Why be interested in economics

I didn't take economics at school or college and the less said about my university days, the better.

I come to economics from a background in electronics and IT. All topics being on a par along the grey scale of exciting dinner party conversation.

You may ask, why the interest now? The answer to that lies with a cause that I have supported since 2008 - War Child.

War Child support children living in war zones. That these children suffer as a result of man's grievous folly strikes me as unjust and, in fact, it pisses me off.

I've undertaken a series of challenges to raise money and awareness for War Child. I'm proud of the amount I've helped raise that has funded projects to protect and rehabilitate child victims of war.

But one thing chafes me still; all the projects are after the fact; the wars happen, children suffer then War Child swoop in. What I want to do is help prevent wars and stop there being a need for War Child.

The question 'how do we prevent war?' is too broad to address here and for my tiny mind. But after some consideration it was clear that one cause of war is disparity of resources.

The have nots want what the haves, have. The fortunate haves consisting of individuals, corporations and nations. The top 5% of the world who own more than their share.

I'm not suggesting that financial equality would eradicate war but the evolution of the human spirit required to achieve such equality might.

Yet in our capitalist world we overlook the financial aspects of societies' ills. It is always the fault of someone, NEVER the fault of the system.

But the more I learn, the more I see that it is the financial system that needs reassessing and adjusting. The invisible yoke that has burdened us for 2 centuries needs removing.

Changing the relationship between politics and finance is key to addressing rampant injustice. That is why I am interested in economics, I hope that I can convince you that you need to be too.

I know nothing

I don't know what I'm writing about.

I know nothing of GDP, of where or how money is produced, I don't understand the difference between money and credit or how the taxation system or commodity markets work. Do you?

If you do then this blog probably isn't for you. Please do feel free to stick around and offer corrections where necessary, though.

If you don't then welcome, thank you for reading.

Don't you think it is odd that we live in a capitalist society yet know little of the way capitalism actually works? Doesn't it gnaw at you to see those who have so much already prosper even more while the rest of us scramble and squabble over their scraps.

Don't be confused by my rhetoric, I am a capitalist, I think it can be a great leveller of people and nations. Used wisely I think capitalism can provide for the world. But if we look at the world to today it is clear capitalism in it's current format is not working. The odds are stacked in the favour of the 5% who control the staggering majority of the world's wealth. Why should this be so?

Do you want to understand it? I sure do! I want to understand it, I want to share it and I want to change it.

Mindfulness in Minutes

I have a friend, a devotee of meditation as a means to achieving mindfulness and equanimity. He will often sit for an hour at a time in meditation. An HOUR!

If, like me, you desire a mindful state yet are often busy on Facebook and Twitter, outside having adventures or working then you simply do not have time to sit still for that long. And so the lofty aspiration of achieving a Yoda-like state of mind will always evade us.

Or perhaps not.

Here are 2 methods of practising mindfulness that do not require hours of your precious time spent in lotus position:

• Micro Meditations: Break meditation down into a few short sessions per day. 

Waiting for the microwave to heat that ready-meal? Great, sit down and begin to notice your posture, are you comfortable or carrying any tension in the body? Just bring your awareness to it and relax. Notice your breathing, bringing the breath down into the belly, then observe any thoughts and feelings until PING your mac n' cheese is done and so is your bite-sized meditation.

I find using a trigger helps to remind me to practice. I meditate while I wait for the kettle boil or my ready-meal to heat in the microwave. Once you have developed a mental cue to remind you to practice the habit forms effortlessly.

• Active Meditations: These are great and do not require the use of a microwave.

During your day become aware of certain things that are going on. These could be anything! I notice the sensation in my feet as I walk to work, or I lookout for a particular colour or listen for a sound - something that makes you observe the present moment that you can stick with for some time.

If you notice that your mind has strayed then bring it back to focus on the present.

These simple techniques only take minutes to perform yet are so beneficial in helping you achieve clarity, calmness and reduce anxiety and stress. Give them a try and let me know how you get on

Of this, Yoda approves.

The Next Adventure

Life does not wait for you to make your mind up. The longer it takes to make a decision, the further away goals get.

I've spent a while deliberating what my next challenge might be. Deliberating, but not deciding, not acting. All while, those pesky life ambitions taunted me from an ever increasing gap between my imagined adventures and reality.

I couldn't decide whether to stay at home and write articles for the content farms for pittance or move to London and try to make it in the Social Media marketing world or what challenge to face next, there are so bloody many!

What I really want to do, of course, is to go on challenging and unusual adventures then turn them into books and write fiction. Unfortunately getting paid for these endeavours is an after effect of the work you produce and, unless I could sustain myself on adrenaline and air, I'd need something in the short term to pay my way while I compile a body of work.

I'd often be asked at the end of presentations "Would you ever go back to IT?" to which I'd always answer "No way!" Well, it seems I spoke too soon.

Having great friends at my former employers who heard about my dilemma meant they wanted to help and they offered me my old job back. With the adrenaline of The Cycle Diaries wearing off, I accepted.

The familiarity is somewhat comforting, as is the corporate pound but it did entail a massive amount of pride swallowing on my part. Let it be known that there's little in the world that tastes quite so bitter as having to eat your own words.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am working with the aim of saving for several future adventures.

The beauty of cycle touring is that anyone could do it, even me. There were some hairy moments along the way (mostly in Turkey) but there was never any point on the trip where I didn't think we would make it to Sydney.

For my next adventure I wanted something entirely more challenging, something that would push me past the bounds that I have considered my limits and so far out of my comfort zone that when I look back at the zone, it'll be a tiny speck.

I have decided to go to the North Pole.

One of them, there are 4 poles and all but one has been visited. The Pole of Inaccessibility has not been conquered. So I'll be joining Jim McNeill and other Ice Warriors to be part of team that gets there.

Frankly, it scares the shit out of me. The thought of walking miles over frozen sea ice, creaking and cracking underfoot, the cold temperatures that will dip to -50 below zero and the threat of polar bears. That is why I have to do it.

There are the uncertainties of success; I have to raise a significant sum of cash, £20k to go. Then, if I get there, will there be enough ice at the pole for us to walk it, or will we have to paddle there? So many questions fill me with doubt. Most of these are out of my control.

Facing up to challenges that you cannot hope to sway are part of what attracted me to the Quest for the Pole of Inaccessibility. I want to test my mettle in a harsh environment, under duress with a real risk of failure, I want to feel the pinch of having to raise £20k and I want to feel the fear of walking over a frozen ocean.

See if I have got what it takes here: www.ArcticAndy.com. Frankly, I have no idea if I do. But it sure does feel good to be out on the road again...