I've always felt negotiation is pretty-easy. You have to look at any situation from the perspective of all sides, and find a zone of fairness in between.

The idea that you will sit down with someone who's had 30 or 40 years of lived experience and then somehow get them to change their mind in one sitting is implausible.

Music can reveal the nature that lies within us, the part of us we cannot hide. When you hear a single note, a C, it's not a single sound, it's the result of many harmonies. It's like God hiding in plain sight.

I began a conversation with my future wife in January 1983 and 38 years later, that conversation ended when she drew her last breath at 7.30 in the evening on the 2nd of September 2021. To be truly and completely seen, understood and loved by another Human Being, was her greatest gift to me.

As humans, we've evolved in a world where the pace of change was slow. Our minds are not structured for the pace of rapid change that we're seeing and, increasingly, will experience. One way that we deal with the accelerating rate of change is by sort of riding on top of that tsunami of change rather than being crushed by it.

From a young age, I was acutely aware of the exhilaration that came with play. It was an early insight, recognising that through play, I was learning by doing. Play is inherently interactive, granting agency whether indoors or outdoors. When competition was added into the mix, playing with friends introduced me to complex concepts like game theory, including strategies involving threats, promises, and bluffs.

Music allows us to express our soul and feelings in a way that's very difficult to replicate with words. I've spent more of my life playing music than I have speaking, and I find it a much more effective way of communicating my feelings and thoughts than words have ever been.

My personal stance is to respond positively to any question, no matter how awkward or inappropriate. I believe it takes courage to ask, and even if the approach is off, the curiosity is commendable. The key is to create an environment where it's okay to be wrong, as long as there's a willingness to learn and engage respectfully.

Fundamentally, we must slow-down the process of change. We should recognise that most change is not progress- and therefore, it is in our interests to slow down without interfering too much with actual solution making.

Education exponentially multiplies advancements in every other sector. And critically, it empowers communities with the skills to shape their own futures, build their own economies, and advocate for their own rights.

World poverty has been reduced significantly- and whilst everyone seems to think the world is getting more impoverished, this simply is not the case. Scientific cooperation has improved too, and this has allowed significant advances in global health.

The 'confidence gap' begins to manifest itself in girls at an alarmingly young age. For example, a recent study on gender stereotypes and children's perception of brilliance revealed the worrying fact that girls start doubting their own intelligence and capabilities as early as age six.