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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 glad 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
0:47so everything we need we have is
0:49something I really I'm going with that
0:52at the moment
0:55this is the inner the virus podcast
0:58helping smart businesses even more
1:01innovative hi I'm Meghan Strauss from
1:06Innova biz welcome to episode number 104
1:10of the Innova buzz podcast designed to
1:12help smart businesses committed to
1:14innovation to service and a modern
1:16marketing become even more innovative in
1:18today's interview I was privileged
1:21indeed to speak with jill hicks one of
1:24the most inspiring thought-provoking
1:26powerful and life-affirming speakers
1:29that i've heard now inspiring is a word
1:32that's often overused and perhaps i'm
1:35guilty of doing that too but in Jill's
1:38case I think you're going to agree it's
1:40totally appropriate
1:42Jill is a survivor of the London
1:45terrorist bombings of July the 7th 2005
1:48she nearly died as a result of her
1:51injuries ended up in hospital for months
1:54and suffered the loss of both legs
1:57her remarkable courage and determination
2:00to truly triumph over tragedy is nothing
2:05but inspirational now Jill wrote the
2:08book one unknown which is a moving
2:11account of the tragedy of that bombing
2:14and 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 and as with a
5:06planned attack on London transport
5:09networks that morning so the bomb went
5:13off at 8:50 a.m. so 10:00 to 9:00 and
5:20unbeknown to me of course and to
5:22everybody in the carriage that we were
5:24in this 19 year old young man had a bomb
5:31in 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 margon
6:07of 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
6:22mm-hmm and for those people listening in
6:26I'd strongly encourage you to read
6:28Jill's book called one unknown and
6:31you'll tell us about how that title came
6:34about in a manner I'm sure it's a very
6:36moving account of the tragedy of that
6:39bombing and 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
6:49which is called mad for peace ma d make
6:52a 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
7:06she's another amazing fellow South
7:08Australian we are very fortunate to to
7:12not only know but but but do do lots of
7:15work with Fiona so yes amazing hmm so I
7:21wondered a lot about where to take this
7:24interview today and and you know what to
7:26take out of this because your story is
7:29very inspirational but how to tie that
7:31in with business and I thought of
7:33metaphors and looking at exploring the
7:36mindset that allowed you to have the
7:39incredible strengths to survive that
7:42experience 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 do I think
8:01I think the biggest thing for me that
8:04that yeah I've had a lot of time to
8:06ponder and try to understand myself yep
8:11what is it what is it that's enabled me
8:14to to firstly to not harbor a hatred or
8:22a bitterness but to understand that if I
8:28channel the anger that's there that I
8:33can use that anger as such a great
8:35motivator to really make some positive
8:40difference with the life that I've been
8:42given back for them for them for the
8:45young look I I think also for them for
8:48the sense of business again for me it's
8:52even adapting to incredible change now
8:56I've said that aren't absolutely very
8:59fortunate to have survived the bomb
9:02blast however my body was specific
9:06incredibly manned and I now live my life
9:10with the very permanent injuries of
9:13being a double amputee so I've lost both
9:16legs and you know that that's a that's
9:20an ever-changing feast in itself so even
9:24being I'd rather not use the word
9:27disabled as such but being a person that
9:29that's life is then compromised in every
9:34single way and challenged it's it's
9:37continuous in how I'm having to learn to
9:42adapt and adjust to change because
9:45change didn't only happen for me at 10
9:49to 9 on the 7th of July 2005 change is
9:53happening then every single day after
9:57that event so that in itself has been a
10:01really interesting skill to develop tip
10:06to first acknowledge that oh ok change
10:09actually should be something that we
10:11don't look at with surprise but we
10:13should look at as it's a given that
10:16change is happening all the time around
10:18us hopefully 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
11:10once I let that go I then realized power
11:15I do have is I've got the power of
11:17choice
11:19and 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 markets 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
12:00type 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 evolved 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 do X make a difference mmm
13:06yeah that's that's quite good and and
13:08the you know having your own choices and
13:12the ability 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 thought that
13:25that in itself is a very powerful
13:28metaphor for life and I in fact
13:29obviously I was in a
13:32that I mentor on Facebook this morning
13:34and a young person there was going off a
13:38treatise so to speak a little bit at a
13:40situation that was really just a trivial
