What is ‘Finding Relevance’?

And why I am sharing part of my story at this life juncture

In July I re-joined Investec after a three-year gap as a trial to see if I could help bring some structure and ‘drum beating’ to one of its management…

Andy McLean’s Escape Story 2014–2017

An Introduction by Amira Aleem

In 2005 a few months short of his 30th birthday, Andy arrived in London (after living nearly all his life in New Zealand) in search of new work and life opportunities and after five months…

Lesson 7: Facing Our Flaws Only Makes Us Stronger

Written by Amira Aleem

In July 2015, Andy was back in London looking for work after his short stint as a mentor at an accelerator programme in Singapore. Andy describes the long months which he spent…

Lesson 8: There’s A Lot To Be Celebrating

Written by Amira Aleem

In September 2015, after two months of not finding work on his return to London, Andy had been part of a group from London on a five-day river trip down the Mississippi River, guided by a local…

Lesson 6: The Professional And The Personal Are A Messy Ball Of Yarn. Don’t Try too Hard To Detangle

Written by Amira Aleem

While in London in 2014, Andy had been working for a specialist finance company called…

Lesson 4: Community Is The Life-Blood Of The Lonely

Written by Amira Aleem

Over five years ago, Andy became a widower, an event that took a huge toll on him both physically and emotionally. During his first experience in Bali, soon after his wife’s…

Lesson 2: You Don’t Have To Do Anything You Don’t Want To

Written by Amira Aleem

Lesson 1: The Great Thing About Knowing Your Why

Written by Amira Aleem

“You’ve got to know what makes you tick and what doesn’t — if you don’t like doing something you have to have a plan…

Lesson 5: Things Move Fast When You Care About What You’re Working On

Written by Amira Aleem

In the early days of settling into life in Bali, things took an unexpected turn. On a morning in November 2014, Andy had been down to the yoga…

Lesson 3: Hunches Are Great. Testing Assumptions and Decision Making Criteria Are Better