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InnovaBuzz Episode 104 - Gill Hicks, MAD for Peace — Transcript

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0:00and my thing is that everything we need
0:04we already have yeah I'm status that's
0:09also in that wrapped up is the is the
0:14internal confidence to be able to put
0:17your hand up to say I don't know what
0:21I'm doing so everything you need we
0:24already have and when you feel that it
0:27changes everything again because that
0:29allows a confidence to say I've got a
0:33whole heap of this great stuff I could
0:35probably use some more how do I get that
0:39and who do I reach out to and where do I
0:41put my hand up and that is about just
0:44being confidently yourself so everything
0:48we need we have is something I really
0:49I'm going with that at the moment
0:55this is the inner the bodies podcast
0:58helping smart businesses even more
1:01innovative
1:04hi I'm Juergen Strauss from Innova peace
1:07welcome to episode number 104 of the
1:10Innova buzz podcast designed to help
1:12smart businesses committed to innovation
1:14to service and a modern marketing become
1:17even more innovative in today's
1:19interview I was privileged indeed to
1:22speak with jill hicks one of the most
1:24inspiring thought-provoking powerful and
1:28life-affirming speakers that i've heard
1:30now inspiring is a word that's often
1:33overused and perhaps i'm guilty of doing
1:36that too but in Jill's case I think
1:39you're going to agree it's totally
1:41appropriate Jill is a survivor of the
1:45London terrorist bombings of July the
1:477th 2005 she nearly died as a result of
1:51her injuries ended up in hospital for
1:53months and suffered the loss of both
1:56legs her remarkable courage and
2:00determination to truly triumph over
2:03tragedy is nothing but inspirational now
2:08Jill wrote the book one unknown which is
2:11a moving account of the tragedy of that
2:13bombing and of her survival and her
2:16inspirational journey to a new life now
2:18I strongly recommend or strongly
2:20encourage everyone to read that book
2:24Jill now speaks publicly she operates an
2:29international not-for-profit called mad
2:32for peace ma D for peace which stands
2:34for making a difference
2:36she's a very sought-after speaker as I
2:39said and an advocate for peace and
2:41understanding in the world now without
2:43further ado then let's fly into the hive
2:45and get the buzz from the inspirational
2:48Jill Hicks
2:52hi I'm Juergen Strauss from a nova base
2:55and I'm really excited to have today as
2:57my guest on the Innova buzz podcast from
3:00Adelaide in South Australia
3:02Jill Hicks now Jill is one of the most
3:05inspiring spiring hunks getting my notes
3:08wrong here it's she's one of the most
3:09inspiring thought-provoking powerful and
3:12life-affirming speakers in Australia's
3:14today and I'll let her tell a little bit
3:16of her story because if you don't know
3:18Jill's story it's quite I don't know
3:22what the right word is but it's pretty
3:24full on and it's you know her attitude
3:29and what she does today is there's
3:31nothing to describe it but inspiring so
3:34Jill welcome to the Innova buzz podcast
3:36it's such a privilege to have you as my
3:38guest
3:38thank you and lovely to be here so yeah
3:42so Jill was publishing director of the
3:45architecture design and contemporary
3:47contemporary culture magazine blueprint
3:50she was director of a multidisciplinary
3:53design and publishing group and she was
3:56head of curation at the UK's Design
3:58Council back in 2005 when all things
4:04changed for her in in her breath I think
4:07you call it so tell us what happened
4:09basically for those people that don't
4:11know your story well I was you know just
4:16a commuter as I would be every day in
4:21London and on July the 7th 2005 it was
4:27the only day that I was running late for
4:32work so I was regularly someone who'd be
4:35in my office by aprox
4:39seven-thirty most mornings and this was
4:43one day that I was running late and of
4:45course not a day to be running late
4:48because I bordered exactly the same
4:52train carriage at the same time as a
4:57suicide bomber who turned out to be one
5:01of four suicide bombers with a planned
5:06attack on London transport networks that
5:10morning so the bomb went off at 8:50
5:16a.m. so 10:00 to 9:00 and unbeknown to
5:21me of course and to everybody in the
5:23carriage that we were in this 19 year
5:28old young man had a bomb in his backpack
5:32he was standing one person away from me
5:36in the carriage and he detonated his
5:41device killing and maiming many killing
5:4626 around me and maiming several several
5:50in my immediate surrounds and life
5:55changed forever from that moment you
5:57know I actually think of exactly that
6:01time as a very strong demarcation
6:06marking of the end of life as I knew it
6:11and absolutely fortunately and
6:14wonderfully for me the beginning of of
6:17another life but a very different life
6:20than I could ever have anticipated hmm
6:23and for those people listening in I'd
6:26strongly encourage you to read Jill's
6:29book called one unknown and you'll tell
6:32us about how that title came about in
6:34the manga I'm sure it's a very moving
6:37account of the tragedy of that bombing
6:39and of Jill's survival and her
6:42inspirational journey to this new life
6:44that she talks about so now you're
6:46operating a international not-for-profit
6:49with
6:50called mad for PSM ad make a difference
6:52and you're a very sought-after public
6:55speaker now I want to give a shout out
6:57to Fiona Kerr who introduced us and
7:00suggested we individual on the podcast
7:02so thanks Fiona big shout out to you as
7:05well she's another amazing fellow South
7:08Australian and we are very fortunate to
7:11to not only know but but but do do lots
7:15of work with Fiona so yes amazing hmm
7:18so I wondered a lot about where to take
7:24this interview today and and you know
7:26what to take out of this because your
7:28story is very inspirational but how to
7:31tie that in with business and I thought
7:33of metaphors and looking at exploring
7:36the mindset that allowed you to have the
7:39incredible strengths to survive that
7:42experiment but not only to survive that
7:44experience but to turn it into what you
7:48describe as your new life and I think
7:50it's a life of purpose and selflessness
7:52and a commitment to you know a
7:54particular cause so yeah tell us a
