (un)successful our drunken pitch-black walk through the woods had been.

 .    Watching my wife graduate with her B. Ed.  In the robes, receiving the scroll, I was so very proud of her and the accomplishment she’d realized.

3.    Any of the many, many times I've been reduced to tears laughing with Randy until my core hurt.

3.    Watching my 5 year old daughter tell my 3 year old son to try the food in front of him instead of making faces and pushing it away – “it’s not bad , it’s just different, you’ve had different before” – and watching him listen, get it, and dig in.

4.    Soon-to-be Constable John informing the nice police officer at the door that “No, we hadn’t heard any loud noises, or seen anything, but we’ll be watchful” in front of 25 sprawled, passed out, mostly bare party guests the morning after.  A story for the ages.

4.    Traveling with a lifelong friend, together back-packing around Europe in our early twenties, being a little tipsy and lost in the wee hours of our first morning in Athens.  Finding a hotel with an English TV show we recognized – Knight Rider – and hearing the character say: “I don’t know Kit, it’s all Greek to me”. I’m pretty sure we both wet ourselves laughing.

4.   Walking along the Pinellas trail, post a Blue Jay’s Spring Training game with our family, getting ice cream and enjoying the casualness of the day together.

4.    My Mother, sister, and I went to Algonquin when I was 7or so, it was probably my first time, and in those days, they dumped food garbage and the black bears came foraging every evening.  On our way out of the Park, we stopped by there at my urging no doubt, and alone together in my mother’s Firebird we watched for bears.  I recall seeing a huge bruin climb a hill beside us, not 5 feet from the car.  It made quite an impression.

 With my son, canoeing in Algonquin forty years later, we rounded a corner in a lovely wilderness lake and a large moose and her calf were just at water’s edge. We were no more than 100 feet away, and we kept quietly paddling while they bent their giant necks down and continued to eat the weeds in the water.  It was idyllic, calm and we felt quite lucky to be able to witness some of nature’s majesty.

2.     I had a chance to participate in an Outward Bound event about 15 years ago, thrust together with some work colleagues that I didn’t know well. My own balloon of self-awareness was popped, as I became clear about many things about myself that had always been murky, or ill-defined.  Team success has rarely been so clear.

3.     Working closely with my good friend and colleague Mark, when based in Hong Kong, we spent a weekend together in a southern Sydney off-site location re-imaging our organization’s value proposition. We created a new manifesto of success and culture.  It was a heady, empowering time exploring business concepts and ideas. They ultimately died on the vine but the exercise itself was as close to business nirvana as I've gotten.

4.     This moment lasted almost a month, but my (future) wife and I did a post university graduation tour of France. It featured a large number of highlights as I had the best lunch of my life (May 8^th, 1988), learned how to love coffee, experienced the oddest coincidence of my life, explored a fantastic country and fell further in love with my future bride. Vive la France!

5.     When I was about 20, I’d always loved big airplanes and got my first airline job at Wardair (RIP). My job was to assist folks arriving and departing in wheelchairs but it meant I had free passage anywhere in Toronto airport.  I recall running to the nearest gate where ‘we’ had a plane and plopping into the Captain’s seat in a 747-100 and starting to push buttons. A dream come true.

6.     Watching our kids grow up, where as an observer you see connections being made, from first steps to first leaps and then control and understanding.  There is no favorite age for me, rather the journey itself as development happens before your eyes is fascinating.

7.     Understanding in quite general terms how fortunate I am, by virtue of where and when I was born and to whom, the chances afforded me in life, and things that are really the luck of the draw- I do appreciate these things and try not to waste my exposure to everyday circumstances.  Clearly this isn’t a top 50 ‘event’ as such, however it colours how I live through all the other events beyond the top 50.

   This exercise has been a fascinating one and taken me a few weeks - something I recommend for each of us.