}
Showing posts with label passion projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label passion projects. Show all posts

2 October 2021

Passion projects

"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be."  Patanjali    


I love nothing more than to immerse myself in a project related to something that I love or something that is important to me.  Below are some of these projects.


Wisdom Trove



Home renovations



Compass

  • A system of processes and tools that helps me live a meaningful and inspired life. (ongoing)
  • Overview


Life Trove



Work projects




19 October 2016

Home rennovations (2015 - 2017)


Introduction
  • I renovated my house in 2015, 2016.  It was a big project for me as I had no DIY skills at all and I felt inspired to do the work myself.


Purpose and vision
  • Learn new DIY skills I can use for life.
  • Create a living space to raise consciousness and sooth the soul.
  • A living space to inspire creativity.
  • Develop my own sense of style.
  • Get to feel in control of my domain, having a real physical impact.
  • Cultivate a practice of mindfulness while doing DIY - giving each action full attention.
  • Increase rental income, especially by also renting out the small room.
  • Low maintenance if I go away.
  • Not run my bank balance down more than I need to (doing work myself, low cost furniture from IKEA)


Guiding principles
  • A sense of light and space (but with ability to shut out light too)
  • Minimalism / Simplicity / Clutter free
  • Calm / Serene
  • Nature (lots of plants, photos of nature)
  • Neutral (black, grey and white) with dashes of colour (especially through photos).
  • Beautiful + Functional
  • Comfortable
  • Creative / Innovative
  • Easy to clean / Durable /  Low maintenance
  • Optimised for 3 people


Timing
  • June 2015 - March 2017


Results




Scope


HOUSEWIDE
  • Painted walls, window frames and doors (white everywhere except Hogs Bristle in bedrooms)
  • New floors (light grey vinyl plank) laid on 2nd and 3rd levels.
  • Printed out my photos, framed and put up throughout house. 


DOWNSTAIRS

Lounge
  • Removed old alarm and wiring
  • New front door lock
  • New ceiling light, removing fan
  • New spotlights
  • Blankets and pillows on sofa
  • New door handles on door out to courtyard
  • Coffee table
  • Curtains
  • Smart TV
  • Modem
  • Rug
  • Remove mosquito door

Dining room
  • New dining room chairs
  • New storage unit
  • Removed air conditioning unit

Downstairs toilet
  • Fixed damage along bottom of wall where Mack peed

Kitchen
  • New lights
  • New door lock
  • New door handle

Front courtyard
  • Relaid paving (lifted up by roots)
  • Paint paving with a sealer
  • Rigorous pruning of large bushes
  • Raised flower beds and planted new plants
  • Created hanging garden with trellis and pots
  • Removed air conditioning unit
  • Removed house sign
  • Oiled table and chairs
  • Secure latch on courtyard door
  • Magnetic latch to keep doors open
  • Pressure clean paving
  • Watering system

Back courtyard
  • Raised flower beds and planted new plants
  • Hanging garden with trellis and pots
  • New clothing line
  • Automatic watering system
  • Fix broken paving

Stairs
  • Carpets off, painted white (for now)
  • Painted bannister


SECOND LEVEL

Small study on landing
  • Room divider to create sense of separation and privacy
  • Fixed rotted door and broken window pane.
  • New desk, desk drawers and bookshelf.
  • Three pots on back balcony
  • Pressure clean paving
  • New door handle on balcony door
  • Curtains
  • Rug

Small room
  • King single bed and mattress
  • Chest of drawers
  • Lamp
  • New light, removing fan
  • New door handle
  • New cupboard handles
  • Curtains
  • Rug

Shared bathroom
  • Replaced vanity and taps
  • Painted bath
  • Painted tiles
  • New bathroom light
  • New vanity light
  • New shower glass panel
  • New bath and shower taps
  • New shower head
  • New mirror
  • New door handles
  • Fixed cracked ceiling
  • New door handle
  • Bathroom fan installed

Srini room
  • Fixed wall and ceiling cracks
  • New door handles
  • New cupboard handles
  • New desk
  • Rug
  • Two plant pots on balcony
  • New shower head and taps


