Author: Rachel Crowther

Wanderful: Inspiration On The Go –

Season 2 Finale

“Hello wanderers… welcome to the finale of our second season of ‘Wanderful’.

If you’ve listened to any of the previous episodes, you will know this is a podcast which has been designed to be walked to, providing you with some ‘inspiration on the go’

Every week we invite an inspiring guest to join us… somebody with a refreshing take on life and its various twists and turns.

What you don’t know is that lots of the wonderful conversations get left on the cutting room floor.

However… David and the team have scooped up some of that interview gold so you can take a wander through the magic we missed out on.

As ever… you can listen to this podcast in your home, but we think you will get the most inspiration if you boot up and join David @davidpearl_here @streetwisdom_ out on the streets.

The Season 2 finale features conversations with the founder of ‘The Eden Project’, Sir Tim Smit KBE, chief listener and volunteer executive director of ‘Sidewalk Talk’, Traci Ruble, the great connector, presenter and co-creator, Oli Barrett, columnist for Psychologies magazine, host of the ‘Happy Hacks’ Podcast and founder of ‘Untold Happiness’, Kia Cannons and multi-grammy award singer / composer, Nmon Ford.

https://linktr.ee/DavidPearl

Time Line

00.00 – 00.09

Theme

00.10 – 03.29

David introduces the Omnibus edition & Traci Ruble

3.33 – 3.44

Traci Ruble ‘back stage’ and ‘on stage’

03.46 – 07.05

The world’s best cold caller

07.07 – 08.18

David introduces Kia Cannons

08.20 – 11.08

Natural Enthusiasm

11.10 – 14.06

Food intolerance and changing dietary lifestyle

14.10 – 15.28

David introduces Oli Barrett

15.32 – 18.45

The great re-framer

18.47 – 21.45

What gives us restoration?

21.49 – 23.02

David introduces Nmon Ford

23.05 – 29.03

How to promote yourself

29.07 – 30.54

David introduces to Sir Tim Smit

30.58 – 32.44

Things are getting boring at Eden – geo-thermal

32.50 – 40.32

Relations with China

42.28  – 44.57

The magic of improvisation

45.00 – 46.34

David circles back to Traci Ruble

46.38 – 47.56

Really meeting

48.49 – 50.14

End credits

Quotes

Traci Ruble

(On Sidewalk Talk) Its a practice. Its like meditation, but relational meditation. Can I meet you and can I meet myself in this encounter and cultivate this into a practice which is consciousness raising?”

Kia Cannons

“Something I’m grateful for is that I wake up happy. Life has not been easy on many levels but I do have this natural enthusiasm and attitude to life.”

“I have always known there is the tough stuff and the good stuff and you get to choose what you focus on.”

Oli Barrett

“The things that restore us could be nature, music, the company of the people we love. Finding those chances for restoration, not just rest, is absolutely crucial.”

Nmon Ford

“If somebody else with whom you’ve worked, who knows other people can simply send a text message, an email, pick up a phone and call somebody, with who you’d like to work, that would be avenue one  and avenue number two would be just produce it yourself. Write it, find somebody else to write it, find some place to do it and just go ahead and do it.”

Sir Tim Smit

“From the beginning to the end of the concert… the audience was the concert. It was like the music was being drawn out of us, that they were the bards of our inner souls. Talk about happiness… I don’t think I’ve ever been to a concert wherever I looked, even people you imagined to be the shyest mice you’d ever seen, they were all singing, released by this… thing… and it felt like a joyous act of ensemble, with the conductors being the people who were the band. It was an extraordinary thing.”

Further Information

Traci Ruble

Web: http://traciruble.com/

Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT

Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT

Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg

Kia Cannons

Web: kiacannons.com

Instagram: @kiacannons

Podcast: Happy Hacks

Oli Barrett

Twitter: @olibarrett

Nmon Ford

Web: www.nmonford.com

Twitter: @nmonford

Instagram: @nmonford

Sir Tim Smit KBE

Web: www.edenproject.com

Twitter: @edenproject

LinkedIn: eden-project

Facebook: theedenproject

Instagram: edenprojectcornwall

David Pearl

Twitter: @davidpearlhere

Instagram: @davidpearl_here

Andrew Paine (Producer)

