Mar 26

by Miriam Garvi

Look at this picture. Nothing but bare skies over a bare, snow-covered landscape.

But beyond what is captured by the camera lens is a moment rich in satisfaction and peace, a moment of untouched open space that awakens the hope of new beginnings. A breather from all the musts and the matters of course that frame our everyday life.

Winter landscape somewhere in Norway

In our relentless pursuit of knowledge, we assemble everything we think we need to know about the ‘how tos’ and the ‘how not tos’. But this structure of fragmented pieces robs us of a quality so fundamental that it is known by the smallest child: that childlike innocence that allows us to believe in the unwritten page of new beginnings.

All too often what we see is blocking our sight. Unless we make room for the invisible qualities of life they will fall into oblivion, quenched by conventional professionalism. Vision pioneering is about unwritten pages and new beginnings: to start afresh by allowing fulfilling qualities to be brought out into the world. It is about new seeds taking form, germinating and growing so that we may be enriched not just monetarily but in a wider, human sense as we experience true fulfilment.

Mar 25

by Miriam Garvi

The other day I was walking around among the glass skyscrapers of Hong Kong.

hong-kong.jpg

In business ideals of competition and growth have been put on a pedestal. Markets are redefined so we can claim to be the best or the biggest at something - but what that something is is of little importance as long as we can claim the position. We take great pains to belong to the beautiful people, that exclusive crowd of world citizens who can walk through life in luxurious air-conditioned gallerias with marble flooring where the daily pains of the unfortunate are far from sight. Great image, but what’s our contribution to the world?

Some fifty years ago, venture capital pioneer Georges F. Doriot raised a challenge as he was teaching future business leaders at the Harvard Business School: “Do we want to build or merely enjoy what others ahead of us have made possible? Really, how can one enjoy anything if one is not building for the future of others? Remember that our happiness is in direct proportion to the contributions we make.”

In the era of image, we seem to have forgotten all about legacy - forgotten about the strong imprint that is made when somebody is dedicated to making a difference even when there is no instant pay-off in sight. Such pioneering initiatives inspire us to find our own way of making an enriching contribution.

Image is exclusive and lies in the eyes of the beholder. Legacy is a challenge for each and every one of us and it is there for the taking.

Next Entries »