13:43little thing and I thought you know this
13:46this is a little change and it doesn't
13:50really mean what it probably doesn't
13:52mean what you think it means
13:53and you're just not reacting right
13:56you're causing yourself more grief by
13:59reacting the way you do so I think that
14:01that 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
14:32our 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 first that honoring
15:21this short breath of time that we're
15:24here for you know that's that's the
15:25other thing that's been I think
15:27monumental for me of of acknowledging
15:30again just how short a time
15:34we get to be here and how important it
15:37is to let things go
15:38and really focus on what matters
15:42yeah yeah that's right and it's scary in
15:46a way isn't it that time that we're here
15:47I'm not sure this might have been before
15:50your time but I was watching something
15:54on the news yesterday it's the 50th
15:56anniversary 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 oh gosh 50
16:15years because I sort of know that
16:17obviously made big news headlines at the
16:20time and I was a teenager I'm giving
16:23away my edge here I was a teenager at
16:24the time and I thought you know that had
16:28an impact on me I thought how terrible
16:30and all the usual sorts I guess and so
16:33now it's 50 years later so yeah time
16:36goes by and watch a blink
16:39mhm alright so tell us a little bit
16:42about you work then at mad for peace and
16:47you know how that came about and and
16:49also what each of us as individuals and
16:52also as you know for people that are
16:54listening here most of whom are business
16:56owners what businesses can do to make a
16:59difference well so it's a this and
17:04there's two parts to materpiece so again
17:06I've been sort of taking some time out
17:09to explore the barriers to even the word
17:15peace and so I bet I've started to think
17:18about okay I'm going to develop a
17:20sideline to Madrid piece which is called
17:23mad minds and how we can get some great
17:26thinkers to to really contribute to
17:31binding I guess alternatives to
17:36destructive ideologies so the whole
17:38premise of my work is around countering
17:42violent extremism and if you like for
17:46that yeah that's the long version of
17:49what the term perhaps more familiar is
17:52how do we stop 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 was easily spread it's what ignites
18:11particularly young minds and so I then
18:14started to look at where ugly where are
18:17the alternative ideas how are we luring
18:21people away from a very destructive
18:23Parkway into something perhaps where
18:26they can be constructive and how where
18:30is that where well we doing that and
18:32there was no evidence that I could find
18:34so I thought that's perhaps my area that
18:39I could start to to really work in and
18:41that is creating alternative ways
18:44alternative ideas or if you like plant
18:48the scene of doubt into those who are
18:50already starting to be swayed sides by
18:54this ideology and that Bend then sort of
18:58I guess really played with my background
19:01have been designed so I thought this is
19:03fantastic I'm now starting to be able to
19:06knit together my life number one and
19:09life number two so what at what I love
19:14did now in even thinking about speaking
19:17with you today was how difficult it is
19:19to ever communicate to anyone of exactly
19:22what it is I do so essentially what is
19:25the elevator pitch nice are all crumbs
19:27it and where do I start because normally
19:30I lose people at the word peace you know
19:32so for me then I thought well I think if
19:36I had to make it really short and
19:38succeed it would be that I creatively
19:42counter violent 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 my
20:09so to do abseiling or do wonderfully
20:14choreographed pieces just short films
20:19showing my body without legs putting
20:21legs on walking off screen all these
20:25sorts of things to show that there is
20:28the the senselessness if you like what's
20:32happened to me and how do we make sense
20:34of bears right down to I did one-to-one
20:39talks with people who who are other
20:41persuasion of a very destructive way of
20:44thinking so there's several several
20:47strands 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
21:12horrific attacks from happening and so I
21:15work with people from in Syria in
21:18Pakistan in the United States right
21:21across them at the board and it's I
21:24think we're coming we're cutting ground
21:26you know for me it's it's what's
21:28difficult that I guess if you put it in
21:31terms of a business perspective is when
21:33people say what's your measure for
21:35success and gosh yeah I don't have one
21:40but that 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
22:07happening in in Syria and and and
22:11Pakistan and indeed in Iraq but
22:16certainly in in Western countries it's
22:18still a very very very rare thing indeed
22:21and that is something I think that gives
22:23us
22:24and should give us a great deal of hope
22:26hmm I think you know you touched on
22:29something near that I think is really
22:31important that's creating alternatives
22:32and I think it's also around education I