Twitter: @ItPainesMe

‘I don’t have much patience with what gets in the way‘

Biography

With multiple Grammy-winning albums to his credit, Nmon Ford began his musical journey at age three as a piano prodigy, moving quickly to the study of multiple other instruments and, ultimately, singing. He started the season as the composer and librettist (and title-role singer) of Orfeus, A House Music Opera, which was scheduled for its world premiere at London’s Young Vic Theatre (postponed due to Covid19). Nmon has appeared with the major orchestras of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, as well as Mostly Mozart Festival (Lincoln Center), San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, English National Opera, Hamburg State Opera, and Teatro Comunale di Bologna, with conductors including Robert Spano, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kent Nagano, John Adams, and Marin Alsop. He has recorded for Universal Decca, Naxos (Songs of Innocence and Experience, winner of 4 Grammy Awards), Telarc (Transmigrations, Grammy Award winner), Concord, and Koch International.

Additionally, Nmon is Managing Director of Branding, Marketing Strategy, and A&R for Lune Rouge Entertainment, a corporation started by Guy Laliberté, the founder and creative force behind Cirque du Soleil. Prior to Lune Rouge, Nmon was Vice President and Head of A&R at Universal Music Group’s Verve Label Group (VLG), where he oversaw U.S. media and creative projects for Verve, Decca Gold, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Mercury KX and Paragon, in addition to collaborations with artists signed to Republic, Interscope, Capitol, Warner, and Sony. In this role he also directly managed the Decca Gold and Paragon labels, for which he led global initiatives and partnerships. During his tenure at Universal, VLG earned an Oscar, a Golden Globe, 10 Grammys, 18 Grammy nominations, and Billboard #1 rankings on multiple charts.

Nmon joined Universal after having made a name for himself internationally as an artist and consultant. Prior to Universal, he was Co-Founder and Senior Director of Media and Communications at MATSTAT Consulting. In this position he led creative development and integrated marketing strategy for global clients including recording artists signed to Universal, Sony, Warner, and Live Nation; Target’s Community Initiatives; TED Talks; Gujarat Raffia LTD (NGO partnerships with United Nations, UNICEF, and American Red Cross); and Scallywag Productions (Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Awards from Los Angeles Independent, Berlin, Chicago, London, and Serbian Film Festivals).

Nmon is a Voting Member of the Recording Academy, a Contributing Member of the USC Alumni Association, and a Member of ASCAP. He earned his MBA in Marketing Management and Corporate Strategy and Entrepreneurship from California State University San Bernardino, and his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music—both with honors—from the University of Southern California, with additional studies in Journalism and Arts Administration.

https://linktr.ee/DavidPearl

Time Line

0.00 – 00.45

Intro Theme

00.46 – 4.49

Introducing Nmon

5.00 – 7.45

Nmon on being an artist

8.08 – 10.10

Detesting inconvenience

10.36 – 11.43

Practicality and evenness

12.48 – 14.30

The multiplicity of working roles

14.36 – 16.50

Self reflection and absence of self consciousness

17.08 – 21.08

Starting life as a performer – performing in church

23.40 – 24.40

Working at Universal Music

24.41 – 28.40

All artists have a twinge of crazy

28.51 – 35.57

Orpheus Production

37.32 – 41.00

The postponement of Orpheus

42.17 – 43.24

Star quality

43.25 – 47.12

Being the star of your own movie

47.30 – 50.28

Reflecting on the ‘exercise’

50.30 – 51.13

Outro

Quotes

“So much of what I do as an artist is a function of practical necessity.” (Nmon)

“Being an artist isn’t really difficult.. .the difficulty comes in trying to make the learning curve for new avenues of creativity as short as possible.” (Nmon)

“If there is a reasonable amount of time to get from one point to another and there’s something in the way, I don’t really have much patience for the thing that gets in the way. If it gets in the way of my structure… then it has to move. (Nmon)

“If the one thing I thought I wanted to do had worked out the way I thought I wanted it to work out, I probably would never have progressed to the other stuff I have done, because  there would have been no need to.” (Nmon)

“I can either stick with this one thing and just keep hammering away at it and trying to force it into something else or I can simply do all of these things, which are presenting themselves as opportunities and see where they go.” (Nmon)

“Have you ever worked with an artist who is marginally sane or are they all a little crazy?” (Nmon)

“Orpheus is so simple; presented so simply; what ended up being archetypes were so clear; there was no misunderstanding… “ (Nmon)

“If I could have flicked the switch and turned off the pandemic for anything it would have been for going back to the communal experience of ‘we’re all connecting on a certain level’ … and I felt blessed that the connective material was this thing… was Orpheus.” (Nmon)

References

Orpheus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus

Nmon performs ‘Slow Burn’ from Orfeus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCN1oxPc9-Y

Further information

Nmon Ford

http://www.nmonford.com/

Twitter: @nmonford

Instagram: @nmonford

David Pearl

Twitter: @davidpearlhere

Instagram: @davidpearl_here

Andrew Paine

Twitter: @ItPainesMe

“Can we slow down to the pace of nature?”