7:57little bit about some of that you know I
8:01think I think the biggest thing for me
8:03that that yeah I've had a lot of time to
8:06ponder and try to understand myself in
8:11what is what is it that enabled me to to
8:17firstly to not harbor a hatred or a
8:22bitterness but to understand that if I
8:28channel the anger that's there that I
8:33can use that anger as such a great
8:36motivator to really make some positive
8:40difference with the life that I've been
8:42given back for that for the for the
8:45young I I think also for them for the
8:48sense of business again for me it's even
8:53adapting to incredible change now I've
8:57said that I absolutely very fortunate to
9:00have survived the bomb blast however
9:04my body was incredibly manned and I now
9:09live my life would be very permanent
9:11injuries of being a double amputee so
9:15I've lost both legs and you know that
9:19that's a that's an ever-changing feast
9:22in itself so even being I'd rather not
9:26use the word disabled as such but being
9:29a person that that's life is then
9:31compromised in every single way and
9:35challenged it's it's continuous in how
9:39I'm having to learn to adapt and adjust
9:43to change because change didn't only
9:47happen for me at 10 to 9 on the 7th of
9:51July 2005 change is happening then every
9:55single day after that event so that in
9:59itself has been a really interesting
10:02skill to develop tip to first
10:06acknowledge that oh ok change actually
10:09should be something that we don't look
10:12at this surprised but we should look at
10:14as it's a Givens that change is
10:17happening all the time around us
10:19hopefully it's so small in its
10:22increments that we that it goes barely
10:24unnoticed but sometimes it's seismic and
10:29how do we really I think acknowledge
10:33that we have these inherent fantastic
10:36abilities to be able to not only face
10:40change but to adapt and to adjust and to
10:43be quite nimble with it all and all of
10:46that has come back around to me
10:50understanding that actually the only
10:53thing that I have absolute power over is
10:58my ability to choose how I'm going to
11:02react and respond so I can't effect I
11:07can't stop change I can't do anything
11:09about it once I let that go
11:12I then realized power I do have is I've
11:16got the power of choice
11:18and no one can take that from me I get
11:21to choose how I react and how I respond
11:24and for me that's also then coming back
11:28around to saying how wonderful Jill how
11:32wonderful that you even have a life so
11:35the association of pain of discomfort of
11:39challenge I've then bracketed into being
11:43one of the positive markers to say I'm
11:47here I'm here and I get to feel stuff
11:51and how brilliant is that and I get to
11:55choose how I react and how I respond to
11:58every single challenge and with that
12:01type of attitude which at which I guess
12:04evolved quite naturally so it's only
12:06been you know the last few years that
12:08I've been able to recognize and call it
12:11something that's enabled me I think to
12:14have quite a a good I would say healthy
12:20mindset in how I evolve my own life and
12:25how I steer the direction of my life and
12:29indeed how I how I've gone on to to face
12:35some really difficult work challenges as
12:41well as physical challenges and to be
12:44absolutely adamant that my whole driving
12:48belief is that how do I honor the life
12:52I've been given back and for me that's
12:55absolutely about what is the footprint I
12:58leave now what is the legacy I leave now
13:01and how do I
13:03Jill Hicks make a difference mm-hmm yeah
13:06that's that's quite good and and the you
13:09know having your own choices and the
13:12ability direct and respond to any
13:14situation I think that that was one of
13:16the really powerful messages I took out
13:18of the book and some of the
13:20presentations that I saw you give and
13:23I've written that down and saw that that
13:26in itself is a very powerful metaphor
13:28for life and I in fact I see
13:31in a group that I mentor on Facebook
13:33this morning and a young person there
13:35was going off a treatise so to speak a
13:39little bit at a situation that was
13:41really just a trivial little thing and I
13:44thought you know this this is a little
13:48change and it doesn't really mean what
13:51it probably doesn't mean what you think
13:52it means and you're just not reacting
13:55right you're causing yourself more grief
13:58by reacting the way you do so I think
14:00that that is a very powerful message and
14:03particularly you know if you can choose
14:07a reaction that you have chosen and a
14:09response that you have chosen in a
14:11really extreme situation that not many
14:15people would be faced with then you know
14:19that's a lesson for everybody I think
14:20yeah and I think the other thing you can
14:24for me is not so much mental health but
14:27it's also been exploring mind health and
14:31our thoughts and and how do we become
14:35the great gatekeepers of our thoughts
14:38because that they can very very quickly
14:41take us down a path of destructive
14:45almost sabotaging like action and so for
14:49me it's being very very vigilant around
14:53mind health and making sure that I'm
14:57always there present with my thoughts
15:01and the moment negative thoughts start
15:04to form I'm aware of it and I say come
15:08on we need to stop that and turn this
15:10around and look at how do we make
15:12choices the best for me and s for my
15:16body and best for the outcome and and
15:18and best for the further honoring this
15:21short breath of time that we're here for
15:24you know that's that's the other thing
15:26that's been I think monumental for me of
15:28of acknowledging again just how short a
15:33time we get to be here and how important
15:37it is to let things go and really focus
15:40on what matters
15:42yeah yeah that's right and it's scary in
15:46a way isn't it the time that we're here
15:47aren't I not sure this might have been
15:50before your time but I was watching
15:53something on the news yesterday it's the
15:5550th anniversary tomorrow of the
15:59disappearance of the Beaumont children
16:01in Adelaide which was a huge case at the
16:05time and and you know it's a big crime
16:07and it's a cold case it still isn't
16:09solved 50 years later so that's why was
16:13on the news and I thought gosh 50 years
16:16because I sort of you know that
16:17obviously made big news headlines at the