22:36you know I keep seeing horrendous photos
22:42of you know senseless wars and carpet
22:45bombing and whatnot in Syria and
22:46Afghanistan and you know before that in
22:50Iraq and and so on and you'd think you
22:52know the poor people that are stuck
22:53there because you know they don't have a
22:55choice in the matter that the more you
22:57know the politicians or the powers of V
22:59have decided to go to war with one
23:00another and and a few people that are
23:04bent on a particular ideology and taking
23:08a violent path to enforce that ideology
23:10they're really just a very small
23:13minority as well so you kind of feel
23:15well how can you how can you break that
23:19cycle of violence because the next
23:20person that comes in and says like in in
23:23your situation you know that says well
23:25I'm going to take revenge on somebody
23:27for what happened to me um you know how
23:30do you break that cycle yeah and and for
23:34me it's absolutely by the example of
23:36very clearly 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 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
24:24and that looks at understanding firstly
24:28why this happened and then to say well
24:31then how how can I contribute to the
24:35demise of this very
24:37horrific destructive way of thinking in
24:39ideology hmm and I think you know what
24:45you've said on the homepage of your
24:47website is something I think it's kind
24:49of encapsulates this in it because it
24:51comes down to every individual behaving
24:55in a way towards their fellow human
24:56being that actually sets the pattern or
25:00sets the behavior or standard for that
25:02doesn't it and what you've said there is
25:04someone somewhere is feeling the effects
25:05of something you've said or done and
25:07that that's a great responsibility so
25:11and for me that that I came up with that
25:15quote because I felt that it really
25:18explained the entirety of my whole
25:21experience both the Bombers actually to
25:27then the actions of every single person
25:30who dedicated themselves to saving my
25:35life and so someone somewhere is feeling
25:39the effects of something you've said or
25:40done I'm living proof of exactly their
25:45quote hmm yeah I really like that
25:49because and we talked about Fiona
25:52earlier I mean sure I think she
25:54subscribes to this philosophy too but
25:56we're all connected to each other
25:58somewhere somehow and if you take the
26:01you 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
26:32you think I 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 Fiona is that she offers the
26:45science to my experience you know so I
26:49can talk
26:51passionately about someone a stranger
26:53holding 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
27:10and this science is brilliant because
27:13Fiona isn't be able to say this is what
27:15happens and this is what happened to
27:17your yeah 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
27:33you 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 if we understood
27:50better the power that we can have the
27:53positive power that we can have for each
27:55other
27:56hmm yeah when I met Fiona she gave a
27:59talk at a business networking event here
28:02and one of the points she made was about
28:06eye contact 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 were your rescuers but
28:30didn't know what had happened to you and
28:32then saw reports of you leaving Hospital
28:36and so on recognized you by your eyes is
28:41that that was the connection they had to
28:44you yes they obviously you know they
28:46were looking into your eyes to try to
28:48keep you conscious in those moments yeah
28:51incredible opening and and just to just
28:54to 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 I
29:06wonderfully had gone on to have a little
29:10girl she's now just turned five and she
29:14was 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 just beautiful
29:37for 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 but
29:49that my life has gone on to create
29:51another life and you know wow that's
29:55well hmm yeah well let's must be hard to
30:02know what to give back to those people
30:04yeah just I they know because I I think
30:10I tracked them all down look I'm sorry
30:17but it dealers for life that's it you've
30:22got me now they're just so you know so
30:25it's it's I mean like my my closest
30:28friend is the paramedic who was first on
30:33scene inside the carriage my name's
30:35treat me and we've actually you know
30:39here we are twelve years on thirteen
30:43years in fact this year of July and you
30:46know it'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 you
31:03know I to say something's truly
31:06beautiful I look at that I value that
31:08relationship and it is truly one of the
31:11most beautiful parts of my life to have
31:14that with her
31:16and the continuation or but if you like
31:18with our children it's just it is it is
31:21absolutely beautiful
31:23mmm yeah that sounds very special yeah
31:29we're having a conversation before we
31:32started 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 a 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 I think that's
33:13that that's the gift of youth in a way
33:15that there's this sense of I'm