Biography

Kia is the do what you love coach for creative women. Empowering women with the tools to figure out what they want to do with their life, Kia helps women shift from surviving to thriving.  

Guiding people through essential self-discovery work to know what they want and tap into what they are called to do, Kia gets people unstuck so they can live a life without regret.  She does this through teaching soul-led living and cultivating a killer mindset. 

Kia is a monthly columnist for Psychologies Magazine, an Abstract Artist, Host of UK top 3 wellness podcast, Happy Hacks, and Founder of Untold Happiness. 

Full episode https://linktr.ee/DavidPearl

Timeline

0.00 – 00.45

Theme / Introduction

00.45

Introducing Kia Cannons

5.20

How Kia named herself – finding her identity

7.40

Different personalities

8.30

The time Kia couldn’t walk

14.00

Is giving herself permission, key to Kia’s life?

18.00

Learning to love yourself – the lessons from coaching

20.22

Boundaries

22.00

Showing people what works in Kia’s life – Instagram

23.45

Kia is rising up and letting go of the beliefs that don’t serve her

24.20

The Manifesto of Beliefs

26.00

Taking time to rest

28.00

The benefits of slowing down

31.45

The benefits of grounding

36.20

Working on choices

37.10

David sets up the grounding exercise

40.20

Post exercise conversation – what was the learning?

43.04

End credits

Resources Mentioned

Don Miguel Ruiz – The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide To Personal Freedom

Standout Quotes

“I didn’t have a real aversion to my name (Vicky) but i just had a real longing to find my own identity.” (Kia)

“It’s just insane how the answers are so often out there, but so often we shut our lives down because of what one person says.” (Kia)

“The key to everything in life is love.” (Kia)

“I really feel like I came into this world, this little ball of sunshine, full of enthusiasm, hope and excitement and then I had the human experience… of being moulded, told what to do, given advice, well meaning but advice that then took away my permission to do things.” (Kia)

“When you learn to love yourself – it began with acceptance and then moving into a deep appreciation of myself and my journey and then it turns into love.” (Kia)

“When you learn to love yourself, you treat yourself very differently and will give yourself permission to do so many things that you wouldn’t have done when you didn’t love yourself.” (Kia)

‘With the desire to give comes the need to be able to not give at times otherwise you find yourself quite depleted.” (David)

“I empower my mind, body and soul when I take time to rest.” (Kia)

“I move through my life and business so much more powerfully when I slow down and especially when I come to it from a state of being… which is always a slow, restful place.” (Kia)

“Slow doesn’t mean lacking in energy… quite the opposite.” (David)

“Am I slowing down to the pace of nature? I realised… walking without shoes makes you slow down… because you’re looking at where you’re putting your feet.” (Kia)

“I now challenge myself when I’m bare feet walking to find evidence of what the pace of nature is.” (Kia)

Connect

Kia Cannons

www.kiacannons.com

www.instagram.com/kiacannons

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/happy-hacks/id1437716831

David Pearl

Twitter @davidpearlhere

Instagram @davidpearl_here

Andrew Paine (Producer)

Twitter @ItPainesMe

“Great ideas start with laughter”

Oli Barrett MBE – Connector, Presenter and Co-Creator

About Oli:

Described by WIRED magazine as “the most connected man in Britain”, OIi Barrett is a serial co-founder who enjoys connecting people and ideas. He is a shareholder in several companies including Calm.com and Troubadour Theatres and co-founded the UK’s largest schools enterprise competition, Tenner. He co-founded StartUp Britain with support from the British Prime Minister and the Clean and Cool Mission, supporting cleantech scaleups to connect with global investors and markets. He is a regular event host, including for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards and sits on the advisory boards of Tech London Advocates, One Million Mentors and Founders4Schools. His latest audio course, Build a Better Network, has been taken by people around the world and his latest charity campaign (TOTS) encourages broadcasters and tech companies to turn on the subtitles, improving children’s literacy. 

