When I was eighteen, my parents separated, and my father made it clear to me that it would be best for me to get a secretarial job, as funding his retirement plan was more important than supporting my higher education goals. At the time, I was devastated, and yet it all turned out for the best. I did get the education, certificates and degrees I wanted, and also learned a valuable lesson.

I do not sit exams particularly well.

From grade nine onwards, no amount of preparation ever got me more than a C+ in anything. It’s humiliating when you know something cold and your mind freezes when you put pencil to paper in the exam room. I suppose that’s why I always gravitated to challenging problems in my career. To prove to myself, I was more than my lacklustre marks.

I share this story because my guest in this next five-part series has eight different undergraduate and graduate degrees. Ignoring the sheer cost and the time commitment to earn eight different degrees, I think about all those exams he had to sit through. Clearly, he never froze.

What kind of conversation can you have with someone who attended boarding school in Switzerland and later studied economics, political science, philosophy, business, international relations, conflict resolution, and religion? Wide-ranging, diverse, provocative, down to earth, fascinating and brain-tingling.

But can he DO anything?

Lest you give me the usual line about “too much education leading to an inability to do,” he is knee-deep in bringing a concept to market for next April. AFTER having raised one hundred and fifty million dollars to launch it. Remember the Live Aid Concert in 1985? Think that to the power of 100 plus a strong infrastructure behind it supporting social good and sustainability. Check back in early 2026. I made him promise he would give us an early sneak peek.

For the last four years, he has been the driving force behind his company, Compassiviste. A Compassiviste is an activist who combines empathy and action to tackle the global social system that causes social disharmony. From overconsumption and racism to climate change and civil unrest, Compassiviste examines these issues with only one allegiance — global harmony. He believes that it is high time for collective action and is doing everything in his power to ignite that action around the world.

We talked about capitalism, government, democracy, wealth accumulation, oligarchies, joy, and even the purpose of life. What I found most fascinating was that he took the concept of ‘worshipping money’ and gave it real, tangible, modern-day legs. When you listen to it, I know you will agree that he masterfully laid out and articulated the world we live in today. Plus, he offered a few novel ideas for navigating it all as well. I have titled the series Profit and Loss of Our Soul: Redefining Success in a Broken System.

Playing Podcaster Host

Having a podcast is a ton of work and doesn’t pay the bills unless you’re a brand like Joe Rogan, Gary Vee, or Brene Brown. I didn’t have a real plan when I began this in 2021. I had a few ideas but nothing concrete. I decided to set aside my ego and accept that there was a lot I didn’t know. Instead, I chose to chat with others much more intelligent than I and willing to share their knowledge. Much to my surprise, my ‘No Real Plan’ podcast is making an impact.

The best part about having the podcast is the sheer breadth of knowledge and wisdom I can bring on and share. Like you, I have always been fascinated by humans and even more so by those with complex and dense grey matter. There is so much that we all don’t know. And we don’t know what we don’t know.

It is a genuine pleasure and thrill to interview and learn from individuals who hold diverse perspectives and opinions. Consider listening in to this latest series.

The 5Cs stand for Clarity and Collaboration for the Community of Climate Changemakers. I frankly don’t much care what we call the beast known as climate change: sustainability, degrowth, net zero, or green. What I care the most about is that we have the facts. Not from the governments or the naysayers. But from those who are deep in the weeds. Please let me know if you’d like to learn more about specific topics. I’ve developed and continue to build a solid network in the green space and wholly lost any fear about reaching out to strangers.

Shining a light on what is positively happening, what is naturally occurring, and how to improve is at the very core of the podcast.