33:16completely invincible and indestructible
33:18I then 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 in and and look at
33:52did pay off I I ended up climbing it's a
33:55very impressive rank servers I was very
33:58much contributing to the cultural
34:00landscape if you like of London and
34:02that's extraordinary
34:04to be able to do that I was there for a
34:06total of 26 years of my of my life it's
34:10a place that I still call home if you
34:13want an extraordinary city but I now
34:19look back on 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 big
34:59full-bodied 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 a so what what was I
35:21thinking I was in Australia but I was
35:24still 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 a team at the
35:37design Council I think I would have been
35:39a 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
36:07of 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 sits at the core
36:19so rather than even having to think oh
36:22gosh am i waking up to work to them to
36:24live to work what am i doing not for
36:27profit you know there's there's a hint
36:30there and even its title there is no
36:32profit 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 the core
36:52then you know everything is is about
36:55what I'm doing with my life why rather
36:58than how much money I'm making to fund
37:01the not-for-profit so it's a very
37:04interesting very complete flip on while
37:08I was at the fall but I would absolutely
37:09say it's important to take that time to
37:13realize 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 be you know
37:35the office or whatever it may be
37:36actually 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 do
38:01with 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
38:16and look it's been very interesting
38:17being back in South Australia because
38:20you know one of the things I am drawn to
38:22now is just to sit and look at the ocean
38:26and we have a wonderful coastline here
38:29and because we're a quieter place
38:33perhaps than the larger cities of
38:36Melbourne Sydney but I always see that
38:40as an advantage because there I'm just
38:42able to think and just looking at the
38:45ocean there's this wonderful sort of if
38:47you like leveler of the ocean just say
38:51oh you're so insignificant yeah whatever
38:54so it'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 one
39:17nature's a plate thing and I never felt
39:19that before you know I was really
39:21absolutely totally engaged with a
39:24particular architecture with a very
39:26built 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
40:09says they had a lovely like appreciate
40:12this wonderful bird that's just popped
40:14in
40:15you know he's fantastic hmm well this is
40:18really fascinating July I could go on
40:22and talk for ages a bit I respect your
40:24time we do have an innovation round that
40:28we ask people and since you've kind of
40:31had quite a lot of business experience
40:36in the past so I'll go through that now
40:39but feel free to take this wherever you
40:42feel is appropriate whether it's in
40:44relation to what you're doing now with
40:46make a difference for peace whether it's
40:49around you know the lessons that a
40:52horrendous event like this gave you or
40:55whatever so yeah so essentially the idea
40:58is that it's a it's a series of
41:02questions that will help our audience
41:05learn from tips from your experience and
41:09hopefully inspire them which I'm sure
41:12you're quite capable of doing so the
41:15number one thing anyone needs to do to
41:17be more innovative absolutely have an
41:21open mind
41:22so not want to go into anything with
41:25already the conclusion to what you're
41:27looking for but to have an open mind of
41:29what what things may come from a session
41:33of thinking mmm
41:35great advice I think you talked about
41:39not making assumptions about people in
41:41some of your presentations is like it
41:46just is just to sort of add to that but
41:49for me even looking at the learning of
41:52what what did that bomber
41:54teach me and the bomber taught me
41:57something vital that I've 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 yeah
42:20having an open mind 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
42:57right 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
43:10blackboard so everything I do is visual
43:14and it meant every word everything goes
43:16on a blackboard and that's the way that
43:18I tease out if you like of a direction
43:23of where to go to somewhere so it's it's
43:26perhaps design thinking but I just like
43:30to see it so for me the best way of
43:32developing new ideas or products is to
43:34is to write down your your beginning and
43:37your pathway you start to see where
43:40you're going but it's visual absolutely
43:42visual and I again I hate to presume
43:45I'll generalize is most innovators I
43:50would generalize to say that they've
43:52they're visual thinkers yeah yeah well
43:54I'm not actually quite challenged to go
43:57into visual thinking mode but then again
43:59I do like to get up and draw on my
44:01whiteboards so yeah and I do like them
44:03about tiles so I do like that yeah okay
44:08well what's what's do you have a
44:09favorite tool or a system for improving