Full episode: https://linktr.ee/DavidPearl

Podcast Timeline:

0.00

Theme

00.45

David introduces Oli Barrett

04.19

Tenner – The Schools Entrepreneurship Challenge

06.00

Where Do You Get Ideas From?

Distilling a big idea and making it something beautifully simple

08.50

Turn on the subtitles (TOTS)

11.35

The get-up-and-go mentality?

14.19

Bringing people together & the process of collaboration

17.50

The love of hosting events

• The amazing people you get to meet
• Breadth of subject
• The process of being on stage and making other people feel comfortable.
• Creating authenticity and honesty in the room.

22.00

Oli’s network – the golden rules

24.10

The joy of meandering – life is a search for people

28.15

The lessons of ‘seize the day’ – action / restoration

31.20

Getting to know other people more easily – the sense of the fellow traveller

34.30

The ‘Wanderful’ experience – seeing the funny side

The link between lightness and creativity

38.08

Post ‘Wanderful’ exercise – what did we learn?

40.37

End credits

Resources

Tenner

https://www.10xchallenge.org.uk/

Turning on The Subtitles (TOTS)

https://turnonthesubtitles.org/

David Ogilvy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ogilvy_(businessman)

Brij Kathari – TED Talk: Reading For A Billion, With Bollywood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRP4xfN89Ss

Nudge Theory – Richard H Thaler & Cass R Sunstein

https://uk.bookshop.org/books/nudge-the-final-edition-9780241552100/9780241552100

Start Up Britain

https://www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com/startup-britain-2/

Quotes

‘Make your thinking as funny as possible’ (Oli Barrett)

“Most of the things I’ve started have come through experiencing or reading about a problem.” (Oli Barrett)

“TOTS is all about the power of same language subtitles… if you put subtitles on kids TV you double the chances of them becoming a proficient reader.” (Oli Barrett)

“That process of connecting ideas and people – you create conditions for people to inspire each other, which means that quietly and respectfully, you can step back and enable them to get on with it.” (Oli Barrett)

“If something I’ve been involved with in any gets mentioned publicly and I’m not mentioned, I take that as a huge compliment, because it gives me that sense that it really could carry on without me.” (Oli Barrett)

“I do like process of making people feel comfortable, who wouldn’t normally feel comfortable and getting something from them that almost surprises them.” (Oli Barrett)

“You can travel the world looking for joy but they’re also on your doorstep.” (David Pearl)

“Life is a search for people is a beautiful thought” (Oli Barrett)

“To solve some of the biggest problems in the world you have to join unusual forces together.” (Oli Barrett)

“If you think you’ll live forever you do give yourself time to moan, whereas if you remember its finite, you may make more use of your day.” (David Pearl)

Connect

Oli Barrett

Twitter @oilbarrett

olibarrett.com

David Pearl

Twitter @davidpearlhere Instagram @davidpearl_here

davidpearl.net

Andrew Paine

Twitter @ItPainesMe

Traci Ruble – “When I listen, I am not alone…”

Biography

Traci has worked with people on their relationships for over 16 years as a couples counsellor and psychotherapist; describing herself as a “candid, clever, and integrative psychotherapist/couples therapist. I talk like a regular person and love “getting in the mud” with clients as an equal.”

Having survived six divorces as a child, born to a teen mom, she says “really I’ve been working with couples since I was four. I have my own lived experience of not being heard and being an outsider.”

Traci is the chief listener and volunteer executive director for Sidewalk Talk, a listening and volunteer-led global movement and non-profit, now in 15 countries across 90 locations with 8500 listeners listening as their own activism and growth practice.

She sat on the sidewalk in San Francisco in 2015 and continues to be moved by the changes this project has made in her own life. From getting more conscious about her own privilege, the challenges of leading while female, the link between connection and boundaries, and sustainable heart-centered organizational growth.  

