Runner-up in Ooffoo Laureate 2010 for article ‘In Search of a Barefoot Politician.’

Shortly after I explored the idea of a ‘Barefoot Politician’ prio r to the Copenhagen conference last year, I noticed that social media networking site Ooffoo was running their Laureate competition.  Unlike Facebook and others, Ooffoo has an expressed purpose to support a vision of a more  sustainable world, and so was inspired to enter in the hope my message would help others to consider just how more deeply they can connect with the earth.  I’m really excited to announce that out of 100 entries, my letter to world leaders, entitled ‘In Search of a Barefoot Politician’ has been placed 2nd.  It addresses the disconnect between the world politicians live and work in, and the earth they profess to represent, and in so doing, invites everyone to consider forming a deeper more honest releationship with the earth and all her species.  To read my entry.

March 2010

The All-Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness published by leading Buddhist publisher SnowLion publications.

I’m delighted to announce, that after making my parable for children, The All-Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness, available as an e-book, for nearly 3 years, I have successfully negotiated an agreement with Snow Lion Publications in the USA, to publish the book in print, worldwide.  The combina tion of a compelling story, beautiful illustrations, and a solid on-line marketing campaign, which saw over 1000 people read the book, including His Holiness The Dalai Lama, has finally paid off.  The print edition will be available later this year, and then more widely via major bookstores – online and offline – in Spring 2011.  The book will have more illustrations by Serena Sax Hallam, and, will continue to publicise the Tibetan Children Villages foundation, who support Tibetan children refugees in India.  In preparation for the publication of the print edition, I will be removing the e-book from my other website NewMythCreate, at the end of April 2010.

January 2010

The Hunger for Meaning: Resurgence Magazine explores the hunger for meaning and change in the business world.

I’ve been providing brand consultancy to a wide range of executive coaches and change development agents over the last 3 years, and during that time I have begun to see that big business is neither evil as some greenies would have us think, or always directly opposed to sustainable change.  The fact is there is often incredible hunger for change amongst executives and managers in large organisations. It’s just that the structures  in which they work often prevent them from mobilising change throughout the organisation at a deeper level.  This is a subject I explore in the current edition of Resurgence magazine, in one of their online exclusive articles.  It’s a wide ranging piece which provides a good introduction to the subject of organisation development.  I hope you enjoy it.  Click here to read the article now.

November 2009

Plan C: Creating Sustainable Change From The Inside Out.

After six months of development, I’m really pleased to announce the launch of Plan C, a joint venture with environmental journalist and former editor of The Ecologist magazine, Pat Thomas. Plan C, was born from a desire to pull back the polarised veil of the environmental debate and look a little deeper at the Consciousness, Creativity, Connection, Curiosity, Choice and perhaps most importantly Context, bubbling below the surface.

To these end Plan C advocates a kind of slow media, with thoughtful content, that puts the human experience at its centre.  Plan C is an exploration, an inspiration, a way of visioning the world through a different lens, listening to language in a new way, seeing new pictures in the apparent chaos all around us. It is about acknowledging our contradictions, our everydayness but, at the same time, our power and uniqueness in the world, especially at this time of great change.

Each month we will draw together the environmental and sustainability community’s most enquiring minds to make fresh proposals and grapple with the bigger issues free from the usual constraints of the mainstream media. In Plan C’s inaugural post, Green With Envy, Pat Thomas, explores the role of Envy as an emotion in influencing the way we choose to participate in the climate change debate.

We hope you will join us over the coming months and years, as Plan Cattempts to chart the inner revolution, of those people who recognise that sustainable change must happen from the inside out.

July 2009.

Inner Revolution: The Ecologist Magazine explores how to create sustainable change from the inside out.

The human potential movement has been a passion of mine since I first learned to meditate, and discovered Gestalt Therapy while at University in the late 80s, early 90s.  Over the last 20 years I have observed with curiosity the way people who are both interested in personal growth, and the environment, have articulated the relationship between the two.  I have also observed with wonder and sometimes incredulity, the complete rejection of the other, by both hardened greens dedicated to fixing the world, and, unwilling to see the causal relationship between their thoughts, feelings and actions, as well as the more grossly materialistic personal growth seminar junkies who have little or no awareness of the role they can play in creating a more sustainable society.  It was with pleasure then that I was able to explore this phenomena in the final ever print edition of The Ecologist magazine, which was aptly entitled ‘Where do we go from here?’  My article ‘Inner Revolution’ includes contributions from Satish Kumar, and leading wild law laywer James Thornton, as well as a fabulous case study on the role of coaching in Transition Town Cambridge, written by Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, Corrina Gordon Barnes.  It was a real pleasure to have Corrina’s contribution.  Not only is her writing both clear, poetic and precise, but her ideas about how to engage people in sustainable change a complete inspiration.  To find out more about her work click here.

May 2009

BBC Radio 4 Documentary: The Landfill Designers. Broadcast date 21.00pm GMT Thursday 14th May, 2009.

