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...

Killing butterflies: 8 tips to give your best public presentation ever!

Public speaking regularly outperforms death as people's number one fear.

I have performed public talks about The Cycle Diaries adventures for a range of companies including Innocent Drinks and Just Giving. Each time I have felt the flutter of fear in my belly. I discovered, however, that I enjoy public speaking but would never had found that out if I hadn't taken that first step, don't let fear rob you of an incredibly rewarding experience.

The Telegraph invited to tell my cycling story at The Outdoor and Adventure Outdoor Travel show 2013. I arrived early and was almost not let in due to some ticketing snafu that did little to ease my frayed nerves.

Running to the National Geographic Traveller stage I made it with 2 minutes to get sorted. I quickly set-up my slides, was connected to a mic and...nothing. Exactly zero people sat on the sterile, white benches in front of me. The crowds walked on by, looking at the many travel stalls. Nobody knew who I was, nobody cared!

I began my presentation, regardless. Eventually I attracted a crowd of about 20. Some even managed to stay awake through my faltering patois. None of them laughed about my cautionary tale of defecating in fields, my best gag!

Ten months later I performed a talk in front of 80 ladies, members of The Women's Institute. It went very well with laughter happening in the right places. My only disappointment was the lack of baked goodies for which the WI is famed.

Here are a few tips I developed to crush those butterflies:

• Watch stand-up comedy before your talk. This will release Oxytocin and help relax you. You can learn timing and how to construct jokes from great comedians. Avoid stealing jokes, especially if you're a fan of lewd comedy.

• Know your audience and what you're going to tell them. Know how long you have to speak for and allow enough time for a Q&A at the end. 

• Record yourself rehearsing and fix any noticeable problems. Even better get your other half to listen to it and give you pointers, your jokes might not be that appropriate and they can help erase the precious knob gags that you were sure were going to go down a treat.

• Pick one or two people in the audience to look at during your talk, don't stare but it sometimes helps to treat the presentation as a chat between you and that person. You can picture them naked if it helps, but in my experience, it doesn't!

• Eradicate 'umms' and 'ahhhs.' Silence sounds better, even after a joke (though try and avoid too many of those awkward post knob gag silences). When you're not sure what to say next, pause, take a breath, glimpse at your slides or notes, relax.

• Screw the script. I never script anything! Why add the pressure of trying to remember what you're going to say, besides you're there because you're talking about something you know intimately. while you should have some structure to sow things together nicely, avoid having a script, reading from one sounds fake and very dull.

• Smile, you'll feel better for it.

• Don't have too many slides. between you and the slides and video and text, lighting and pyrotechnics there may be too much going on, so keep it simple and strip it down to just the essentials. A good presentation doesn't reveal all!

Utilise these tips and let me know how you get on, or send me an email if you need feedback on your presentation I'd be happy to help.

Baby steps and rock bottom

My name's Andy Madeley and I'm an opportunity addict. If opportunities were calories I'd be a 12'000 calorie-per-day, obese, opportunity eating bastard.

Fat Bastard

I am great at forging and grabbing opportunities; I wanted to attend this year's Explore event at the Royal Geographical Society so I called them and told them about The Cycle Diaries. Now I'm in the running to sit on the cycling expeditions advice panel. BOOM! I needed some more public speaking gigs so I got in touch with Women's Institute. BOOM! Book deal? I emailed a publisher with my idea and now they want a sample chapter. MUSHROOM CLOUD BOOM!

Yet I have experienced more failures than any of my friends who are not so opportunistic. Most of them are making moves in their careers. Their general trajectory is upwards with promotions, best sellers and amazing new adventures. Meanwhile, mine has had the trajectory of a limp cock; failure at university, the military, my own self-employment (numerous failures) and now a faltering writing career.

As I write this I'm overdrawn at the bank and have no reliable source of income. I'm at rock bottom, paralysed by the weight of my ideas and expectations.

All this failure has got me thinking that perhaps being an opportunist is not key for successful living. But if sniffing out and taking advantage of opportunities is not the key to success, what is?

I realise now that success isn't about finding the right opportunity or even following your passion. Those things might get you going but in this world of constant distractions and stimulation they could also lead to your doom.

Some introspection and a great metaphor later and I've figured out where I'm going wrong: I'm at the great big buffet table of life, chowing down on opportunity after opportunity, my plate is full but I just keep going back to the table to get more, never finishing what I have.

Instead of relentlessly chasing the dream I need to know how to finish what I start. We all know and are repeatedly told that consistency of purpose is a key to success but how can we build it into our lives?

To solve this I turned to The Cycle Diaries bike ride, my one great success to date. Matt and I rode our bikes over frozen mountains and through baking deserts and eventually we got to our destination. We were consistent.

Our ritual was simple; we'd wake and eat, cycle for a few hours, eat, cycle some more, set camp, eat, write then sleep. This was repeated over a 16 month period.

On the days when we missed out on writing our journals during the evening or not making the distance on the bikes we felt unsettled, like something was missing. We had developed certain habits that allowed us to complete the ride.

We would set aside time each evening for writing, not impractical, large blocks of time, just 10 minutes in an evening to focus entirely upon writing.

Sometimes it took us weeks to cross inhospitable landscapes but we got there through constant application of effort, one turn of the pedals at a time. We let go of the vision of conquering the obstacle and only concentrated on the present moment.

The answer revealed itself. If I am ever going to finish the buffet of life then I'll have to forget the sculpted fruit platter and stack of pastries merely focus upon what I have to eat in front of me, right now.

I'll have to learn to let go of the end result and make completing a daily task my goal instead. That is my aim; Not to write a book, instead write for just 10 minutes each morning. That's is all.

Once you have committed to 10 minutes of action per day it is almost easier to do it than it is to feel the guilt and the shame of not doing it.

Another benefit of this baby step approach is it avoids burnout. Committing huge blocks of time or making sweeping gestures about how many thousand words you're going to write per day is just unhealthy, infeasible and will lead to frustration and, possibly, divorce.

Once the habit is in place then I might don my stretchy trousers and return once more unto the buffet.

The use of being a selfish prick

I'm a selfish prick.

I quit work over two years ago, left my girlfriend, friends and family and went on a bike ride. A 16 month, 25'000km bike ride from London to Sydney. I moved back home, taking up space and eating all the food in my parents' house.

I've started this blog for selfish reasons but I think all blogs are started for selfish reasons, to solve the author's problem.

What problem does this blog aim to solve? I'm searching for my voice and building my skills at writing through the stuff I like to do.

This is inherently selfish. 

But what if I become a great writer? Perhaps then the path I walk will be wide enough for the two of us and you can keep me company. Perhaps I can entertain you and I might just be able to help you to become a better writer or whatever. Does that make me a little less of a prick?

I'm not alone in using this oxygen mask approach to writing. Here are some wise words from some more popular selfish pricks:

Write in recollection and amazement for yourself - Jack Kerouac

You write about what you know - Larry David

Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self - Cyrill Connolly

I don't know who Cyrill Connolly is but he is God-damned right!

So that's the lesson, start with yourself, do what makes you happy and avoid the bitter resentment of doing the things that you think you should. In the end everyone else will thank you for it.