Traci is working on her first book and is a sought after speaker and couples expert.  Aside from thoroughly loving her work, Traci also loves to be outside wandering in the trees, running, and goofing off with her husband of 17 years and two tween sons. She also loves couch surfing on some of the Sidewalk Talk chapter leader’s couches and listening with other teams around the world. Traci is currently living in Germany until 2022

Timeline

0.00 – 00.45

Theme / Introduction

00.45 – 05.03

Introducing Tracy Ruble

05.03 – 09.20

Traci explains ‘Sidewalk Talk’

• The importance of listening and compassion
• Confronting bias about people
• Falling in love with a stranger after 10 minutes
• Paying attention to economic injustice

9.20

Compassion happens between equals

11.00

How do you know when the (sidewalk) talk is done?

11.48

Traci’s communication style (listening versus talking)

12.15

The joy of listening to other people’s stories

13.30

Traci is an anxiety sufferer – Traci wants to be liked

16.00

Traci’s new relationship to Leaders and Leadership

17.02

How Traci made life difficult for previous leaders?

‘High maintenance but worth it’

21.10

Are we asking for what we really want?

23.30

The questions we ask people on Sidewalk Talk

27.00

How does Traci experience and tolerate the word NO?

The importance of developing a capacity to say NO

28.30

Cherishing the tender parts of Traci Ruble

31.00

How does Traci meet the world in cool ways?

• Giving people the ‘cherishing’ face
• Meeting people with the ‘sparkle’ in their eyes

35.05

How to amplify your own sparkle – Inviting clients to put themselves in an ‘egg’ and put inside what ever nourishes them.

36.53

Using Metaphor and creativity to create resilience

39.43

The ‘Wanderful’ Exercise: the ‘egg’ walk

42.38

Post-Wanderful Exercise – What came up for David Pearl?

45.41

Additional thinking about your ‘egg’

Resources Mentioned

Sidewalk Talk (Traci Ruble TED talk)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRNtEuyQtQA

Sidewalk Talk

https://www.sidewalk-talk.org/

Internal Family Systems by Richard Shwartz

Standout Quotes

“It’s super pleasurable to start listening to other people’s stories and to start listening in a way you can elicit more of their personal story – it’s just incredibly gratifying and enlivening.” (Traci Ruble)

“Compassion happens between equals.” (Traci Ruble)

“When I’m listening, I just think, I’m not alone, I’m human with you and that feels really good.” (Traci Ruble)

“Thank you for leading me today, I feel so appreciated.” (Traci Ruble)

“As I’ve stepped into a leadership role, have I made myself approachable enough as a leader? to have people feel safe enough to know that they could ask (for what they need or want) ? (Traci Ruble)

“I smile at you and I say ‘how’s your day going? Would you like to sit down and be listened to?’ “ (Traci Ruble)

“Tolerating the No because No is a representation of a boundary and all boundaries are between two humans is the defining ground of what I need in order to be in connection with you and if I’m saying no, I’m saying I’m not available to be in connection with you.” (Traci Ruble)

“When we’re little kids we don’t like No, because we’re on our way to a goal, we don’t like our directionality being thwarted. But as we age into adulthood we need to develop the capacity to hear No with grace and not make it all about us.” (Traci Ruble)

“When you seek somebody who ‘sparkles’, notice what part of you rises to meet the ‘sparkle’” (Traci Ruble)

Connect

Traci Ruble

http://traciruble.com/

Twitter @TraciRubleMFT

Instagram @TraciRubleMFT

Instagram @sidewalktalkorg

David Pearl

Twitter @davidpearlhere

Instagram @davidpearl_here

Andrew Paine (Producer)

Twitter @ItPainesMe

Street Wisdom is an everyday creative practice you use as you walk. A smart fusion of mindfulness, neuroscience and wellness, it unlocks our minds and unblocks our creativity with every step. Suddenly every street is full of inspiration. And whatever our questions, we are finding answers are everywhere.

We’ve distilled the Street Wisdom practice into a playlist of five short audio tracks you can stream. Just find a street, pop in your earphones and explore. Ideally outdoors but they also work inside.

Use each step individually for a 5-minute wander or use them collectively if you’d like to find answers to a question on your mind.

The series consists of five tracks:

Start Here: Introuction. How to use the Practices from founder David Pearl.

Tune Up 1; Let’s Get Curious. A 5-minute exercise to help you use your inner navigation system.

Tune-Up 2: Take Your Time. A 5-minute exercise to help you take control of the pace of your life.

Tune-Up 3: Lighting Up Life. A 5-minute exercise to light up your life by sensing the beauty in your surroundings.

