We can change the world.
Surveying the landscape in Kauai, April 2023
We can make the world better than it is today, for our children and all those who come after us. It’s a sacred responsibility of every generation. We just can’t lose hope if we feel the current trajectory is not positive. We can change it. We can do anything if we develop a global consciousness to guide our technology. We can do anything if we unite humanity toward a common purpose: health and happiness for all. We can do anything if we inspire change. We can change the world.
Yosemite Valley, June 2017
It’s an interesting thing to meet and greet. We learn so much from each other, and I’m not sure how much we all appreciate it. It is a big beautiful amazing world, and we’re all apart of it.
A normal parking lot in Santa Clara
The world offers incredible diversity, breathtaking landscapes, diverse cultures, and inspiring perspectives. Our relationships bring joy, companionship, and a sense of belonging. Ultimately, each of us can make a positive impact, contributing to a brighter, more compassionate, and fulfilling world for all. We can change the world.
The Bay Bridge earlier today, San Francisco
The world is a funny thing. We can see it from many different perspectives, literal and figurative both. I enjoy the chaos of it all. We can want to improve it for everyone, but at the same time… we have to embrace the world we’ve got right now. The balance of how to distinguish those differences… that’s called life.
Entering the city 5 years ago, March 2018
My own personal bias aside, there’s something ethereal about San Francisco. It’s kind of a surreal haphazardly produced imitation of a city, because there’s not really anything like it. The estranged keep the sense of urgency on every corner, and the diversity of food options keep you hungry. San Francisco has character, and it’s worth experiencing.
Napali coast, Kauai, April 2023
The moment is now to reject our cynicism globally. Despite the corruption of power and greed around the world, the opportunity to course correct as a species is still possible. We have achieved democracy in various parts of the world, and must secure more political representation of common people in many others. We can do this through action, by demanding change from our leaders. In the U.S. we can do it by voting and contacting our congressional representatives at the state and federal level. We can be the change we wish to see in the world. But it takes action.
Dragon Backbone Terraces near Guilin, China - March 2013
I write about “the tribe” often. But I’m not sure how many people experience it. Today’s world is so different from our biological past. And yet, in this modern world, we still need a tribe. Maybe that’s the restart for us as we progress forward?
Half Dome in Yosemite, July 2021
I earnestly began my exploration with artificial intelligence today and it was a doozy. There’s certainty excitement around what’s possible with all this new tooling. But I’m also scared about the implications to our society at scale. It’s rapidly becoming a new world. Will we be able to adapt and keep up?
Hotel ceiling in Nashville, Tennessee - May 2022
Hallmark holiday or not, today celebrates the most important people in the world. Mothers propagate our species; without them, we wouldn’t exist and we wouldn’t learn. I cannot truly understand the ethereal miracle of motherhood, but my soul yearns with love for the phenomena mothers emanate in this universe.
Thank you Grandma for illuminating the big picture of life through your stories. Thank you Granny for demonstrating the power and reward of kindness every day of your life. Thank you Mom for supporting me and giving all of yourself to my well-being and happiness. I would not be the person I am today without you. I am eternally grateful for your sacrifices and your love. You make a difference in the world. Happy Mother’s Day.
Strolling down the street. London, England — February 2023
It just feels like we’re reaching an inflection point as a planet doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s the media narrative, or the current cycle—if such things exist. Or maybe we all feel it, the approach of a culmination.
I believe most people are good, that we are more similar than we are different, and that at the deepest level we all want the same things. Can we invoke hope in each other? Because together, we can change the world.
Black bear in Yosemite Valley, May 2021
There’s so much that’s unexplainable in our world. At least to us mere humans. How often do we stop to think about that, to wonder about it? If we zoom out far enough, there’s no other world but “miracle” that describes this universe, this reality. Can we step back and see it?
