‘Happier’ by Tal Ben- Shahar

This book and its companion were impulse buys at an airport bookstore.  I can get desperate for something to read on a flight and Melbourne is a two hour journey from Brisbane.  I have begun weening myself off the Australian Financial Review, (at least being compulsive about reading each issue).  ’Happier’ has been an excellent investment.  It has been beneficial for me to have an opportunity to reflect upon my own journey that constantly struggles for a happier existence; it is not easy for me.  But on another level this book is an excellent development program for leaders.  In this era it is so often obvious that people are struggling to maintain happiness in their lives and when this is manifest in the workplace its effects can be very destructive both for the individual and the surrounding people.  Understanding how happiness can be fostered and encouraged is a leadership facet.  The use of goals, understanding purpose, finding an inner calling; these are all things raised by numerous leadership experts but many times they are trampled beneath the stampede of the latest and greatest leadership fads.  Meaning, Pleasure and Strengths- very important principles but when applied in a holistic way in a workforce can ignite the best in people.  I am still in the book and looking forward to starting ‘Even Happier’ in the next few days.

Do You Think Democracy Can Handle It?

The future- can democracy handle it?  Do you look around at the people next to you on the train and the footpaths on the way to work and have faith in their ability to bring critical thinking to a ballot box?  I have had the idea for years that the status of superpower should be an assigned status.  My preference has always been Norway. It has nothing to do with my heritage but Norway is a sane democracy.  Let us hand the nukes over to those guys and let them manage diplomacy with a calm pragmatic nordic paradigm.  I think the United States is well past being a reliable superpower.   It cannot deliver essential services to its populace and it is still filled with folks who want to go backwards (out of fear) rather than face the reality our species is facing.  We are all waiting for the day when China is the new superpower- the economic ascendancy of China is remarkable but the fact remains that China is not a democracy.  As resources get tight, climates change, people rebel and refugee number swell, who will cope best?  I have a sinking feeling that authoritarianism will become a competitive advantage.    The stagnation in the US built on the sludge of special interest greed will be a huge impediment in dealing with a potentially dangerous future.

What Helped Me Decide to Migrate?

I guess a trip back from Perth on a 737 can often elicit some strange thinking patterns.  I actually find that flying generally causes my brain to go off some tangents.  The trip last week home from Perth included some reflection on my decision to travel down-under and seek to forge a life as an Australian.   There were many factors in this equation but one in particular I wish to note here. Bob Hawke.  Yep – that’s right.  As a young man I alway perceived Australia as a progressive society with a can-do attitude to make things good for everybody.  It seemed to have a culture that was more concerned with ‘who you are’ rather that ‘what you are.’  My tipping point came when I saw Bob celebrating the America’s Cup win achieved by Alan Bond and his crew. I knew I had to live in a country that had a Prime Minister who stuck up for the working people by foreshadowing massive celebrations and absenteeism at work.  Bob was my kind of guy; in fact he was everybody’s kind of guy who expressed the most profound joy at the win his country had just achieved against the Yanks and particularly the NY Yacht Club. I liked his politics for the most part too.  Now – imagine that happening now- in 2009.  I am not sure it would be the same.