Some years ago I went through a very hard time. The burden of starting a business weighed increasingly heavily. I felt that the challenges of work were completely consuming me, and I didn't have enough time to spend with my family and friends--let alone time to spend by myself. I ran into a good old friend and over a cup of tea I shared my "complaints" with him. Johan listened supportively, and after a while he posed a question: "Do you remember that talk we had about our futures a few years ago?"

I did remember. My friend reminded me about the dreams--the things I wanted to achieve--that I had shared with him during that conversation. He brought me back to that earlier conversation and invited me to look at my present reality from that perspective. And, interestingly, it turned out that many of the things I had wished for years ago had in fact become part of my everyday reality. That meeting changed my life, because I realized that my wishes and dreams do tend to come true. It is only that I forget, because I'm always on the move to the next goal. "Count your blessings," Johan said, and the heaviness of the time fell from my shoulders.   Read more...

I've just been told that the woman in whose hands the world would always change for the better passed away. At 64, much too early, Anita Roddick, left us. What a brave soul she was, never afraid to address the painful issues in our societies. She was never interested in being politically correct or in even being sensitive to her audience, she would just speak from her heart. She fought injustice with all her energy and passion.

What a drive she had…! There were only a very few bridges too far for her. She got far, very far, because she dared to cross whatever challenge was in front of her. From a tiny shopk in Brighton, she created, together with her husband Gordon, one of the first companies – The Body Shop – that really did business just for social change. Yet for me, the most important part of her legacy is not her company – it is the simple fact that every individual can indeed change the world. "Just do it", could have been her tagline. So she lived. No regrets.   Read more...