THIRD LEVEL


My landing
  • Made white step
  • Photo wall with 3 shelves
  • New table on landing
  • Two landing bookshelves

My room
  • New desk and ergonomic chair
  • Removed bed frame
  • Storage unit inside cupboard
  • Stand alone fan
  • Remade step to balcony
  • Curtains on large window
  • Blind on small window
  • Little bookshelf
  • New light, removing fan
  • New door handle
  • New cupboard handles
  • New small lamp
  • Rug
  • Plant pots to go with rug

My balcony
  • Regrout paving and replace damaged ones
  • Lots of succulent pot plants
  • Buddha


Highlights
  • Realising that with a bit of work, the small room and study could be rented out as a separate offering.
  • Demolition in the bathroom, ripping out a vanity and brass fittings I've always hated.
  • How the downstairs looked so much lighter when the white paint went on the walls.
  • Inspiration from Chris to believe I could do it and some simple lessons on the basics.
  • Doing the floors myself (cutting under door jams, removing skirting, cutting and laying tiles.)
  • Getting reimbursed $2000 by the floor installation company (after a fight) for labour not done.
  • Getting additional floors sourced and provided for free by the floor manufacturer. 
  • The way the shimmering floor lights up the second level and creates a much greater sense of space.
  • Playing with the power tools, especially the circular saw and grinder.
  • Grinding the concrete floor flat, although cleaning wasn't fun afterwards.
  • Creating hanging gardens and raised flower beds from scratch.
  • Creating the step in my room and on the landing, from scratch.
  • Installing the front door lock (after a lot of cursing!)
  • Fixing a rotten door and replacing a pane of broken glass myself.
  • Creating a succulent plant paradise on my balcony.
  • Becoming more and more methodical and relaxed in my work, knowing where everything is.
  • Help and emotional support from Srini.
  • Installing the vanity and taps with Brendan.
  • Finding ready made curtains and blinds for all my windows, saving costs on custom made ones.
  • Erecting a storage unit in my cupboard. So much better than before.
  • Deciding what photos to print, and the amazing quality of the prints when they arrived. Also deciding where they would go and hanging them.
  • Showing off the house to Jo and her approval.  Also shopping with Jo at IKEA. And buying rugs with her in The Blue Mountains.
  • Realising that I can be lord of my domain. 
  • Having the skills to keep the house maintained on an ongoing basis.
  • Lying on the balcony on my deck chair, enjoying the plants. Looking out onto them from my desk.  Getting to watch them grow and flower.

15 August 2013

Compass (1990 - )


Introduction
  • This is something that has been developing since I was 20 years old.  It accelerated in 2013, inspired by the wisdom I was collecting for Wisdom Trove.


What is it?
  • An evolving system (set of principles, practices, exercises, skills, processes, tools and guiding wisdom) that can be applied to any project - including the greatest project of all: living a meaningful and inspired life.


Purpose
  • Allow me to apply and experiment with wisdom from Wisdom Trove to transform my life and passion projects.
  • Practices, exercises, principles, processes and wisdom to move me towards my life’s purpose and vision and help me with my passion projects.
  • Support me in connecting to Consciousness and growing in love.
  • Provide a conscious process of growing, learning, transcending and evolving.
  • Help me to tap into universal intelligence, inspiration and revelation (beyond the mind).
  • Increase my sense of well being and lessen psychological pain.
  • Increase my sense of meaning, fulfillment and gratitude.
  • Allow me to embrace life more and experience moments of aliveness.
  • Help me to develop and share my gifts with others.
  • Give me a sense of my life being “in order.” 
  • To allow my mind to go on retreat and rest in Being (mind like water).
  • Get perspective during tough times - life is an ebb and a flow (especially through well-being charting and reflection)
  • Appreciating and learning from the past, planning for and anticipating the future, and most of all, embracing the present.