Over the last year, I have been working in collaboration with All Out, a Radio Production company based in the UK, on a documentary, ‘The Landfill Designers’ which explores the issue of planned obsolescence as a key driver in our unsustainable society.

I approached All Out Productions last year, with my July 2008, Ecologist article, Designing for Destruction, and together we developed a synopsis based on the article, for a 30 minute radio documentary. Since being commissioned it’s a been a roller coaster ride as we developed the core narrative, and undertook numerous interviews, in collaboration with symposiarch and design journalist, John Thackara, who acted as presenter.

Since graduating as a journalist in 1992, it’s been a dream of mine to make a radio documentary, as the medium offers so much more scope for engaging peoples imagination, and so it’s really exciting to have finally broken my duck with this program. Hopefully, there will be many more. If you would like to listen in, then simply tune to Radio 4 on Thursday, or, if you are overseas, then click here, where you will be able to listen online.

April 29th, 2009

The Ecologist Magazine asks ‘How much Amazon rainforest, does it take for one A list celebrity to snort another under the table?‘

With it’s focus on large scale solutions, macro economics, and what governments should or shouldn’t be doing (to which I have also contributed) it’s a massive challenge as a journalist to find new ways of engaging people in the subject of climate change and sustainability.  One way I’ve found is to bring the focus right down to the level of the individual, and so invite them to consider the wider impact of their actions.  In my article for the May 2009, edition of The Ecologist, I address the impact of individual recreational drugs use  -  especially ecstasy and cocaine – on the environment.  There’s always a risk that when you focus on the individual, you play right into the hands of governments seeking to distract us from their own heavy handed mismanagement of the environment, but with four square meters of rainforest cut down for every gram of cocaine snorted, this was a subject I could not ignore, and in particular the influence of celebrity drug use which perpetuate this ecocide still further.  It’s a hard hitting article, which pulls no punches, including at drug using greens.  To read the article, please check my journalist archive via the menu bar, or subscribe here.

January 29th, 2009

Le Petit Soleil, par Asha Hallam-Kettles

When Asha, my 8 year old daughter asked me to publish her first poem, I felt unsure how to approach a publisher, with a poem by a child, who’s first written language is French..  But, I’m so moved by the innocence of her love of the sun, reminding us, that in spite of the bad press it gets from the environmental movement, it, and the light it gives us, is the ultimate source of life, that I’m publishing it right here on my site.  Please feel free to share it far and wide, and if you don’t read French

then scroll down for the translation, although it misses the lovely half rhyme between vit and ici

Le Petit Soleil

Le petit soleil bril sur nous,

Il nous protege du froid,

Il nous garde chaud,

Le petit soleil nous sauve la vit,

Si le petit soleil n’etait pas la, on ne serai pas ici!

Asha Hallam-Kettles

The little sun.

The little sun shines on us,  He protects us from the cold, He keeps us warm,

The little sun saves our lives, If the little sun wasn’t there, we wouldn’t be here.

September 3rd, 2008

The All-Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness German Translation published.

Since publishing The All Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness last year I have had over 350 downloads from our website, New Myth Create, and further reports of the e-Book being forwarded to some 200 further people.  Not only am I amazed at this response, but also the reader comments which have been pouring in from both young and old, and including, from established authors William Bloom, Susie Anthony, and Carl Honore.  By chance one of my readers, Claudia von Januszkiewicz, also turned out to be a professional German translator, having successfully translated a number of ‘peace troubadour’ James Twyman’s books.  She kindly offered to enter into a joint venture with my publishing company New Myth Create, to translate the book, as Der Alles-Sehende Junge und der Blaue Himmel des Gluecklichseins, and after a number of successful test readings this summer, we have finally published it as an e-Book, which, just like the English version will be made available as a free download via our website. If German is your native tongue, or if you have any friends or family who speak German, then please feel free to download Der Alles-Sehende Junge und der Blaue Himmel des Gluecklichseins, here.  If you enjoy reading it, do feel free to pass it on, and let me know what you think!

August 27th, 2008

The Ecologist Magazine examines the role of education in nurturing children to become creative, intelligent guardians of the earth.

As a journalist, I’ve been contributing to The Ecologist magazine for nearly three years, and each time I get a commission, I find myself challenged to examine the human condition more deeply than before, asking powerful questions about the mediation of personal space in modern society and in particular the impact of technology on individual identity and civil liberty; the role of hope in engaging people in creating a more sustainable society, as well as consumer health rights. In this issue, September, 2008, I was given the chance to look at education, and ask, that if we want a generation of children who can really think, then why do our schools more closely resemble factories? Having seen first hand the emphasis on excessive testing from an early age – at my eldest daughter’s first kindergarten, children aged 4 missed an hour of playtime each week, to practice reading – I have found myself an unlikely champion for a more open minded approach to education. One which sees the child as a whole, allows them to find their own unique learning style, and, advance at their own pace. To subscribe to The Ecologist, and read the article click here.

August 25th, 2008

Internet Radio Shows ‘Principled Profit’ and ‘Lasare’s Inspirations’, offer opportunities to share my passion and learn the art of getting to the point.