The Quest: The heart of the Street Wisdom experience. Ask a question and see what answers the street gives back to you.

Stream them on Spotify or at streetwisdom.org. Tag us in photos of where you’re wandering on @streetwisdom_ and don’t forget to tell a friend.

Sir Tim Smit KBE –  Series 2, Episode 1 The Wanderful Podcast with David Pearl.

Biography

Sir Tim Smit KBE is one of the most recognisable and respected characters in the field of environment and sustainability.  He is probably best known for his achievements in Cornwall where he ‘discovered’ and then restored The Lost Gardens of Heligan with John Nelson, which is now one of the UK’s best-loved gardens.

Tim is Executive Vice-Chair and Co-founder of the multi-award-winning Eden Project in Cornwall. Since its opening in 2001, over 22 million people have come to see a once sterile pit, turned into a cradle of life containing world-class horticulture and startling architecture symbolic of human endeavour.  Tim is also Executive Co-Chair for Eden Project International which aims to have an Eden Project on every inhabited continent by 2025.

In this warm and engaging episode of Wanderful, David gets to have a meandering talk with one of his heroes exploring the inspiration behind Tim’s projects and what makes them magnetic to the thousands of people who keep them vibrant and alive.

Tim touches upon the problem of male vanity & ego at a time when there is a need for more collaboration and ensemble-working as we turn our attention to the challenges of climate change.

The conversation ends with a gentle analysis of the word ‘community’ and the importance of gifting and relationship building.

Full episode https://linktr.ee/DavidPearl

Timeline

0.00 – 00.45

Theme / Introduction

00.45

Introducing Sir Tim Smit

04.16

The word ‘sustainability’ versus the word ‘nature’

06.47

How does Sir Tim get so much done?

The people who are drawn to Eden

11.17

The biggest barrier to resolving climate change is male vanity

12.50

How is the Tim of today compared to the Tim of the early days?

15.35

Ensembles need leaders

17.33

The Eden Project allows people to find meaning

18.56

The Big Lunch – local connections & true community

25.21

The meaning of community

26.21

Identity & Violence by Amartya Sen

The polymathy that makes us

27.32

What is Sir Tim’s ‘verb?’

32.02

What does Tim do when he is wandering?

35.51

David sets up the ‘Wanderful’ exercise

38.27

What happened during the exercise

Resources Mentioned

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

https://www.heligan.com/

The Eden Project

https://www.edenproject.com/

The Big Lunch

https://www.purpose-done-right.com/the-big-lunch

Identity & Violence by Amartya Sen

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/558/55882/identity-and-violence/9780141027807.html

Ulysses by Lord Tennyson

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45392/ulysses

Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31463.Far_From_the_Madding_Crowd

Standout Quotes

“Almost everybody who comes towards or who is drawn to Eden is a slightly square peg looking for a square hole.” (Sir Tim Smit)

“The biggest barrier to resolving climate change is male vanity” (David Pearl attributed to Sir Tim Smit)

‘Vanity leads you to not listening enough. Nobody ever learnt anything by talking” (Sir Tim Smit)

“True genius is generally a construct of many different people” (Sir Tim Smit)

“The key code to you is noticing that a whole bunch of people needed you and valued you.” (Sir Tim Smit)

“The thing about the Big Lunch is not the day that’s important, it’s all the socialising and organising before.” (Sir Tim Smit)

“People are basically good. They don’t know how to be given permission to do good things sometimes.” (Sir Tim Smit)

“The origin of community is ‘comm’ meaning together and ‘munos’, meaning gift. It’s about the relationships of the people. You can’t be in a community if its passive” (Sir Tim Smit)

“Can I have a verb which is to kiss frogs? I am completely turned on by being a frog kisser. I love putting things into good heart. (Sir Tim Smit)

“You can’t always re-build but you can if you are thoughtful, gentle and kind, make things content again.” (Sir Tim Smit)

“Contentment is a deeper running river.” (Sir Tim Smit)

“We take water as a simple thing at our peril.” (Sir Tim Smit)

Connect

Sir Tim Smit KBE

Web – www.edenproject.com

Twitter – @edenproject

LinkedIn – eden-project 

Facebook – theedenproject

Instagram – @edenprojectcornwall

David Pearl

Twitter @davidpearlhere

Instagram @davidpearl_here

Andrew Paine (Producer)

Twitter @ItPainesMe

The Kiss House team are a creative bunch. We are normally found researching ways to create better homes and decarbonise the construction industry. Once every couple of months, we can be found in a team session focusing on team development and wellbeing — however, we have not been found pounding the local streets during these sessions, until now…

In our last session our coach Kate Southerby, with whom we’ve been working for two years, introduced us to the Street Wisdom concept. Kate was influenced to dive into Street Wisdom after reading, and getting us to read, “Indistractable,” by Nir Eyal. She felt that the concepts of Indistractibility and Street Wisdom went hand in hand to help us with our mental awareness and presence of mind. 