Components
  • Purpose: A clear sense of my life purpose and the purpose of each passion project.
  • Vision: A clear picture of my desired outcome for my life and each passion project.
  • Guiding principles: Principles and values that guide my life and each passion project.
  • Strategy: Initiatives for each major area of my life. Strategic plans for my passion projects.
  • Success measures: How I measure success based on my purpose and vision.
  • Planning and reviewing: Bucket list, weekly and annual planning and reviewing.
  • Processes: Identifying life and project processes and making them as fun and effortless as possible.
  • Task management: A way to manage my daily tasks based on David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
  • Passion projects: Projects that tap into my life purpose and vision.
  • Guiding wisdom: A collection of wisdom I find especially relevant to my life.
  • Guiding quotes: A collection of quotes I particularly resonate with.
  • Guiding questions: Useful questions to ask myself regularly.
  • Progress tracking: Tracking and celebrating progress in my life and my passion projects.
  • Well-being charts: Charts of my well-being and spiritual connection.
  • Digital journal: A gratitude journal to curate all I love (especially memories) and to share parts of my life with loved ones.
  • Practices: Regular practices and skills including serving others, prayer, mindfulness, meditation, creative thinking, reflecting, decision making, problem solving, exercise.
  • Inspiration: A trove of inspiration, immersing myself in works of genius, documentaries, museums, reading etc.
  • Lists: A collection of regularly updated lists including things I’m grateful for, things I’m proud of, moments of joy I’ve experienced, spiritual experiences, insights, my life challenges and what I’ve learned from them.
  • Risks and worries: A log of my worries with actions I can take and contingency plans where relevant.
  • Tools: The tools I use to manage Compass include Evernote, Mindmanager, Excel and Blogger.


Guding principles
  • Spiritual connection
  • Managing my life consciously and strategically but with heart and soul
  • Learning, growing, transcending, evolving
  • Processes and practices integrated into everyday life
  • Helping me to embrace life, not escape into my computer
  • Experimenting with new approaches and breaking patterns.
  • As much focus on visioning and planning (future thinking) as collecting and reflecting on the past.
  • A process, not a destination
  • Developing skills through daily practices (a lifestyle)
  • Being my own personal coach (patient, constructive, encouraging, affirming, compassionate)
  • Coming from a place of inspiration, passion, excitement and fun, not striving or self imposing.
  • Intentions and principles, not rigid rules. Guides and inspires my life, rather than rules it.
  • A combination of routines and shaking things up
  • Applying the wisdom of Wisdom Trove into my own life - then feeding real life wisdom back into it
  • Celebrating progress.
  • Seeing mistakes, back-sliding, failures, plateaus as inevitable and a chance to learn
  • Capturing that translates into insight and action.
  • Doing it to embrace life more, not to “improve” or because I’m incomplete
  • Vision, purpose
  • Strategy, planning
  • Process
  • Review, reflect, learn
  • One step at a time with vision in mind
  • Power of small steps
  • Power of habit, ritual, routine, process
  • Integrated into daily life
  • Practice, action, implementation
  • Effectiveness, efficiency
  • Fun
  • Meaningful productivity
  • Success defined, measured
  • Evolving, learning
  • Focused
  • Practical
  • Experimentation (life is my lab and I am the experimental subject)
  •  Relaxed
  • Fluid
  • Simple
  • Real impact


Scope     
  • Past - tracking, learning from, re-framing, celebrating, savouring, sharing
  • Now - applying and living (principles, skills, being, savouring, doing, learning)    
  • Future - visioning, planning, preparing, anticipating


Success measures
  • Practice, practice, practice: not getting lost in systems and theory
  • Real life impact - tangible, visible, experienceable transformations in my life
  • Depth of connection with loved ones
  • Certain key practices becoming daily “can’t do withouts”
  • Well being (inner peace, inner joy, sense of meaning and purpose)
  • Spiritual connectiveness (degree of surrender, trust, gratitude, prayer, Being)
  • Usefulness and degree of enjoyment from my passion projects
  • Moments of aliveness (joy, connection, release, love, triumph, peace, wonder)
  • Skill development
  • Confidence
  • Increased resilience (bouncing back)
  • Feedback from others 
  • Income
  • visible real life change