Distant Mount Lassen from Redding, California, March 2021
Today I watched the full version of a commencement speech I first came across years ago. The central message is to routinely ask yourself, “how you livin’?” I thought about it more throughout the day, and I think the correct answer to that question, at the end of the day while brushing your teeth before bedtime, is simply: “I am living well.” And if each of us can give that response honestly to ourselves, knowing it truly in our hearts, what kind of world would unfold before us?
Prancing wildebeest in the Serengeti, October 2019
I realized today during my lunch walk that I was talking to myself out loud. It occurred to me that it felt like a long time since I had talked to myself audibly. I find it healthy to do so, and I was slightly appalled that it had been so long.
What was different? I didn’t have headphones in— I wasn’t listening to music or a podcast. I was alone with my own thoughts as I did my two miles. There was nothing but the sounds of city and nature to accompany, as about 15 minutes in my mind settled. We find a rhythm when experiencing that right level of bliss.
When I returned to my office I decided upon my focus for the midterm: consume less. Two simple words, and a seemingly easy concept. Consume less food. Consume less information; spend less time on screens. Consume less alcohol and caffeine. Reduce the noise, that I’m actively bringing into my life, so I can hone in on the signal. Eliminate the distractions so I can focus on what matters: love, health, and time. Consume less.
Salisbury Cathedral, February 2023
I enjoy watching old movies. There’s something timeless about them, even if the entire cast is no longer on the Earth. They illuminate the similarities between cultures and across generations. People in the 1940’s faced some similar problems as we do now in 2023. The struggle is always there, always required. But we can make progress together, and we have. It will take all of each of us.
Wailua, Kauai - April 2023
Sometimes there’s fight required to maintain positivity or hope. It’s not always easy to ward off the negativity or despair. However, we always have a choice. We can choose to give in, or to make our own way in our terms. Every single human being has that power of choice. Can we collectively harness it towards a better world? Can we say “no” to negativity and choose to change the world?
Sunset on the Thames, London, England. February 2023
Our love is what makes us human and makes us whole. If we can see that, we can truly change the world.
Opera House and skyline, Sydney, Australia - January 2020
One of the drawbacks of modern living, at least in many parts of the world, is our lack of community. In our series of boxes (our homes, our cars, our work spaces) we are separated from each other. It becomes difficult to form or maintain a sense of community, and it’s commonplace for a tribe to never develop. And yet this is who we are biologically. We are tribal creatures, animals that crave and require social interaction. We can change this, and make it a priority for ourselves and our local communities. Perhaps this simple recognition, and a collective decision to change it, will profoundly change our species and our planet, further pushing us toward a global consciousness. Equipped with our technology, we can retain our most basic humanity while thinking and behaving as one united species. Together, we can change the world.
Tarps at sunrise in Arusha, Tanzania - October 2019
I truly believe most people in the world are good. Striking a conversation with the average person usually results in learning and laughter. How quick can we recognize this very basic phenomenon compared to all the technological innovation?
Chasing waterfalls in Waimea Canyon, Kauai - April 2023
As I’ve forayed into entrepreneurial ventures, it’s struck me how emotionally different the entrepreneurial world can be from the “normal” world. When I speak with friends pursuing their own businesses, there’s always a mutual feeling of excitement and positivity. An environment of ideas exists, and ideas are not rejected but received and nurtured. Plans and schemes are uttered as rapidly and fervently as gossip in “normal” conversations. Participants in entrepreneurial conversations embrace possibility, the prospect of the world looking different tomorrow than it does today. There’s an electric charge that’s reciprocated between parties. One feels alive because, from the grandest perspective, they are contributing to the organization of the universe.
All that’s left is the follow-through, to turn ideas to actions. To pursue. Because in an entrepreneurial conversation, it’s clear: we can change the world.
The lion next to Cape Town, December 2019
We’re hardwired to dislike negative feelings. We don’t like it when we feel tired, or cold, or sad or sick. It’s easy to let the sensations take over our consciousness. But that’s not what makes us human; we are also hardwired to feel. And that makes this whole thing we call life completely worth it. Even with some negative feelings sprinkled into life, it sure is one amazing adventure.