From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
We got to the point where, we are not on our grandparents' planet anymore. Meat has become less healthy for us – it's too available. There are too many calories, too much saturated fat. Animals are no longer 'free-rangy', they are growing in very tight confined conditions.
As a nation, our brains deceive us into thinking we're going to be safer with a gun when in fact we typically endanger ourselves.
Mental resilience comes from knowing, deep down, that you're supposed to be where you are. Confidence in your purpose is crucial. By focusing on the next step while keeping the big picture in mind, you can effectively accomplish the mission.
If one aspires to make a positive impact on the world, shouldn't we strive for innovative solutions, perhaps even for a disease as formidable as cancer?
While epidemics can shape communities through their demographic impact, fear of disease invariably has a stigmatising effect. Groups, often minorities, are targeted as carriers of disease. Fear involves an 'othering' and leads to discrimination.
We're heading to a world where we can eliminate disease, increase our intelligence, and access all the food, healthcare, energy and education we could desire.
A lot of people assume that I would choose not to have bipolar disorder; but I'm grateful for it. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, because I feel like all the ups and downs have formed who I am, and made be braver, tougher… more creative and more capable.
The scale of our damage on the animal world is unimaginable. We inflict pain and suffering on wild and domestic animals. We take away their wild lands and habitats, we use them to test our medicines and they're affected by climate change, pollution and many other aspects of our world.
We all bear wounds and traumas that convince us we're undeserving or incapable of achieving our dreams. Confronting these is essential. We can't outrun our past; we need to heal, be it through therapy, counselling, or other methods that help process past traumas.
My greatest fear is that we have learnt nothing. Individually, we have learnt that the longer your population lives healthy, the better off your economy will be.
Unfortunately, we've become so adept at concealing our problems that we often brush aside reproductive and women's health issues. It's as though discussing them is taboo. Now, it feels like showing strength means not voicing any discomfort or pain. However, there comes a point when silence is no longer an option.
As business-leaders we have to start taking responsibility to speak-out about our own struggles, so that others do the same- and by doing so, make our teams and our peers realise that it's fine to not be fine.