16:20time and I was a teenager so I'm giving
16:23away my edge here I was a teenager at
16:25the time and I thought you know that had
16:28an impact on me I thought how terrible
16:30and all the usual thoughts I guess and
16:32so now it's 50 years later so yeah time
16:36goes by and flash a blink mm all right
16:41so tell us a little bit about your work
16:43then at mad for peace and you know how
16:47that came about and and also what each
16:51of us as individuals and also as you
16:53know for people that are listening here
16:55most of whom are business owners what
16:57businesses can do to make a difference
17:02well so it's a this and there's two
17:04parts to Manta peace so again I've been
17:07sort of taking some time out to explore
17:10the barriers to even the word peace and
17:16so I bet I've started to think about
17:18okay I'm going to develop a sideline to
17:21Madrid peace which is called mad minds
17:24and how we can get some great thinkers
17:27to to really contribute to winding I
17:33guess alternatives to destructive
17:36ideologies so the whole premise of my
17:39work is around countering violent
17:43extremism and if you like that yeah
17:47that's the long version of what the term
17:51perhaps more familiar is how doesn't
17:53stop terrorism basically it's
17:56very acutely to me it's you know you
18:00can't bomb and kill an idea because an
18:04idea is what lives in people's minds
18:07it's what easily spread it's what
18:10ignites particularly young minds and so
18:14I then started to look at where ugly
18:17where are the alternative ideas how are
18:20we luring people away from a very
18:22destructive pathway into something
18:25perhaps where they can be constructive
18:28and how where is that where well we do
18:32that and there was no evidence that I
18:34could find so I thought that's perhaps
18:37my area that I could start to to really
18:40work in and that is creating alternative
18:43ways alternative ideas or if you like
18:47plant the scene of doubt into those who
18:50are already starting to be swayed vibes
18:54by this ideology and that Ben then sort
18:58of I guess really played with my
19:00background had been designed so I
19:03thought this is fantastic on they are
19:05starting to be able to knit together my
19:08life over one and life number two so
19:12what at what I love did now in even
19:15thinking about speaking with you today
19:17was how difficult it is to ever
19:20communicate to anyone of exactly what it
19:22is I do so essentially what is the
19:25elevator pitch nice are all crumbs if
19:28where do I start because normally I lose
19:31people at the word piece yeah so for me
19:34then I thought well I think if I had to
19:37make it really short and succinct it
19:39would be that I creatively counter
19:43violent extremism by offering
19:46alternatives or alternative ideas and
19:49pathways to something that's very
19:52destructive and so that's in a nutshell
19:55what I do extrapolating that out it's
19:59looking at a whole range of things of
20:02using my body to speak where there's
20:05perhaps language barriers so I've
20:08challenged
20:09to myself to do abseiling or do
20:13wonderfully choreographed pieces just
20:17short films showing my body without legs
20:21putting legs on walking off screen all
20:24these sorts of things to show that there
20:28is the the senselessness if you like
20:31what's happened to me and how do we make
20:34sense of that right down to I did one to
20:39one talks with people who who are other
20:41persuasion of a very destructive way of
20:44thinking so there's several cephalic
20:48strands to the work I team up with
20:50people throughout the world who are
20:53exactly of this grain of thought if you
20:58like that prevention prevention
21:00prevention is one of the best ways we
21:04can find to stop these very yeah hooba
21:12fig attacks from happening and so I work
21:15with people from in Syria in Pakistan in
21:19the United States right across the board
21:22and it's I think we're coming we're
21:26cutting ground you know for me it's it's
21:28what's difficult I guess if you put it
21:31in terms of the business perspective is
21:33when people say what's your measure for
21:35success and gosh yeah I don't have one
21:40but they started to think what perhaps I
21:43need one so my great measure of success
21:46is to say that every day there hasn't
21:50been a suicide bombing is a great day
21:53for us and wonderfully these occurrences
21:57are still extremely extremely rare
22:02particularly in Western countries I
22:04can't vouch for the atrocities that are
22:08happening in in Syria and Pakistan and
22:13indeed in Iraq but certainly in Western
22:18countries it's still a very very very
22:20rare thing indeed and that is
22:22and I think that gives us and should
22:24give us a great deal of hope hmm I think
22:28you know you touched on something near
22:30that I think is really important that's
22:31creating alternatives and I think it's
22:33also around education I you know I keep
22:37seeing horrendous photos of you know
22:42senseless Wars and carpet bombing and
22:45whatnot in Syria and Afghanistan and you
22:49know before that in Iraq and and so on
22:52and you'd think you know the poor people
22:53that are stuck there because you know
22:54they don't have a choice in the matter
22:55that the more you know the politicians
22:58or the powers of V have decided to go to
23:00war with one another and and a few
23:03people that are bent on a particular
23:06ideology and taking a violent path to
23:09enforce that ideology they're really
23:12just a very small minority as well so
23:15you kind of feel will how can you how
23:17can you break that cycle of violence
23:19because the next person that comes in
23:21and says like in in your situation you
23:25know that says well I'm going to take
23:26revenge on somebody for what happened to
23:27me um you know how do you break that
23:31cycle yeah and and for me it's
23:34absolutely by the example of very
23:37clearly and very very loudly I said
23:40almost from the day one of this ends
23:44with me and how powerful that could be
23:48if that was how everyone felt that was
23:52that suffered a horrific violation of
23:55this ends with me and how do we break
23:58that cycle how do we how do we then say
24:01okay this ends with me but I'm going to
24:04now look at a positive response and
24:08that's to me the important bit of
24:10everything I do of its ended with me but