What success is not
  • Hours spent at the computer
  • Amount of data
  • The system itself if there is no real life impact


Guiding quotes
  • A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.  Kahlil Gibran  
  • Knowledge for its own sake was meaningless, its mere accumulation a waste of time. Knowledge must lead to understanding.  M I Finley    
  • What’s measured improves.  Peter F. Drucker    
  • You can't control what you can't measure.  Tom DeMarco    
  • A list of 5 key things, read daily and practiced, is infinitely more valuable than an encycolpaedia of knowledge.  
  • Socrates:   The unexamined life is not worth living.
  • Alphonso Lingis:   The unlived life is not worth examining. 
  • Life is only worth examining because this can help us to live more fully.  Time Freke


14 July 2012

Wisdom Trove (2012 - )


Introduction
  • This is an enormous project I have been working on since 2012. It is a quotations site that is due to launch in 2020.  The site, a work in progress, can be seen here:  www.wisdomtrove.com


Purpose
  • Wisdom Trove lovingly curates quotes about life to distill profound truths and practical wisdom on the art of living.
  • Inspiring readers to live more fully with greater outer effectiveness and inner tranquility.
  • Distilling big ideas (essence)
  • Deep spiritual truths introduced to a general audience.
  • Inspires appreciation and celebration for life.
  • Raising consciousness
  • Makes the internet a better place.


Vision
  • Wisdom Trove aspires to be the most meaningful quotations and wisdom site on the Internet by curating quotes on the art of living into a deeply insightful and integrated whole that is worth much more than the sum of its parts.
  • A timeless reference work and a work of art
  • Owns the quote and wisdom category. The Wikipedia of Wisdom.
  • My own bible for living. Delighting myself first.
  • Tao Te Ching for the modern age
  • Abundance to pay others to contribute
  • A life of Wisdom Trove, cafe collaborations, retreats and workshops, and travel and nature
  • A timeless reference work immortalised in digital records
  • Inspired by Presence and balance (time away).
  • A unique and trusted voice.
  • A revolutionary new way (system) for exploring, distilling and sharing wisdom.
  • Collaboration with a dedicated team of conscious, expert curators.


Guiding principles
  • Profound truth, practical wisdom for living, insight, revelation
  • Exploring big ideas
  • Distilled essence, substance
  • Curiosity, openness, exploration, discovery
  • Integrated, whole, inter-related, context
  • Big picture and detail, zoom in and out
  • Excellence, attention to detail, quality, consistency
  • Mastery, work of art, genius
  • Uplifting, consciousness raising
  • Curatorship not aggregation, selective, quality not quantity
  • Collaboration, sharing
  • Best practice, guidelines
  • Living, breathing, updated, growing, deepening
  • Streamlined, user friendly, hand made and automated
  • Timeless, timely, fresh, cutting edge
  • Celebration and promotion of authors
  • Wisdom of the head and heart
  • Visual and verbal wisdom


Timing
  • June 2012 - current


Summary


24 May 2007

Make a quilt online (2007)

I don't often talk about my web projects on this blog but I have just launched one that I am very proud of.

It's name is Fabric Matcher and it allows you to choose fabrics in innovative ways. For example, if you have a photo of your bedroom, you can upload it and it will suggest fabrics that match your colour scheme.

Then you add your fabrics to your pattern of choice to create your virtual quilt. If you like what you have created, you can then purchase all the ingredients online and make the kit at home.

Over 3 months of hard work - hopefully it will be a big success with the quilting market.






























15 August 2004

Life Trove (2004 - )


Introduction
  • I started Life Trove (this online journal) in 2004 while living in Cambridge. 


Purpose


For myself
  • A curation of all that I treasure most.
  • A gratitude journal celebrating my most cherished memories. 
  • A digital scrapbook I can look back on in my old age.
  • A place to put my photos and see my photographic journey.
  • An incentive to get out and take photos, add to my collection of memories. 
  • A celebration of wonder and beauty.
  • A celebration of the sacredness and specialness of life.
  • Inspire Wisdom Trove (html knowledge, multiple views, curating)
  • A way to express love and gratitude. 
  • Connect to mum and Jo and close friends.