During August I was delighted to be interviewed on two internet radio shows about my work as a writer and consultant – not to mention the chance to practice keeping it simple and getting to the point. The first show, Principled Profit, The Good Business Show was hosted by fellow ethical marketer, Shel Horowitz a former client of mine, and source of much inspiration for one of the chapters in Working Ethically (see below). Broadcast on Valley Free Radio, in New England, USA, Shel’s show, demonstrates that increasingly there is an audience in the business community for another view on the once ‘dirty’ science of marketing. Over the space of an hour, in a lively discussion, I got the chance to talk about Brand Beautiful’s idea of ‘refreshingly honest marketing’, and the need for more transparent and open business communications. To listen to the show click here.

The second show, Lasare’s Inspirations ‘Supporting your blossoming’ on GlastonburyRadio.Net offered me a chance to discuss my article for The Ecologist about education (see above). As a parent of two young children, like myself, this is a subject dear to Lasare’s heart, and during the hour we discussed the role of education in nurturing children to become creative, intelligent guardians of the earth. Lasare was also kind enough to give me the opportunity to talk about ‘The All Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness’, and share the Blue Sky of Happiness meditation with her listeners. To listen to the show now, please click here.

November 7th, 2007

The All-Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness e-Book and MP3 Audio.

After writing a simple story for my godson’s ninth birthday two years ago, I then shared it with a few close friends and family. After hearing their responses which ranged from happiness, awe through to tears of compassion, I was moved to make it available to everyone. This was the spur to set up a publishing company with my partner entitled New Myth Create e-Books, and today The All Seeing Boy and the Blue Sky of Happiness has become our launch product. Available as a free pdf e-book or as a MP3 Audio, for just £5.95, this is an awe inspiring and evocative tale which relates the timeless wisdom of the loving kindness meditation, in a form anyone, young or old, can appreciate.

My desire is to share this story with as many people as possible, and so am actively seeking other translators to work with in the following languages: French, Spanish, Portugese, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, Italian, Hindhi, Mandarin and Japanese. If you are a mother tongue speaker of one of these languages, have translation skills, and have been inspired by this story, then please do get in touch.

September 30th, 2007

Management Today magazine praise ‘Working Ethically’ as ‘best of its kind’.

The October 2007 issue of Management Today has given a ‘best of its kind’ rating to Working Ethically, to which I had the pleasure of writing three out of nine chapters + one case study. Praising its commonsense for not losing sight of the bottom line, or expecting business owners to become 100 per cent ethical overnight, Management Today recommends Working Ethically to anyone wanting to do the ‘right thing’. To do the right thing now and or help me celebrate my ‘Amazon.com’ debut, click here.

August 23rd, 2007

Brand Beauty and the Beast blog relaunched.

Having first launched this blog last November, at http://brandbeautiful.blogspot.com/ under the sub heading, rare acts of intelligence, common sense, and humanity by the world’s largest brands, I was forced to abandon it to take on the development of three business sites. Having now finished that task, I’ve decided to relaunch it on my own personal site under a new name: Brand Beauty and the Beast. This time round I’ll not only be documenting acts of common sense, intelligence and humanity by the world’s largest brands, but also the more frequent missed opportunities they had to look beyond the horizon of furnishing their shareholder’s pockets, and do something to help the world instead.

In the first post I take a look at Bic’s pen spinning academy and ask why did they decide to focus on alleviating the boredom of western teenagers, and not the educational needs of children in the developing world, who only need ‘one pen’ to go to school.

August 10th, 2007

Key contributor to AC Black’s ‘Working Ethically’

“I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to contribute to Working Ethically, Creating a sustainable business…without breaking the bank, part of AC Black’s Business on a Shoestring series, designed, to help small business owners grow their business imaginatively, effectively and without spending a fortune.”

Published on September 30th this year, Working Ethically responds to the growing interest of small business owners in finding positive solutions that benefit them, their community and the environment.

Having contributed the opening chapter, Creating an ethical strategy for your business; as well as chapters on Banking ethically; Respecting and protecting the environment; and a case study of my own experience as a business owner, I can honestly say this is a must read for anyone running a small business in doubt about their ability to address climate change and create greater social justice. And for those already engaged in the process of working ethically? There’s always more you can do.

To pre-order a copy from AC Black, click here

> An original, central idea, and or, relevant theme?

> A precise angle to provide the reader an interesting doorway in?

> A little of the storyteller’s sparkle to carry the reader forward?

> A conclusion which delivers your core message with impact and distinction?

With over 250,000 words in print I can bring these elements of the storytellers craft to your business. Ensuring your stakeholders not only get a good read, but are inspired to take action too.

If you require internal communications such as newsletters, customer magazines and press releases click here.

If your marketing communications require a call to action such as webcopy, dm, advertising, white papers, or brochures click here

If you’re developing a workshop, seminar, education study program, or business presentation which requires scripting click here

If what you really require is a more fundamental overhaul of your messaging and brand identity, click here. (anyone wishing to make a more authentic connection with their customers)