24:14I haven't gone back to my old life
24:16I've been decided but I will respond and
24:20I'll respond in a way that is positive
24:23and that looks at understanding firstly
24:28why this happened and then to say well
24:31then how how can I contribute to the
24:35of this very horrific destructive way of
24:39thinking in ideology hmm and I think you
24:44know what you've said on the homepage of
24:46your website is something I think it's
24:48kind of encapsulates this in it because
24:51it comes down to every individual
24:54behaving in a way towards their fellow
24:56human being that actually sets the
24:59pattern or sets the behavior or standard
25:02for that doesn't it and what you've said
25:03there is someone somewhere is feeling
25:05the effects of something you've said or
25:06done and that that's a great
25:09responsibility so and for me that that I
25:14came up with that quote because I felt
25:17that it really explained the entirety of
25:21my whole experience both the Bombers
25:25actually to then the actions of every
25:29single person who dedicated themselves
25:33to saving my life and so someone
25:38somewhere is feeling the effects of
25:39something you have said or done I'm
25:42living proof of exactly their quote hmm
25:47yeah I really like that because and we
25:51talked about Fiona earlier I mean sure I
25:53think she subscribes to this philosophy
25:55too but we're all connected to each
25:58other somewhere somehow and if you take
26:01the you know the quantum physics kind of
26:06approach that you know and this is
26:08getting really deep and maybe a very
26:09scientific and metaphysical food but
26:12what we do what one of us does impacts
26:17everybody else we don't know how and we
26:21don't necessarily know why but it
26:24certainly encapsulated by that quote you
26:26said there and to think about to think a
26:29little bit about when you do something I
26:32ain't gonna really serve the world well
26:35as well as yourself absolutely and I
26:38think the thing that's been very
26:39interesting for me particularly teaming
26:42up with Fiorina is that she offers the
26:45science to my experience
26:48I could talk passionately about someone
26:53a stranger holding my hand
26:55hmm and I felt life being transformed
27:00and transported if you like from that
27:02strangers hand into mine
27:04how do I yep how do I even begin to
27:08substantiate wasn't what was that and
27:11this science is brilliant because Fiona
27:14isn't be able to say this is what
27:15happens and this is what happened to
27:17your to your brain while that was
27:20happening and this is what happened to
27:22the impact on your body why that was
27:24happening and yet that's when this
27:27becomes really exciting yeah it is
27:29exciting isn't it it demonstrates that
27:34you know this isn't just the sort of the
27:36the hippie you know ideology of let's
27:39just hug each other and everything will
27:41be fine it's actually great rigor of
27:43science to say actually there's
27:45something in this and we could all
27:47thrive if we ignore it if we understood
27:50better the power that we can have the
27:53positive power that we can have for each
27:55other hmm
27:56yeah when I met Fiona she gave a talk at
28:00a business networking event here and one
28:04of the points she made was about eye
28:06contact and we were having a chat
28:07afterwards about that and I was reminded
28:11of that when I read your book because a
28:13lot of the people that were involved in
28:16your rescue and then in Europe in your
28:19recuperation particularly those early on
28:25why actually he was later on when when
28:27people who hadn't who were your rescuers
28:30but didn't know what had happened to you
28:32and then saw reports of you leaving
28:35Hospital and so on recognized you by
28:39your eyes that was the connection they
28:43had to you yes they obviously you know
28:46they were looking into your eyes to try
28:48to keep you conscious in those moments
28:50yeah incredible opening and and just to
28:54just to say because of course it doesn't
28:57capture this in the book that though all
29:00of those people now
29:02like solid family members in my life
29:05I've wonderfully gone on to have a
29:09little girl she's now just turned five
29:12and she was christened in Russell Square
29:15fountain and Russell Square of course
29:18being the tube station that I my life
29:21was saved at and there's a beautiful
29:24park there in London with a great public
29:27fountain and so she was christened in
29:30this fountain and they were all there as
29:33her God family so it's a just beautiful
29:37foot for everything that that means you
29:40know and particularly for me is to say
29:42to them how extraordinary their efforts
29:46were to not only then save my life that
29:49my life has gone on to create another
29:52life and you know wow that's well mmm
29:58yeah well it's must be hard to know what
30:03to give back to those people yeah just I
30:06they know because I I think I tracked
30:11them all down look I'm sorry but it adil
30:18is for life that's it you've got me now
30:22a better soul you know so it's good I
30:26mean like my my closest friend is the
30:30paramedic who was first on scene inside
30:34the carriage
30:34my name's trainee and we've actually you
30:39know here we are 12 years on 13 years in
30:43fact this year with July and you know
30:46it's hard to actually believe that
30:48that's how we for all intents and
30:51purposes met you know and because we're
30:54such such firm friends her daughter is
30:57my daughter's best friend and they're on
31:00FaceTime all the time and it's just yeah
31:03I to say something's truly beautiful I
31:06look at that I value that relationship
31:08and it is truly one of the most
31:11beautiful parts of my life to have that
31:14with her
31:16and the continuation of it if you like
31:18with our children is just it is it is
31:21absolutely beautiful
31:23mmm yeah that sounds really special yeah
31:29we're having a conversation before we
31:31started the interview around how we
31:35could take some of the learnings you've
31:37you've kind of taken for yourself out of
31:40this whole life-changing experience and
31:45what that might mean to with say
31:48business owners who you know a lot of a
31:51lot of business owners they kind of live
31:53and exist for their business rather than
31:56their businesses therefore to give them
31:59a life that they love so what what kind
32:02of lessons have you taken out based on