44:11your productivity I use a lot of design
44:15methodology so that that's you know the
44:18driver for me as always the need so I
44:20start with what's the need and again
44:23yeah having a very open mind one of all
44:26the things that could float from the
44:29need so that we could create the right
44:31solution to fulfill that need
44:33so in essence that's just pure
44:37you know you like to call it common
44:39sense yeah but for the sake of making
44:45sure that we you know have the proper
44:48rigor to this own sense it's using
44:50design methodologies yeah
44:52that's great advice oh but you know what
44:53they say about common sense it's not so
44:55common yeah all right what's the best
45:01way to keep a project on track to always
45:05remind yourself and your team of the why
45:10hmm
45:10why 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
45:25huge 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
45:34it 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 to follow on from what
45:47we've just said I think it's important
45:49to believe in your purpose so to stay
45:53true to the why why are you here why are
45:55you doing this and you know I think it's
45:59I think it's easier said than done I
46:00think this is where a lot of people lose
46:02their way because they get caught in
46:05answering to their accountants to making
46:07sure that have we never got more profit
46:10and what's my editor doing and I need to
46:13make sure I've got something that's
46:15going to outsell his or her the line of
46:18whatever and we it's so easy to forget
46:22why am I here what's what's brilliant
46:26about my product and if I can't answer
46:28that then find the brilliance gotta
46:31focus on what you are doing forget about
46:35you know the account and forget about
46:37everyone else even if it's just
46:38momentarily put them on hold and say I'm
46:41focusing on the brilliance of what I do
46:44and that will be my you know my
46:48differential that will be the 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 the self
47:01and then if you're the leader you're the
47:04box of and your that's your attitude
47:07it's it almost is a beautiful ripple
47:10effect that that gets reflected back in
47:12your teams and your staff of everyone
47:15understands why they're there what we're
47:18doing and how brilliant this thing is
47:20whatever that is
47:21mmm that's great applause yeah and
47:24believe in that and don't and stay true
47:26to it so it's really good look it is
47:29hard 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 at to say wake up every morning
47:42so why am I going into work what is it
47:44and what am I going to achieve today for
47:48myself as well what do I want to feel
47:49and there are important things I think
47:54to just anchor yourself within your
47:57purpose and why you're here contributing
47:59to whatever you're contributing hmm you
48:02know I think you you know you started
48:04off saying believe in your purpose and
48:06believe in yourself and I think that's
48:07that's probably one of the key parts so
48:10that I think a lot of small businesses
48:12small business owners have a couple of
48:15things that on the discussion this
48:18morning about as well the FOMO or fear
48:21of missing out and the impostor syndrome
48:24so they you know they're not sure if
48:26they're good enough or if they're
48:28product or services is good enough so
48:30then they listen to the accountant or
48:32they listen to somebody else and and say
48:34okay maybe I'll change direction or
48:37maybe I'll make a tweak here or modify
48:39things so yeah so that's the danger I
48:42think that's really interesting because
48:44if you're if you're if you don't think
48:46your product is good enough then that's
48:49that's your reason to wake up every day
48:51of say I'm going to make this a billion
48:53yeah absolutely
48:55focus on that and that's done in itself
48:58what a great driver to say I've gotta go
49:01for that but I don'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 hmm absolutely
49:23if you feel that you're an impostor then
49:24I mean I think I don't think it cuts
49:26that when you when when the the kind of
49:29the general response to that is look
49:31everybody feels like that because yeah
49:32it's you you can't really relate to they
49:35can no no no no no I'm surrounded by
49:36experts even so it's okay what do I need
49:42to do to scale up to make me feel less
49:47of an impostor is that do I need to read
49:50do I need to do courses is this the life
49:53the order for me to be in because if I
49:55feel so insecure then am i doing the
49:59right thing that's my purpose where I
50:01think great I'm I'm contributing and if
50:04you still answer yes to that then skill
50:07up yeah it's all there everything's
50:09there I've got another little thing that
50:12I'm really working on at the moment that
50:14I again I love to ponder I think that's
50:17a fabulous thing to do and like my thing
50:21is that everything we need we already
50:25have yeah and that's also in that
50:31wrapped up is the is the internal
50:35confidence to be able to put your hand
50:38up to say I don't know what I'm doing so
50:43everything you need we already have and
50:45when you feel that it changes everything
50:48again because that allows a confidence