When Kate first described how we would be spending our morning we weren’t sure what to expect. Reactions were mixed, with some of the team anxious to wander the streets unclear as to how they might “provide answers,” whilst others were excited to get out and see what they would discover. One thing all agreed on was that it would be interesting to see how our minds reacted to this new way of thinking.

Our session was divided into three timed exercises designed to help us “tune-in” to the city and our way of thinking. Firstly, we were instructed to walk for 10 minutes looking around us, soaking in our environment and tuning into what inspired us. Next, we were instructed to “slow down” and walk significantly slower than we would naturally. It felt strange to wander with no real destination in mind, but it allowed each of us to focus our minds on the detail of the city around us, and to tune in. After each exercise we returned to our starting place and briefly discussed how we’d found the experience.

We all felt it also allowed us to gain clarity and to order our thoughts; taking time away from our desks helped us consider new ways of thinking, tackling personal mindsets and tuning into our mental wellbeing. We came off our normal routes and explored the wonder in the everyday. We looked up and around for the first time in a long while, put away our phones and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city without feeling any pressure to do anything other than enjoy.

We all loved the final section of the challenge, which was to look for the “beauty.” Some of us found beauty within the city’s architecture by paying attention to windows, engravings, and small details we hadn’t noticed before. Others found beauty in the actions of people in the city and revelled in time spent simply observing. By this stage of the exercise, we were all on board with the format and the impact it was having on our state of mind in the moment — whilst making connections about how it might support the way we work and think in the future. We were all taking the time to look at things in a different way and were truly finding answers.

We all discovered something new, whether in our personal thoughts and feelings for example how to tackle a tough work challenge, or in the physical space of the city we inhabit. When we regrouped after the session, we all felt much calmer and reinvigorated, happy to tackle new challenges and excited to share the experiences we’d whilst wandering the streets. 

The Kiss House Street Wisdom experience was rewarding. Stepping away from our desks and smartphones and taking to the streets was a very different approach to the workday, and everyone felt able to generate new ways of thinking. It allowed us space to creatively care for our mental wellbeing, to consider different ways of problem-solving, and to appreciate new opportunities and challenges. It gave us a time-out, sparked creative thinking, and helped build our team dynamic.

We all appreciated the time alone with the thoughts and feelings generated as we wandered the city streets and will be taking time to ask the streets for answers in the future. Now we want to apply what we learnt to delivering the best we can for our customers and Kiss House.

Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK and the theme of the week is to connect with nature. So we’re inviting our global community to do just that – take some time out for your mental wellbeing by getting outside and connecting with your environment. Volunteers are hosting online events from Nairobi and the UK and there’s even going to be an in-person event in Portugal! Tickets are free and we invite you to donate to the Mental Health Foundation.

Monday 10th May at 08:30 BST: Street Wisdom Online for Mental Health Awareness Week (45 minutes) led by Jacquie Cole / UK. Book here.

Tuesday 11th May at 11:00 EAT: Street Wisdom Online for Mental Health Awareness Week (90 minutes) led by Antonia Kihara / Nairobi. Book here.

Thursday 13th May at 10:00 BST: Street Wisdom Online for Mental Health Awareness Week (90 minutes) led by Claire Bradshaw / UK. Book here.

Saturday 15th May at 10:30 BST: Street Wisdom Online for Mental Health Awareness Week (45 minutes) led by Jacquie Cole / UK. Book here.

Sunday 16th May at 16:00 WEST: Street Wisdom in Porto, Portugal – meeting at Praça Carlos Alberto (90 minutes) led by Ana Azevedo. Book here.

If you can’t make one of these events, why not download our free audioguide and founder David Pearl will accompany you on a wander, helping to tune-in to the world around you.