32:07where you're at before that bombing and
32:12where you are now because very it's it's
32:17sort of bittersweet for me because I you
32:22know arrived in in London a very young
32:24person I'd lost both my parents and in a
32:29way that was the sort of catalyst if you
32:31like for me to just take a big leap of
32:34faith and to really look at you know if
32:38I put myself into a major world city
32:40where I don't know anyone I don't know
32:42anything I'll either sink or swim and so
32:47I love that sort of naivety around what
32:51I didn't know I didn't know and in a way
32:53I kind of missed that I miss the naivety
32:57of youth I wish I could keep that
33:00because I think it keeps us taking risks
33:04where we are quite bold in our abilities
33:08to say whatever comes at me I can do
33:11because we are invincible and I think
33:13that's that that's the gift of youth in
33:14a way that there's this sense of I'm
33:16completely invincible and indestructible
33:18I then you sort of fell into that trap
33:21though of being being a foreigner in a
33:25dinner in a in a very tough City working
33:28in a food
33:29we may all field dominated field being
33:33rather short I was only just five foot
33:36and being a young Australian female and
33:40so I self-imposed if you like an idea
33:44that I had to work you know not just
33:46twice as hard as everyone else but yet
33:49ten times as hard as if and and look at
33:52did pay off I I ended up climbing it's a
33:55very impressive ranks I was I was very
33:58much contributing to the cultural
34:00landscape if you like of London and
34:02that's extraordinary to be able to do
34:05that I was there for a total of 26 years
34:08of my of my life it's a place that I
34:11still call home if you want an
34:14extraordinary city but I now look back
34:19on all of those moments where
34:22particularly living in London where
34:24people go to Italy and and go skiing and
34:28and go up on fantastic holidays because
34:31it's so available to do and one moment
34:35stands out very clearly for me and that
34:37is when friends said they're all going
34:39skiing for me to come and I said
34:42absolutely not I've got reports to write
34:46and you know things to do I'm not going
34:50and it's the last opportunity I would
34:53have had to know what it would have felt
34:56like to have skied with having been full
35:00bodied you know and and it's all of
35:03those things that I didn't you know I'd
35:05come back to Australia for you know
35:08little holidays and if you like but I'm
35:10always working looking at you know what
35:13I could be doing I didn't take time out
35:15to just walk and paddle at the ocean's
35:18edge you know it's just like what what
35:21was I thinking I was in Australia but I
35:23was still working so for me it's I think
35:28perhaps I would have been a better boss
35:31I had two companies while I was in
35:34London I was in charge of the team at
35:37the Design Council I think I would have
35:39been a better boss had I had a
35:43sort of a more expansive life and I did
35:47more outside of work because I think I
35:50would have appreciated life in a very
35:55different way I lived to work and for me
36:00now wonderfully I still I still have the
36:04same habits that I have that I've sort
36:08of said I'll go what the hell I can't go
36:09skiing so it doesn't matter but but I
36:13think for me what's different now is
36:15that purpose is sit at the core
36:19so rather than even having to think oh
36:22gosh am i waking you up to work to live
36:24to live to work what am i doing having a
36:27not-for-profit you know there's there's
36:29a hint there and even its title there is
36:32no profit you know there's a whole
36:33different financial life that I now have
36:39and have to manage compared to where I
36:41was in life number one and so that in
36:45itself is a whole different appreciation
36:48but for me because purpose sits at the
36:51core then you know everything is is
36:55about what I'm doing with my life while
36:58rather than how much money I'm making to
37:01fund the not-for-profit so it's a very
37:04interesting very complete flip on while
37:08I was at before but I would absolutely
37:10say it's important to take that time to
37:12realize you know why you're doing what
37:15you do and you know that there has to be
37:18the enjoyment the fruits of your labor
37:20so to speak from all the hard work and
37:23effort that you're putting in hmm that's
37:27great advice and it in some ways taking
37:32time away from the work and the you know
37:35the office or whatever it may be
37:37actually gives you the freedom to think
37:40about purpose some more and to formulate
37:42that and I was listening to something
37:43this morning that was a presentation
37:46around a very successful business that's
37:48grown quite rapidly over the last five
37:49years and and the key that this person
37:52pointed out was the moment they didn't
37:54focus on making money but
37:55started to really warts their purpose
37:57and live to deliver that purpose you
37:59know it's a business a business to
38:00deliver to make profit but you know once
38:03they focused on this is our purpose this
38:05is our audience we have to deliver this
38:07for this audience that the success
38:11started happen so really focusing on the
38:13purpose I'm totally good and look it's
38:17been very interesting being back in
38:18South Australia because you know one of
38:21the things I am drawn to now is just to
38:24sit and look at the ocean and we have a
38:26wonderful coastline here and because
38:31we're a quieter place perhaps than the
38:35larger cities of Melbourne Sydney but I
38:38always see that as an advantage because
38:41there I'm just able to think and just
38:44looking at the ocean there's this
38:46wonderful sort of if you like leveler of
38:49the ocean just saying oh you're so
38:52insignificant you whatever you are so
38:55it's because I've been here and I'm
38:57gonna go out with my tired I'm going to
38:58come back and and it's this wonderful
39:01sort of recalibration if you like where
39:04I then to smile at myself and think yes
39:07I'm completely insignificant and I'll go
39:10back now and do some more insignificant
39:13stuff behind my computer but it's a one
39:17nature's a plate thing and I never felt
39:19that before you know I was really
39:20absolutely totally engaged with a
39:24particular architecture with a very
39:26build heavily built-up urban environment
39:28and stimulation that that gave me now
