Ben Saunders - Polar Explorer, Motivational Speaker

When Ben met Al

Two events in the past two years have changed my life profoundly. Both conferences, both in America, both mind-blowing; PopTech and TED. I've just returned from this year's TED in Monterey, California, where I've had the privilege of spending four days rubbing shoulders with the likes of Al Gore, Burt Rutan, Dr.Larry Brilliant (the chap that eradicated smallpox), Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon.com), Sergey Brin and Larry Page (founders of Google), Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons), Pierre Omidyar (founder of eBay), Tony Robbins (motivational speaker and bestselling writer) and many, many others.

Anyway, a few memories:

Biggest 'D'oh!':
The wonderful Daphne Zuniga (yes, Princess Vespa from Space Balls!) was interviewing people for a TED documentary. On Friday morning she came up to me in the foyer and introduced her friend - I didn't catch her name and I couldn't quite see her name badge, but despite big sunglasses she looked vaguely familiar. I shook her hand and she asked me how I was finding this year's conference. I launched into an effusive speech about how it was so wonderful that the famous (and/or super-rich) people there had so much humility; how TED was a unique forum for conversation about the big issues facing the planet and the human race, yadda yadda. And then the anonymous blonde removed her sunglasses. I was chatting to Meg Ryan.

Most Surprising Speaker:
I was blown away by Sir Ken Robinson, who spoke movingly, passionately and hilariously about the mess that the education systems of the western world are in, and the importance of fostering rather than inhibiting creativity in children. 'All kids have tremendous creative potential, and we are squandering it: schools educate kids out of creativity - the process of having innovative ideas that have value - because mistakes are stigmatized - and if you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.' Ethan Zuckerman somehow blogged Sir Ken's talk in real time.

Best Poetry:
The incredible 'slam poet' Rives. You can hear his poem 'Mockingbirds' here.

Most Unexpected Bonus:
Driving up the coast to San Francisco after the conference in a Mustang convertible.

Biggest post-TED downer:
Learning that my luggage is still at LAX.

For a more thorough write-up, Ethan Zuckerman, Bruno Giussani, The Lone Ronin and the official TED Blog have it sewn up.

{ Filed under Speaking on February 28th, 2006 | 13 Comments }

Lucky Man

As I write, it's 1902 UTC (Tuesday) and I'm on the BA269 jumbo, half way from Heathrow to LAX, 10,363 metres above the Greenland icecap. After chicken curry and The Island with Ewan McGregor, I stood up to go to the loo. As I sidestepped and shimmied past sprawled, eyemasked sleepers to the back of the plane, I noticed a few people peering under their window blinds at a familiar orangey-blue glow. The sun was setting over Greenland.

Someone before me had splashed water (or worse) on the floor of the loo and I wrestled with a moral dilemma: do I perform the selfless deed of mopping it up, or do I pretend it's not there and hope that those next in line don't assume it was my lousy aim that splattered the floor.

Before sitting down again (aisle seat, no view) I stood by the emergency exit at the back. With my face jammed into the tiny porthole I could make out distant mountain peaks, the telltale creases and folds of hidden crevasses and plumes of spindrift racing towards the coast. It looked like a blustery day for skiing. A guy in his thirties joined me at the window and struck up conversation.

'Stunning isn't it?'

'It's an amazing place. I was here for a month last year.'

'A month? What were you up to?'

'I lead expeditions. We were here training for Antarctica. We're going to be back here again in May and then we're heading south in October for four months.'

I traced the horizon to the distant coast, blurred by patchy sea ice. 'It all seems very real now.'

And it did seem real. For a moment, I imagined myself down there, manhauling on a bearing, with all the superficiality of civilisation, all the marketing and PR, stripped away by the Arctic wind.

'You're a lucky man' he said, smiling.

{ Filed under Greenland on February 22nd, 2006 | 10 Comments }

Standing out from the crowd

The TED conference has a nifty networking system (powered by Intronetworks) that you're automatically plugged into once you're signed up as an attendee.

Once you've submitted a few details - what your values/interests are, what kind of person you are, what kind of people you'd like to meet at TED and so on, the website groups people around you according to things you have in common - the closer they are, the more you're (theoretically) alike.

Comforting, then, to see that there's a sizeable exclusion zone around yours truly, like I've dropped some kind of particularly eggy cyber-fart. Hmm…

On a sensible note, there's a nice pre-TED write up at Bruno Giussani's blog.

On a somewhat-less-than-sensible note, I spotted today that Destination Cycling are offering individuals the chance to ride the entire Tour de France route over 26 days in July this year. Wowser. I wonder if it's too late to write that into the training programme for the next expedition…

{ Filed under Miscellany on February 20th, 2006 | 3 Comments }

Schedule

Busier than ever right now, and a few things have taken a back seat (sleeping, blogging) while a few things have been bumped up the importance scale (training, speaking, unpacking, laundry).

There are some exciting things on the horizon to tell you about - I'm running the London Marathon again in April. I ran 3:02 last year, and my aim is to go comfortably sub-three this time around. I'm cranking out lots of mileage at the moment, and I'll start throwing in a healthy dose of hill (and maybe even track) sessions from mid-March.

I'm off to Geneva this afternoon to speak at a big leadership dinner, and then Monterey, California next Tuesday for this year's TED conference. As always, there's an incredible speaker line up. Al Gore is one, along with Tony Robbins - I'm intrigued to see how Tony addresses the TED audience; I can't imagine a group of people less in need of motivation…

A little later in the year, I've signed up to the Bontrager TwentyFour12 24-hour mountain bike race in July, and between now and then, I'll be touching down in three of my favourite places - Greenland, New York and South Africa.

I'll leave you with a little light entertainment, courtesy of Ethan Lipton.

{ Filed under Random thoughts and reflection on February 16th, 2006 | 5 Comments }

Sparkle

I mentioned my brother's friend (and solo Atlantic rower) Chris Martin a few days ago. Well, after 70 days and pretty much everything the Atlantic could throw at him, he made it into Antigua two days ago.

His blog post from that day (wonderfully written, as always) made me feel very nostalgic; he captures the transient, intense burst of emotions and sensations that accompany sudden reimmersion into society and civilisation perfectly:

My eyes stinging, body aching and mind confused by lights, smells, sounds and feeling I had long forgotten, I stood on land for the first time in nearly 10 weeks. I staggered and fell into Jo’s arms. We hugged for a while before wrapping my arms round my brother and Dad. Shaking people’s hands, hugging people and trying to talk I wobbled all over the place; the widest grin I have ever worn on my face. This is the most incredible moment of my life and one that I will not be forgetting for a long time… Looking at myself in the mirror is the most strange experience. I have lost a lot more weight than I thought I had. The beard is more unkempt than I had thought and my eyes now have a little extra sparkle that I could have sworn wasn’t there before.

Our cottage is on the hill with a clear view out over Falmouth Harbour and onward into the Atlantic. I have already caught myself gazing out at it and smiling a knowing smile to myself. I’ve just crossed that, in a rowing boat, on my own.

{ Filed under Other expeditions on February 9th, 2006 | 3 Comments }