Tag: dailyprompt
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The World’s Fastest Indian
What’s the most underrated movie you’ve ever watched? One of the most underrated films I’ve watched is The World’s Fastest Indian, starring Anthony Hopkins. It tells the true story of Burt Munro, an eccentric New Zealander who spends years tinkering with an old Indian motorcycle before travelling to America to attempt a world speed record.…
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Finding My Voice
What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could? As a child, I was shy and sensitive. I didn’t particularly enjoy being the centre of attention. I was more comfortable observing what was happening around me than drawing attention to myself. I certainly never imagined that I would spend much of my adult life…
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A Week in the Manager’s Chair
If you could switch lives with a famous person for a week,who would it be and why? If I could switch lives with a famous person for a week, I’d choose Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa Football Club in the English Premier League. I’ve supported Aston Villa since I was a child. There…
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The Problem May Be the Same, But I’m Not
How do you manage stress? Stress is an inevitable part of life. I’ve learned that managing stress isn’t necessarily about eliminating the things that cause it. Sometimes it’s about finding a better way to live with them. Over the years, I’ve developed three simple practices that help me: Walk it off. Sleep on it. Talk…
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Conversations I Keep Having
If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice,what would it be? If I could go back in time and give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to spend less time thinking about the past, unless it helps you move forward. I’ve spent far too much time…
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A Hope That Has Survived
What’s something you’ve done that your past self would be proud of? I have always been an idealist. I hold strong convictions about life and I try to embody them in the way I live. Sometimes my idealism has been a little naive. At other times, my convictions needed time and experience to mature. But…
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The University I Never Visited
What’s the best online course you’ve ever taken? Years ago, I completed a Master of Professional Education and Training through Deakin University in Victoria, about a thousand kilometres from where I lived. To this day, I have never set foot on the campus. Not for an intensive, not even for graduation. But it was one…
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The Man Behind the Music
Which celebrity would you love to meet, and what would you talk about? I would love to meet Peter Gabriel. Not because he is famous, but because there are three things about him that have stayed with me over the years. The first is his music. I loved his 1986 album So, particularly the song…
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What Makes a Good Person?
What does it mean to be a good person? When Jesus was approached by a man who called him a good teacher, he responded with an interesting question: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Jesus reminds us that absolute goodness belongs to God. And in his own life,…
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Namibia: Where Life Flourishes Against the Odds
What’s a country that’s at the top of your bucket list? I’m not really a bucket list person. I don’t have a list of countries that I’m determined to visit before I die. But every now and then, a country captures my imagination. Namibia is one of those places. I’m not entirely sure why, but…
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Writing for Discovery
What are your strategies for SEO? SEO is one of those things I understand in principle but have never really thought about in relation to my blog. In my professional life, we certainly use it. We want to connect people who have particular needs with the services we provide. It makes good sense. But my…
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The Advice I Wish I’d Taken
What’s one thing you know now that would havesaved your younger self a lot of pain? If I could go back and give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to get some good financial advice early in life. We’ve lived a rather unconventional life. For most of our married life, we’ve…
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The Weirdest Movie I’ve Ever Watched
What’s the weirdest movie you’ve ever watched? The weirdest movie I remember watching was Arachnophobia, a 1990 horror comedy starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman. What can I say? It sounded weird. It was weird. And to this day, I have no idea why I thought it was worth watching. It wasn’t. With Jeff Daniels…
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The First Part of the Day
Tell us about your morning routine. I never set an alarm in the morning. I don’t need to. My body clock wakes me in the early hours each day. So my morning routine is really about protecting the first part of the day, especially the hour and a half between five and six-thirty. There are…
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More Than Memories
What’s the best way to meet new people while traveling? We’re the kind of people who are more interested in ongoing relationships than casual ones. So when I think about meeting people while travelling, I’m less interested in how many people we meet than in what happens afterwards. In recent years, we have increasingly travelled…
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The Same Mistakes
If aliens arrived tomorrow what’s the first thing you’d ask them? If aliens arrived tomorrow, I think the first thing I would ask them is: Did you make the same mistakes we did? It sounds slightly whimsical, but it is really a question about ourselves. If they had managed to reach Earth before we had…
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The Skill That Looks Effortless
What’s the most underrated life skill? I really admire people who are strong in empathy. They are often the people I am drawn to most. They seem able to sense what others are feeling and understand what someone may be experiencing before that person has even found the words. They hear the unvoiced questions. They…
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Leave Room for Grace
What’s a personal mantra or philosophy you live by? “Leave room for grace” is one of the personal philosophies I try to live by. As the principal of a university college, I regularly find myself dealing with complicated situations. Young adults make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes come from immaturity or naivety. Sometimes from irresponsibility. Sometimes…
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First get oriented. Then wander.
What’s the best way to explore a new city? People often say that the best way to explore a new city is simply to wander. I admire people who can do that. I’m not really one of them. When I arrive somewhere new, I like to get a cognitive map in my head. I want…
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Very Small, But Never More Alive
What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive? This is me in my happy place, standing on an ice floe in the Southern Ocean. It was day one of our expedition to Antarctica. The air was cold, but not unbearably so. Around us, ice, ocean and sky seemed to stretch forever.…