39:31I'm starting to really appreciate the
39:33the majesty and the wisdom around things
39:38that have been here far longer than I
39:39have yeah yeah and they're little things
39:41as well
39:42I noticed before there was a there was a
39:44bird chirping away very animated lead
39:48outside you we know aware over there in
39:50the background and I thought okay that's
39:52there's something else going on that you
39:54know he or she doesn't care what we're
39:57doing and it's beautiful yeah and
40:00exactly and that that's that's a moment
40:02of being completely present really in
40:05tune with where you are and just saying
40:07wow what a what a great day
40:09is lovely like appreciate this wonderful
40:13bird that's just popped in you know this
40:15is fantastic
40:16hmm well this is really fascinating July
40:20I could go on and talk for ages a bit a
40:23respect your time we do have an
40:27innovation round that we ask people and
40:29since you've kind of had quite a lot of
40:33business experience in the past so I'm
40:38go go through that now but feel free to
40:41take this wherever you feel is
40:42appropriate whether it's in relation to
40:44what you're doing now with make a
40:46difference for peace whether it's around
40:49you know the lessons that a horrendous
40:53event like this gave you or whatever so
40:56yeah so essentially the idea is that
40:59it's a it's a series of questions that
41:03will help our audience learn from tips
41:07from your experience and hopefully
41:10inspire them which I'm sure you're quite
41:12capable of doing so the number one thing
41:16anyone needs to do to be more innovative
41:19absolutely have an open mind so not want
41:23to go into anything with already the
41:26conclusion to what you're looking for
41:28but to have an open mind of what what
41:31things may come from a session of
41:33thinking mmm great advice I think you
41:37talked about not making assumptions
41:40about people in some of your
41:42presentations as well just to sort of
41:48add to that but for me even looking at
41:51the learning of what what did that
41:53bomber teach me and the bomber taught me
41:57something vital that I'm absolutely
41:59brought into my whole working and life
42:03philosophy now and that is to you know
42:05never ever presume anything about anyone
42:09you don't know and equally you know we
42:13can do that with anything we're looking
42:15at we're trying to find a solution to
42:17something we can't go in presuming that
42:19we've got the answer in having an open
42:21mind is I think
42:23the foremost crucial tool to coming up
42:27with a conclusion for anything because
42:29we don't know the answer could be buried
42:32in you know in an in a in a in a sense
42:37somewhere that we would never even
42:39imagine looking but when we're still and
42:42we have an open mind it presents itself
42:45that's right yeah and it's a little bit
42:47around that youthful naivety that you
42:51mentioned earlier to have the curiosity
42:53to that's a set aside judgment yeah all
42:58right so what's the best thing you've
42:59done to develop new ideas rather
43:02practically so I work I have the whole
43:05length of the of my office as a as a
43:10blackboard so everything I do is visual
43:14and it meant only word everything goes
43:16on the blackboard and that's the way
43:18that I tease out if you like of a
43:22direction of where to go to somewhere so
43:25it's it's perhaps design thinking but I
43:29just like to see it so for me the best
43:32way of developing new ideas or products
43:34is to is to write down your your
43:36beginning and your pathway you start to
43:39see where you're going but it's visual
43:42absolutely visual and I again I hate to
43:44presume oh I'll generalize most
43:49innovators are I would generalize to say
43:51that they've they're visual thinkers
43:53yeah yeah well I'm actually quite
43:55challenged to go into visual thinking
43:58mode but then again I do like to get up
44:00and draw on my whiteboard so yeah and I
44:03do like them about tiles so I do like
44:05that yeah okay well what's what's do you
44:09have a favorite tool or a system for
44:11improving your productivity I use a lot
44:14of design methodology so that that's you
44:18know the driver for me as always the
44:20need so I start with what's the need and
44:22again yeah having a very open mind one
44:25of all the things that could float from
44:28the need so that we could create the
44:31right solution to fulfill that need
44:33so in essence that's just pure
44:37yeah I would like to call it common
44:39sense yeah but for the sake of making
44:45use of score that we you know had the
44:47proper rigor to this own sense it's
44:49using design methodologies yeah that's
44:52great advisor but you know what they say
44:53about common sense it's not so common
44:58yeah all right what's the best way to
45:02keep a project on track to always remind
45:06yourself and your team of the why hmm
45:10what this project why does it matter why
45:14we're all sitting here you know trying
45:16to make it happen so always have that
45:19reminder of of the why the purpose yeah
45:23it's great a great advice I love I'm a
45:26huge fan of simon Sinek start with why
45:28and yeah having that in mind always I
45:32mean it makes decisions so easy doesn't
45:34know yeah absolutely
45:36hmm all right what's the number one
45:39thing anyone can do to differentiate
45:40themselves look I think it's actually
45:44quite hard and I'll to follow on from
45:47what we've just said I think it's
45:48important to leave in your purpose so to
45:52stay true to the why why are you here
45:55why are you doing this and you know I
45:58think it's I think it's easier said than
46:00done I think this is where a lot of
46:01people lose their way because they get
46:03caught in answering to their accountants
46:07to making sure that has we never got
46:09more profit and what's my editor doing
46:12and I need to make sure I've got
46:13something that's going to outsell his or
46:17her the line of whatever and we it's so
46:20easy to forget why am I here what's
46:25what's brilliant about my product and if
46:27I can't answer that then find the
46:30brilliance or to your product focus on
46:32what you are doing forget about you know
46:35the accountant forget about everyone
46:37else even if it's just momentarily put
46:40them on hold and say I'm focusing on the
46:43brilliance of what I do and that will be
46:46my you know my differential that will be
