When you love what you do, when you're excited about your field, when you've chosen a path that connects with you personally- you will learn fast, you will accomplish in 5 years what it would take others 15 years to do.

I use the word repugnance to describe transactions that some people would like to engage in, that other people would not like them to; it's often hard to pin-down what harm the transaction does to anyone else.

Polarisation presents as a spectrum where people go from disagreeing with each other, to disliking each other and eventually to dehumanising each other. We know that the most important thing it takes to prevent dehumanisation is systemic, regular face to face interaction with the people that might otherwise be dehumanised.

I particularly like the six-month shift for operational decisions. But for life choices, look at Jeff Bezos. When deciding to start Amazon, he projected himself into the far future. He asked: 'When I'm 80, what will I regret more — starting the company and failing, or never starting it at all?'

One of the key things to look out for is the centralisation of power – in most of the places we see conflict, there is highly centralised power, and often few checks and balances on whoever is in control. Unchecked interests can lead people to ignore the costs of war.

They help us to understand that there is no 'us' versus 'them', and that 'The Other' is, in fact, my brother, my sister; the other is me.

Most people would have a nervous breakdown if they didn't have their phone for a day; I would have a total breakdown if there was no culture, no art. I couldn't live without art, it would be impossible.

This stubbornness was further highlighted during a significant hiatus from swimming at 15, amidst the turmoil of war. My father had left the country, leaving me to navigate adolescence in rebellion, seeking normalcy in defiance. That year was transformative—cutting my hair, getting a piercing, and quitting swimming symbolised a personal revolution, leading me to realize my participation in the sport was for my own sake, not merely to fulfil my father's expectations.

We have to constantly evolve how we make an impact, and make sure that we're doing what the communities we work in want us to support rather than enforcing some kind of model. Our work has to be led by the leaders of communities telling us what will work.

Doing something that has never been done before is terrifying… all the people who love you will tell you not to do it… not because they're jealous, but because they're genuinely scared for you… they're worried for your wellbeing. If you venture outside that wall, you are really somebody who has traded security and certainty for freedom and risk.

I've done the show with a blown-out back, with one leg, coming off laryngitis, coming off or having a 103 degree fever. The bottom line is this… I go in there to do my job – the men and women fighting are actually putting their lives on the line – I'm just announcing! They're taking punches in the face, I'm just holding a microphone! I have nothing to complain about or make excuses for, the show must go on!

We have the power of knowledge- for example to save the whales. The whales are obviously not going to save us. We need to have solidarity among humans, that the big problems we are facing, that affect all of humanity and we all equally have the responsibility to do something about it.