Some weeks I know exactly what I need to write about. It’s as if an idea forms perfectly, like a snowflake and floats past me at just the right speed for me to capture it. And other weeks, I’m in a total blizzard, with a zillion and one ideas whizzing past me, and no obvious way to wrangle them into words.
Haha and that’s where I’m at today. And so I sit here, with the rain pouring down outside my window, a stack of Christmas presents waiting to be wrapped and, bizarrely, the late afternoon sun glowing bright pink, making the whole sky insanely beautiful, but somewhat distracting!
And so, this morning as I was thinking about what to write, I threw away all my ideas (I’m certain they’ll show up again if they’re useful) and thought about the last couple of weeks. And it got me thinking about something that happened last week that really impacted me.
Last year, on a random trip to the Sunshine Coast, I caught up with an old friend. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and so we used our time wisely, surfing, swinging in hammocks, eating delicious food & drinking good wine. One evening, after dinner, he asked me if I’d watched a movie called 180º South. When I said no, he smiled, grabbed his laptop and said ‘Oh man, you’re going to love this’.
And I did. He warned me as it started that it was the kind of movie that would make you want to go on a massive adventure. And holy smokes, he was right.
180º South follows the adventures of a guy called Jeff Johnson, who retraced the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia. The film is beautifully shot, with heaps of old footage from the original trip, and conversations with Yvon & Doug as they talk about their life’s work.
Yvon Chouinard & Doug Tompkins are both incredible human beings. I say ‘are’ but sadly, Doug passed away last week in a kayaking accident, which is why I’m writing this piece today.
I remember the first time I watched the movie being inspired in so many ways. Sure, it made me want to plan a big adventure (Yvon & Doug were both incredible rock climbers, who also surfed, kayaked, hiked….), but more so, their passion for doing good is what struck me most. Both men are (I’m going to use ‘are’ because saying were makes me really sad, and besides, I know that Doug’s work will continue to have a positive impact for many years to come) incredible ambassadors for the planet. They both founded businesses (Yvon founded Patagonia, and Doug founded Espirit & The North Face) and made massive commitments to sustainability.
Watching the movie made me want to do good. It made me want to go out and make a difference.
So often we’re conflicted when we run our own business, between the need to earn money and the desire to be of service to the world. It’s easy to get caught up in the notion that business is evil and that money has corrupted society. But these two men have proven that there’s another way. That there is a way to flex your entrepreneurial muscle for the benefit of the planet, not just your back pocket.
Both men took a different path — Yvon chose to stay in business and commit to using his work as a force for good. Redefining what it meant to be a successful business (side note: If you haven’t already, go read his book Let My People Go Surfing, it’s incredible). And Doug transitioned out of the business world (he used to say ‘- to pay his rent for living on the planet’) and moved to Chile to concentrate on land conservation & environmental activism. His previous success (and the financial gain that came from it) enabled him to buy huge amounts of land in Argentina & Chile, in order to protect the fragile environment.
Although they chose very different directions, their intentions were the same.
Here’s what I love about these two men and their attitudes:
Tompkins said: “Like many thinking people, we see biodiversity and ecosystems collapsing around us. So we’ve rolled up our sleeves and gotten to work. We have no choice: otherwise we might as well kiss our beautiful planet goodbye.”
And Yvon said “To do something good, you actually have to do something.”
So what can we learn from this? For me, it’s about recognising that we can make a difference. That, as business owners we have countless opportunities to make wiser decisions for our planet and the people who live on it. That we can use business as a force for good.
All we need to do is commit to taking action.