46:50the thing
46:50but it's it's so so important to stay
46:54true and to really believe in the
46:57purpose of what what you're doing
46:59because that's infectious in itself and
47:01then if you're the leader you're the box
47:04of and your that's your attitude it
47:08almost is a beautiful ripple effect that
47:10that gets reflected back in your teams
47:13and your staff of everyone understands
47:16why they're there what we're doing and
47:18how brilliant this thing is whatever
47:21that is mmm that's great applause yeah
47:23and believe in that and don't and stay
47:26true to it so it's really good look it
47:29is hard and I would say that that's you
47:31know that they're the they're the skills
47:33that that we've almost got to keep
47:36reminding ourselves to to home and to be
47:39working out to say wake up every morning
47:42and say why am I going into work what is
47:44it and what am I going to achieve today
47:47for myself as well what do I want to
47:49feel and there are important things I
47:54think to just anchor yourself within
47:57your purpose and why you're here
47:59contributing to whatever you're
48:00contributing mmm you know I think you
48:03you know you started off saying believe
48:05in your purpose and believe in yourself
48:06and I think that's that's probably one
48:09of the key parts so that I think a lot
48:11of small businesses small business
48:13owners have a couple of things that come
48:16on the discussion this morning about as
48:18well the FOMO or fear of missing out and
48:22the impostor syndrome so that you know
48:25they're not sure if they're good enough
48:27or if their product or services is good
48:30enough so then they listen to the
48:32accountant or they listen to somebody
48:33else and and say okay maybe I'll change
48:36direction or maybe I'll make a tweak
48:38here or modify things so yeah so that's
48:41the danger I think that's really
48:43interesting because if you're if you're
48:45if you don't think your product is good
48:47enough then that's that's your reason to
48:50wake up every day so I'm going to make
48:52this a billion yeah absolutely focus on
48:55that and that's done in itself what a
48:59great driver to say I've got a cup but I
49:02don't think it's the best
49:04let's make it the best you know that's
49:06Wow changes everything
49:08yeah yeah we talked earlier about I
49:12think this was pre-interview as well
49:14power of words so yeah that's magic I
49:17like that so yeah change a little bit
49:21hmm absolutely if you feel that you're
49:23an impostor then I mean I think I don't
49:26think it cuts that when you when when
49:27the the kind of the general response to
49:30that is look everybody feels like that
49:32because yeah it's you you can't really
49:34relate to that no no no no no I'm
49:36surrounded by experts even so it's okay
49:40what do I need to do to scale up to make
49:46me feel less of an impostor is that do I
49:49need to read do I need to do courses is
49:52this the right the order for me to be in
49:54because if I feel so insecure then am i
49:58doing the right thing that's my purpose
50:00where I think great I'm I'm contributing
50:03and if you still answer yes to that then
50:06scale up you know it's all there
50:08everything's there I've got another
50:12little thing that I'm really working on
50:13at the moment that I again I love to
50:16ponder I think that's a fabulous thing
50:18to do and my thing is that everything we
50:23need we already have yeah and that
50:28that's also in that wrapped up is the is
50:33the internal confidence to be able to
50:37put your hand up to say I don't know
50:40what I'm doing so everything you need we
50:44already have and when you feel that it
50:47changes everything again because that
50:49allows a confidence to say I've got a
50:53whole heap of great stuff I could
50:55probably use some more how do I get that
50:59and who do I reach out to and where do I
51:01put my hand up and that is about just
51:03being cooperatively yourself so
51:07everything we need we have is something
51:09I really I'm going with that at the
51:12moment yeah that's that's brilliant and
51:14I've done a lot of NLP training and
51:18one of the core tenets of NLP that
51:20everything we need we have inside of us
51:23now it might not be the expertise
51:26relative to some other expert or
51:28specialists in their field but you've
51:29got to know how to get to that level if
51:32you want to if you have the carbon price
51:34and I bring this back to personal
51:37experience as well your commitment you
51:40know if I was told on the on July the
51:426th the day before the bombings you know
51:45you will go on in life as a double
51:47amputee you learn to walk again on
51:49prosthetic legs I was it absolutely no
51:54way there is no way I could do that and
51:58you know Here I am I've walked the link
52:02from leads down to London I've spent a
52:05month on the road you know on prosthetic
52:08legs done ik things that have stretched
52:10my understanding of myself here over and
52:15over and over again and so therefore I'm
52:19absolutely convinced that that that
52:22everything I did need was already there
52:25and it's just better of listening to
52:29myself and saying absolutely you can do
52:31that and if you don't know how to do it
52:33go and ask hmm alright well as I say
52:38this is really fascinating and I could
52:40talk for longer but maybe we'll have a
52:42second episode at some stage maxy yeah
52:46we'll check up on you again in a little
52:48while so what's the number one piece of
52:51advice you'd give into any business
52:53owner who wants to be a leader in their
52:54field and wants to kind of be successful
52:57I would say it's it's it's so important
53:02to get the investment both emotionally
53:08professionally purposely from everyone
53:12that works in your teams so that
53:15everyone shares in the reason why while
53:18we're here and to not exclude in that
53:21way so that everyone's contribution is
53:24acknowledged that they that they all
53:27know that they're the punctual cog in
53:30that world
53:31to make the outcome happen and that to
53:35me is then creating very positive
53:37Purpose Driven working environments
53:40where people are you know understand
53:43what they're doing actually contributes
53:46to the bigger picture and therefore it's
53:48not just a job if you like but they're
53:51coming to share some of their life every
53:54day to contribute to the purpose and