For others
  • Inspire others to curate their lives.
  • Raise consciousness of people who view it.
  • Inspire others to embrace and appreciate life.
  • Express love and gratitude to loved ones (letters, priceless moments)
  • Give loved ones a window into me: openness, intimacy.
  • A legacy for future generations.
  • Open eyes to wonder and beauty and the joy of life. 


Vision   
  • My entire life curated showing the life of a passionate liver, love of life and photographer.
  • Looked back at by future generations as one of the first true examples of digital life curation.
  • Life Trove regarded as a work of art.
  • I live an inspiring life worth blogging about.


Guiding principles
  • Gratitude, Celebration, Appreciation
  • Enjoyment, Savouring
  • Sacredness of life and the experience of life: a gift to appreciate and savour
  • Wonder, Beauty
  • Love, Connection, Expressing love
  • Big picture
  • Narrative
  • Spiritual awakenings


Guiding quotes
  • I want what we all want," said Carl. "To move certain parts of the interior of myself into the exterior world, to see if they can be embraced. Jonathan Lethem 
  • Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer 
  • We do not remember days; we remember moments. Cesare Pavese 
  • Good days are to be gathered like grapes, to be trodden and bottled into wine and kept for age to sip at ease beside the fire. If the traveler has vintaged well, he need trouble to wander no longer; the ruby moments glow in his glass at will. Freya Stark 
  • Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume. Jean de Boufflers 
  • To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward. Margaret Fairless Barber 
  • A pleasure is not full grown until it is remembered. C.S. Lewis 
  • The years teach us much the days never knew. Ralph Waldo Emerson 
  • Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age.  Booth Tarkington 
  • Memory is the personal journalism of the soul. Richard Schickel
  • I really think that anyone who’s fortunate enough to live to be over fifty years old should take some time, even if it’s just a couple of weekends, to sit down and write the story of your life, even if it’s only twenty pages, and even if it’s only for your children and grandchildren… You’ll be surprised what you find. Bill Clinton  
  • Your birth certificate says you were born. Your death certificate says you died. Your photographs say you lived. 
  • People will look at your life and think, My God, it’s magic. They’ll be right: You created that magic. James Arthur Ray 
  • Your blog is your unedited version of yourself.  Lorelle
  • According to research, looking through photo albums make you happier than chocolate, music or even your favourite TV show.  Mark Goldstein

Related

8 June 2003

Volvo.com project

My initial role at Volvo was based in Cambridge at the European headquarters and involved taking all of Volvo's fragmented hotchpotch of Internet sites and consolidating it into a seamless experience on one system. 

It was a wonderful job.  The people were great and I got to do lots of travelling, especially to Sweden, but also to the US and Brazil where I got to see the Iguazu Falls.  My favourite part of the job was training staff on the new system which allowed me to meet people from all over the world.  Our project team consisted of just 3 people (Mats, a dynamic and friendly guy, Caroline who I became very good friends with and myself.)  But together we were a great team and we made a very substantial difference to Volvo's global Internet presence. 






An article I wrote (2003)


All you need to know about the new volvo.com platform

This year, Volvo migrated its internet sites onto a new unified platform with a consistent design across business areas.  Volvo Construction Equipment co-ordinated and managed this project on behalf of the Volvo Group. Here we discuss the background to Volvo’s new internet platform and the benefits it holds for future web initiatives.


The need for a new platform

Volvo’s internet presence was becoming expensive and fragmented as business areas increasingly did their own thing.  Problems included a hotch-potch of different “looks and feels”, the use of more than 12 different content entry tools across the organisation and sites hosted on numerous servers, scattered around the world.  

To solve these issues, a new unified internet platform was needed that would allow business areas to create, drive and own their own sites but, at the same time, extract synergies between them and ensure a consistent design across all sites.


The approach taken

A task force of business area representatives, led by Volvo Construction Equipment, was set up to find a solution.  It was clear that a pragmatic approach was required using one design, one content management system, one global set of templates and one hosting solution.  

