Watch our latest podcast exploring ideas, inspirations and creativity What is the source of ideas and creativity? "Where do your ideas come from?" This is one of the most common questions Darren and I (and no many other creatives) get asked. The motivations tend to vary. Aspiring or practising creatives are always curious to learn and perhaps get inspired through the approach others take, while the audience are usually interested in getting deeper insights into works they lik

Last week, I found myself at the center of an 'internet storm'. It was self inflicted - I posted a comment on Reddit that irked quite a few folks. The offending comment was a prediction: Mass unemployment in white collar professions and the Arts by 2030, thanks to widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The first full episode of our ' Wise As Podcast ' is here! We start with a topic close to our hearts - and what became the impetus for developing our Willow the Wonderer series: Reflecting on the hardest time in our lives and the wisdom that would have made it a whole lot easier. The trials of 'coming of age' A lot of our conversation focused on our teenage and early adulthood years. As I edited the recording, I found it interesting that we both picked a time when we were '

I remember reading a case study on Madonna at university. Believe it or not, this was for my Master's Degree in Commerce …   The central theme was that Madonna was one of the few pop music stars who had managed to carve out a decades long career in what is usually a fiercely trendy and youth oriented scene. This was due to one thing that Madonna did better than any other pop singer at the time: Every ten years or so, she completely reinvented herself.   I remember saying to m

The festivals are back and last weekend we welcomed the return of Bellingen Readers & Writers festival in the Mid North Coast of NSW. What a lineup: From Thomas Keneally to Peter Carey, David Williamson, Bryan Brown, Kevin Rudd, Dick Smith, Fran Kelly, Jane Caro, Norman Swan, Professor Doherty, Costa ... the list goes on. Amongst all the literati of Australia, Darren and I found ourselves running a midday session on our debut picture book Willow the Wonderer - We may very wel

Two weeks ago I was invited to participate in the ' Churchill Club Debate ', a Silicon Valley tradition where people with interest in the world of technology are invited to pitch and debate the 'tech trends' that will explode in 3-5 years time but is not widely known in the mainstream as yet. I took up the challenge with relish and battled it out with five other panelists! The winner was decided through the very democratic process of the audience voting. I came a close second

I grew up in the Fiji Islands - and yes, it was as idyllic as it sounds. Balmy climate, ripe mangoes straight off the trees, fresh fish, prawns and lobster ... I could go on. But if I had to choose, my best childhood memories revolve around the time when school holidays were ending and it was time to return back to school! Why? Because that was the only time in the years when we'd receive new (well newish) books. Here's a look back at those wonderful times and an ode to the w

When Darren and I started working on our first picture book, Willow the Wonderer , we did not have any aspirations to start our own publishing company ... Our 'COVID project' had begun simply with a shared desire to 'create stories we wish we'd grown up with'. What sort of stories? 'Beautiful stories that plant a seed of wisdom.' As we near the launch of our debut picture book, we share a retrospective on the five ingredients that make for great 'wise as' stories. 1. Wisdom f

My answer is not going to win me any high-browed critical acclaim and it doesn't matter. This one is straight from the inner-child's heart. My pick would be 'The Enchanted Wood' by Enid Blyton. The Enchanted Woods The Enchanted Wood is one of the first 'big books' I remember reading at the tender age of about eight. It sparked my imagination and made me yearn for a magical new world like nothing had done before. The story is built around the adventures of three little kids