53:56that's their purpose so it is important
54:00to to make sure that everyone's invested
54:03in in in the outcome mm-hmm that's
54:06that's really great advice and it kind
54:07of maybe sorry I guess to share in the
54:11outcome of of how what did happen what
54:14really what I'm doing and oh wow you
54:17know that's amazing I I got to play a
54:20small role in that but without me it
54:22wouldn't have happened and I think it's
54:23really important to people to feel that
54:25they're valued in that way mmm good you
54:28said that last bit because I do when you
54:30were saying the whole thing I was
54:34thinking back to that you actually live
54:37that in relation to the people that were
54:39involved in your rescue and your
54:41rehabilitation and recovery yeah and and
54:47beautifully or frustratingly actually
54:50when I approached every single person
54:53that was involved in my life being saved
54:57and I said yeah just well how do I thank
54:59you and you know one after one after one
55:03they were each saying I was just doing
55:06my job
55:07mmm and it really got to me because I
55:09just thought wow yeah how is that a job
55:12you've said you've showed me what we're
55:16capable of as human beings so if that's
55:19what you want to call the job then you
55:21know when where do I get recruitment to
55:23be better where do I sign up
55:25you know it's just extraordinary so
55:28they've really shown me indeed how to
55:30not only live my second life but how to
55:34be the messenger and the communicator of
55:38all that their actions did hmm
55:43all right well where can people reach
55:46out and thank you for sharing your story
55:49with us today and sharing your insights
55:50are very very welcoming of email which
55:55is Jill with a G at mad mines ma D mi
56:02NDS org okay you will post a link to
56:07that along with website your website and
56:10mad for peace website the mad mines
56:13website and a bunch of YouTube videos
56:16that I think I think well worth people
56:19going to have a look at because I've got
56:21so much more about your story which is
56:24very moving indeed and and very
56:26inspirational
56:26whatever cheap so faster so before we
56:30finish up Jill who would you like me to
56:32interview on a future and over buzz
56:33podcast and why well I would love you to
56:38speak to a very interesting man called
56:41Steve Killa Lee and Steve is the founder
56:45of the program the Global Peace Index
56:49and just brilliantly actually he is a
56:54businessman he's an Australian business
56:56businessman in the IT field and
57:00brilliantly Steve came up with the whole
57:03idea that we value and we know the
57:07economics of war but do we appreciate
57:10economics of peace and if peace could be
57:14provided as an economic platform for the
57:18you know the urgency of keeping peace
57:21and ensuring that that peace is the
57:24absolute top of the entender over the
57:28very widely understood you know I guess
57:33yeah economics of war then would
57:36countries and leadership be more prone
57:41to it to making sure that they adopted a
57:43peaceful model so that's the work he
57:46does it's absolutely fascinating and um
57:49coming from a business perspective he's
57:51really put a business slant on the value
57:56of peace
57:57yet that that does sound really
57:59fascinating because I often wonder about
58:01the the whole economics of war and the
58:04drivers that you know and how much do we
58:07contribute to that indirectly because
58:09we're all looking to have a certain
58:11level of affluence and some of that
58:14indirectly comes back to you know the
58:17economy which somewhere is driven by
58:19some war stuffs yeah that that would be
58:22fascinating so Steve keep an eye on
58:24Steve yeah Steve killin okay so yeah
58:28keep an eye on your inbox we're coming
58:29to get you courtesy of jewel dicks yeah
58:34all right well thanks so much for
58:36sharing your time and your insights with
58:38us today Jill I've really enjoyed this
58:41as I say I I do strongly encourage
58:44people to buy Jill's book and read it it
58:49I read it and those in tears a lot of
58:51the time it's very moving but also very
58:54inspirational and also have a look at
58:56the links to the videos that I post on
58:59there on the podcast so thanks Jill and
59:04all the best for the future and let's
59:06keep in touch
59:07lovely thanks you good wow what an
59:15amazing lady I'm sure you'll agree that
59:18Jill is an inspirational person and that
59:20her work is so important on a personal
59:24level I encourage everyone to take some
59:26of the lessons of this episode on board
59:28now all the ideas and tips that you'll
59:31shared with us can be found at nova
59:33bears co forward slash jill hicks that
59:37is dot c-- o-- and /g i ll h IC KS all
59:45our case all one word in over best coder
59:48for sorry anova business co forward
59:51slash jill hicks now you'll also find
59:54contact information for getting in touch
59:56with jill there as well as the links to
59:58her website and a range of talks she has
1:00:00given and also her book a note for our
1:00:04regular listeners we have changed the
1:00:06short link for our episodes so from
1:00:08today we'll be using a nova
1:00:10Co that's Co followed by the episode
1:00:14keyword Jill suggests that I interview
1:00:17Steve killer Li of the Global Peace
1:00:20Index on a future and over buzz podcast
1:00:23so Steve keep an eye on your inbox for
1:00:26an invitation from us to the Innova buzz
1:00:28podcast courtesy of Jill Hicks now you
1:00:32might get sick of hearing me say this
1:00:35next bit but someone reminded me this
1:00:37week that it's vitally important to keep
1:00:40reminding people and that repetition is
1:00:42in fact a good thing so if you haven't
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1:00:58love you to leave us a review because we
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1:01:10also let us know how we are doing if
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1:01:28time i'm yogin strauss from another biz
1:01:31remember to be awesome and keep
1:01:34innovating
1:01:34[Music]

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This page contains the full transcript of InnovaBuzz Episode 104 - Gill Hicks, MAD for Peace by Innovabiz, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 8,935 words across 1,225 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

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