The Brave Discussion

I love the Ideas At The House talks and have attended a number of them recently. The philosophy behind ideas at the house ( that’s the Sydney Opera House I am referring to) is exclusive content from the world’s brightest mind: A recent guest speaker was positive psychology pioneer, Dr. Martin Seligman who has redefined [...]

We have been talking a great deal of late on The Brave Discussion about the art of storytelling. I briefly touched yesterday on how the business world too is rapidly coming to the conclusion that we need to take the vast quantity of overloading facts and figures in our presentations and add more of the human [...]

Today we meet Kathleen McGowan, International Bestselling Author, History Avenger, Spiritual Activist and ABOLITIONIST. Kathleen says, “We can end slavery in our time if we care enough to do it!” Kathleen claims to be a “History Avenger.” She says, History was largely written by the victors and the oppressors, and some of the greatest stories [...]

I heard a young woman speak at Happiness and its Causes a couple of years ago and then I had the privilege of seeing in person her life’s work with a troupe of dancers known as the Merry Makers. It is impossible not to be moved by their performances and the joy they bring to [...]

We all have talents and we all have what psychologists now call ‘harmonious passions‘. That is: harmonious passion  freely chosen for the pleasure that comes from the activity, a concept very similar to intrinsic motivation. Harmonious passion is characterized by autonomy and flexible persistence. People pursue these activities because they want to, not because they [...]

This week has been a particularly stressful week and yesterday I felt the need to get out and enjoy some fresh air which has prompted today’s story. I’ve always been fascinated by why most of us ‘have’ to work indoors and how some workplaces almost seem toxic as an environment – no natural light, people [...]

I first heard Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky speak at Happiness and its Causes Conference and that talk changed my views on the word happiness, which seems so often trivialised in modern language. I realised how important for each of us it was to finding our own personal path to happiness. And I also learnt how your [...]

When Kundayi Chiundiza, then in Year 11, tragically passed away last year, the terrible impact of this catastrophe was powerfully experienced throughout the whole St Andrew’s Cathedral School Community in Sydney. Kundayi’s mother Grace Chiundiza, had a vision to honour her son’s life and realise his dream of teaching children. That vision was to build [...]

The Happiness Project is the memoir of the year Gretchen spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier – happily, it was a #1 New York Times bestseller. As one of the hundreds of experiments she conducted, sheI started a blog. Where she [...]