It was decided that Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS) would form the core of the volvo.com platform.  MCMS was chosen for it’s ease-of-use and interoperability with other products and the fact that its out of the box functionality fit with Volvo's business needs better than any other product.  Being an out of the box solution also meant Volvo could take ongoing advantage of upgrades and new functionality developed by Microsoft.

The project was led and co-ordinated by a programme center based in Volvo CE’s offices in the UK.   The supplier group comprised of Volvo IT North America, Framfab and Microsoft.  The project team consisted of representatives from Volvo HQ and Volvo’s business areas.

The project adopted a “think big, start small, scale fast” approach.  Volvo CE’s global site became a pilot to validate the robustness of the new platform.  Volvo Buses, Volvo Aero and Volvo Penta’s global sites were then rolled out, followed by Volvo HQ and Volvo Financial Services.  Volvo Trucks’ global site will migrate by the end of this year.


What has been achieved so far?

The new platform has proved to be flexible and robust and multiple sites have now been launched across the world.  

Global sites have been rolled out for HQ, 5 business areas and 4 business units.  16 market sites have also been launched across 10 countries as well as 11 Volvo country sites (e.g. www.volvo.co.uk ).  In addition, Volvo CE has rolled out 4 dealer sites (e.g. www.lbsmith.com).  In total, 180 editors across the world have been trained and are working in MCMS.  

External exposure to the sites has been significant.  Volvo.com sites on the new platform currently enjoy 38,000 visits per day from 32,000 visitors who view 250,000 pages. 


Benefits of the new platform

The new platform provides several benefits and opportunities for Volvo’s web initiatives: 


1. A flexible range of templates to choose from

The MCMS solution is template driven.  Currently a shared set of 30 flexible templates has been created for editors to choose from, allowing information to be displayed in a multitude of different ways.


2.  Shared templates make development and maintenance easier and cheaper 

All business areas share the same set of templates.  This means that all upgrades and maintenance of templates are done only once.  Business areas are encouraged to suggest additions and improvements to the existing functionality of templates, allowing everyone to benefit.  So far this year, over a dozen major template enhancements have been made to existing templates.


3.  A user friendly CMS tool for non technical people

The content management system is easy to use and requires no technical knowledge.  Just about anyone can do it after less than a day’s training.


4.  A streamlined process for entering, updating and publishing content

MCMS allows multiple editors to work in the same site at once and different people can manage different parts of the site.   Responsibility for updating content can be delegated to editors all over the world but control over the final version that gets published can, if required, be retained by a global or market infomaster.


5.  The ability to share applications between business areas

In the past, business areas created their own applications, leading to much re-inventing of the wheel.  The common platform opens up the opportunity for business areas to share applications.  For example, several business areas now share the same “contact us” functionality.  Volvo Penta and Volvo CE will soon share the same functionality for their dealer locators.


6.  Content shared between multiple sites

The platform allows documents and product specs that are shared across multiple market sites to be stored and managed in one central place.  Volvo Penta and Volvo CE make particularly strong use of this approach, saving much time and effort in maintenance.


7.  The ability to seamlessly integrate applications into the new design

Existing applications do not need to be reprogrammed.  Using i-frames, they can be seamlessly integrated into the site with minimum effort.  The only requirement is that the “look and feel” of the application is consistent with that of the volvo.com design. Volvo CE has integrated its e-business applications seamlessly, with excellent effect.  North America, for example, has enjoyed an increase in requests for dealer quotes by over 300%.  


8.  The opportunity to re-utilise MCMS for other projects and platforms

Volvo CE’s  Dealer Sitebuilder project takes advantage of existing corporate content by reusing it on Dealer's Sites. This gives Volvo CE control over key brand information, while allowing the dealer to contribute his specific information.    Volvo CE, Volvo Penta and Volvo Financial Services are exploring the use of  MCMS as part of the Volvo eBusiness (VeBiz) platform for dealer extranets.  Another project in progress is exploring the use of MCMS as a new platform for Violin.


















Clicky