50:50to say I've got a whole heap of this
50:53great stuff I could probably use some
50:56more how do I get that and who do I
50:59reach out to and where do I put my hand
51:01up and that is about just being
51:04confidently yourself so everything we
51:08need think have is something I really
51:09I'm going with that at the moment yeah
51:13that's that's brilliant I've done a lot
51:16of NLP training and daddy
51:18one of the core tenets of NLP that
51:20everything we need we have inside of us
51:23now might not be the expertise relative
51:26to some other expert or specialists in
51:28their field but you've got to know how
51:30to get to that level if you want to if
51:33you have the problem of price and I
51:36bring this back to personal experience
51:38as well your commitment you know if I
51:40was told on the on July the 6th the day
51:43before the bombings you will go on in
51:46life as a double amputee you learn to
51:49walk again on prosthetic legs I would've
51:52said absolutely no way there is no way I
51:56could do that and you know Here I am
52:00I've walked the link from leads down to
52:03London I've spent a month on the road
52:06you know on prosthetic legs dunnock
52:09things that have stretched my
52:12understanding 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 listening to myself and
52:29saying absolutely you can do that and if
52:32you don't know how to do it go and ask
52:33hmm alright well as I say this is really
52:39fascinating and I could talk for longer
52:41but maybe we'll have a second episode at
52:43some stage fancy yeah yeah we'll check
52:47up on you again in a little while so
52:49what's the number one piece of advice
52:51you'd give into any business owner who
52:53wants to be a leader in their field and
52:55wants to kind of be successful I would
52:59say it's it's it's so important to get
53:03being 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 will
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 ideas important
54:00to to make sure that everyone's invested
54:03in in in the outcome mm-hmm that's
54:05that'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 we're not 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
54:42rehabilitation and recovery yeah and and
54:47beautifully or frustratingly actually
54:50what when I approached every single
54:53person that was involved in my life
54:56being saved and I said yeah just well
54:58how do I thank you and you know one
55:01after one after one they were each
55:04saying I was just doing my 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
55:17as human beings so if that's what you
55:19want to call the job then you know when
55:21where do I get recruitment to be better
55:24where 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 I
56:17think think well worth people going to
56:19have a look at because I've got so much
56:21more about your story which is very
56:24moving indeed and very inspirational
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 global the Global Peace Index and
56:51just 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
57:33your 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
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 would be
58:22fascinating so Steve keep an eye on her
58:25Steve yeah Steve : okay so yeah keep an
58:28eye on your inbox we're coming to get
58:29you courtesy of Jill here yeah all right
58:35well thanks so much for sharing your
58:37time and your insights with us today
58:39Jill I've really enjoyed this as I say I
58:42I do strongly encourage people to buy
58:46Jill's book and read it it I read it
58:50knows in tears a lot of the time it's
58:52very moving but also very inspirational
58:55and also have a look at the links to the
58:58videos that I post on there on the
59:00podcast so thanks Jill thank you so much
59:04and all the best for the future and
59:06let's keep in touch lovely thanks again
59:12wow what an amazing lady I'm sure you'll
59:18agree that Jill is an inspirational
59:19person and that her work is so important
59:22on a personal level I encourage everyone
59:25to take some of the lessons of this
59:27episode on board now all the ideas and
59:30tips that you'll shared with us can be
59:32found at nova bears co forward slash
59:35jill hicks that is dot c-- o-- and /g i
59:41ll h IC KS all our case all one word
59:46anova best code up for sorry anova Bisco
59:51forward slash jill hicks now you'll also
59:54find contact information for getting in
59:56touch with jill there as well as links
59:58to her web site and a range of talks she
1:00:00has given and also her book a note for
1:00:04our regular listeners we have changed
1:00:06the short 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 killa Lee of the Global Peace
1:00:20Index on a future anova buzz podcast so
1:00:23Steve keep an eye on your inbox for an
1:00:26invitation 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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1:01:28time i'm yogin strauss from another biz
1:01:31remember to be awesome and keep
1:01:34innovating
1:01:34[Music]

About this transcript

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 8,933 words across 1,235 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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