Purpose In Times Of Uncertainty & The New Age Of Humanist Technology with Anthony Moorhouse

Welcome to today's episode of the Decoding Purpose Podcast.

I recorded this podcast episode precisely one month and two days ago, and at the time, I was sat on Richards Branson's private Australian island, Make Peace Island where I interviewed today's guest - Ant Moorehouse. Before diving in, I think it's important to say a few things about context and timing of this podcast. One that I never expected to release during a pandemic. For all of us, the world has changed.

At the time of interviewing Ant, I was pinching myself. I was feeling grateful to be on Make Peace Island, and I was also feeling happy about the state of the world. I'm more than aware that the world has a billion problems that need solving, but in the context of this event, The Earth Tech Summit, I took comfort in knowing that somehow the next generation had it covered. These young change-makers were taking action, and that there were incredible people helping them to do that. And today, we will hear more about the initiative and people supporting them like today's guest. People represent hope in a crazy world.

At the time of the Earth Tech Summit, I had heard whispers of this new coronavirus, yet for some reason at the time of recording this interview one month ago, the fear and anxiety had not yet surfaced. I think like so many Australians I somehow felt inoculated from a flu born in a town some 8000 kilometres away from my home. That sense of safety was ironic given that at the time of recording, I was sharing an island with people from India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Spain and the list goes on. I was a part of a genuinely global tribe. A tribe who would have never have come together had this event been scheduled only a few weeks later...that was BC (before Covid-19) and now we have entered an entirely new way of life.

It's still so hard to conceive that only weeks later all of our borders would be closed; we would have over 1000 cases of Covid 19 confirmed with the numbers accelerating. That the music, events, food, hospitality and beauty industries would be decimated and that the word recession (well actually depression) would slip back into anyone's vocabulary. Or that my two-year-old daughter would be sat here next to me while I write these words, as I keep her home from child care to keep my parents safe and well. How could any of this be real?

This is what I would call collective shock. And just like any shock, there are feelings of paralysis, overwhelm and uncertainty. It is a time where we have been thrown out of our bodies, our very survival has come into focus, and in moving forward, the only option we have is to ground. To stand firm in an entirely new reality where the game has changed. The rules are different and life as we knew it, is not anything like the life we now know.

So where do we begin in navigating this turning point? Is this the wake-up call humanity needed while we slept through the inevitability of a pandemic? Is this our god, the god of nature, the god of science, or a spiritual god of your understanding no longer waiting for change, but commanding we take action.

These are not questions that I can answer. But I can take notice. I can be conscious of the fact we are being asked to stop, to slow down and to take stock, not of toilet paper but of our identity, our influence and our impact.

After-all the only good news that has come out of this Pandemic is that with global economic activity ramping down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it is hardly surprising that emissions of a variety of gases related to energy and transport have been reduced. This is undeniably great for the planet but what about you? How are you transforming in all of this? How are you dealing with the uncertainty and fear as we step into a new way of living?

When I speak about purpose, I often refer to it as the great unknown. It is the cocoon between the caterpillar and the butterfly where the magic of transformation comes to life. Where we see what's possible, and we move towards the change required to make that happen. Sometimes we do it by choice, but so often it happens through crises where the rug is pulled from underneath our feet, and we are asked to let go of what we thought defined us. Money, power, status.The old paradigm. Life before Covid-19. Life before our sense of security was taken away.

Consider this.When you take away our health or the health of our families, we have nothing. When you take away our high paying roles, investments or security, we are nothing. When you take away our control and our belief that we are the kings or the queens of the planet, then we are reminded that we are only human. That no matter how rich, how famous or how powerful we are our entire social paradigm can be taken down by tiny little so-called spike proteins that extend from within the core of the coronavirus to latch onto specific cells in the human body. That's all it takes to destroy a human empire. Frightening and incredibly humbling all at the same time.

But there is something that this virus or any virus can never take away from us. And that is our reason for being. The one thing you have that can help another human. That can provide healing for another human or build hope. That is your purpose, and its relevance is more significant now that any other time in history. And why does that matter?

Because you might be scared of getting sick or your family getting sick, you might be afraid of being alone or being bored. You could be afraid of losing money, assets, investments or shares. That's okay. It's okay to be frightened. But at some point you will need to make a choice, and that choice is simple. You either choose fear, or you choose love.

You have time right now. You can go within. So ask yourself what is your gift and how can you help, heal or build hope. What is your identity, your influence or your impact? Who do you choose to be in this crises? Money will never replace human kinds desire for meaning and that is abundant right now. How are you showing up and who are you becoming in this, and because of this. To quote today's guest "we should never waste a good crisis". That guest is the incredible Ant Moorhouse.

Ant spent a decade in the Australian Army as a Special Forces Counter Terrorism Commander before starting a crises management business Dynamiq in 2005. Over the next 10 years, Ant led Dynamiq to become a truly international firm, working globally in 155 countries with $20mil+ in revenue. In 2015 Ant exited selling to Insurance Australia Group.

At the time, Ant had recently returned from 4 years in Boulder, Colorado, where he had been investing in and mentoring tech-start-ups and social enterprises. Before returning to live in Australia with his wife and two young daughters the family went on holiday to the Great Barrier Reef. It was good. But it was nowhere near as breathtaking as when Ant and his wife were at the reef 18 years prior on their Honeymoon. The damage was clear, and for Ant, this was a turning point moment where he knew it was time to take action.

And as a former member of the military taking action and engaging in a mission was second nature. That said, this time Ant knew that the mission was to save the planet and that he would need to recruit the brightest army on earth. He needed a tribe of Earth warriors armed with technology as the primary weapon.

As a result, he and co founder Brian launched EarthTech who are a social enterprise that is supporting people to make the discoveries, create the technologies and build the companies we need to save our planet and our future. The goal is to help the world meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and I think in the context of COVID-19 achieving these goals has never been more significant as it is right now.

The EarthTech Challenge brings together a community of entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators, mentors, like-minded partners and of course, young changemakers from all over the world. I felt privileged to spend time with Ant, Brian and the global tribe of world changers that came together on Make Peace Island.

Like any great challenge, there was, of course, a winner who I want to make special note of today. Safewheel are an affordable emergency medical service provider to the rural people of Bangladesh. They have created environment-friendly mini electric tricycle ambulances that provide affordable ambulance and doorstep medical service to villagers.

I think it's fair to say then when Safewheel won the Earthtech challenge no one realised how significant supporting medical services would become. Since then Safewheel has stepped up to the demands of Covid-19 and this week EarthTech and Safewheel are launching a crowdfunding campaign. With $50k Safewheel can positively impact 12million people in Bangladesh via education, distribution of COVID-19 supplies and medical services. For more info jump on https://earthtech.io/and reach out to Ant.

So now, without further delay, grab your cup of green tea, coffee, wine or whatever it is. Maybe change rooms for those of you at home in self-isolation, find a plant, open a window and connect with the Earth as a salute to our home. Today more than ever, our life here on earth should be celebrated and our purpose matters more than ever.

Welcome to the podcast Ant Moorhouse.

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