Beyond the Ordinary

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latest inspiration posts

July’s Artist of the Month: Clotilde Jiménez

A visual artist I admire is Afro-Latino, Honolulu-born, Clotilde Jiménez, who grew up in North Philadelphia. He was raised in a tough neighborhood, but thanks to his mother, he used his artistic talent to move out of the city and enroll in college. Clotilde received his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio in 2013 in printmaking. He completed an MFA in painting at the Slade School of Fine Art in London in 2018.

Two books to Read on Philanthropy in the Modern World

Two thought-provoking books I recently read on achieving a world that’s more equitable are The Business of Changing the World: How Billionaires, Tech Disrupters, and Social Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Aid Industry by Raj Kumar and The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing by Conor O’Clery. These books are helpful for anyone thinking about how to make a lasting impact. As Raj Kumar explains in The Business of Changing the World, the foreign aid industry, in the United States and elsewhere, is undergoing a vast transformation. Governments and aid agencies are no longer pouring large sums of money into international development projects. Instead, today’s demand is for evidence-based solutions that could more realistically put an end to extreme poverty, and that is very good news.

July's Architecture Educator of the month: Geoffrey Taylor

Designing for the next generation is an important trend in architecture and design. A forward-thinking architectural educator that I admire is Geoffrey Taylor, Dean of the School of Building Arts at The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). A Harvard and SCAD graduate, he is a Doctor of Design and a major contributor to Savannah's innovative design sector. Geoffrey believes that the responsibility of architects is to make good buildings that meet human needs while also addressing the impact of construction on the environment.

Two Cautionary Tales About General Electric for Our Times

I have had tons of experiences working with Fortune 100 companies over the years. On capital projects ranging from $50 to $500 million, we are usually collaborating with the C-suite team members. Looking back over 35 years of doing business, I found that I could tell from these encounters, or should’ve been able to, whether a company was going to excel or deteriorate. Some of the great companies I worked with include Centene, Express Scripts, Microsoft, and Amazon. The planning, the energy, and the professionalism were evident throughout our exchanges and collaborations. A couple of companies I worked with that didn’t do so well were Venture and a large brewer, and you could see the handwriting on the wall.

How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil

We know climate change is altering our planet. How the World Really Works is a much-needed reality check reminding us that before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. This is a thought-provoking book I recently read that looks at the importance of energy for humanity. Written by Canadian energy expert Professor Vaclav Smil, the book explains the fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. These include fossil fuels and food production, globalization, and the future of the environment.

The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir

If it wasn’t so scary, the book The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir would be a good read as a novel about what leads the world into chaos and even the darkest of war scenarios. It’s an authentic memoir, not a novel. This is an intriguing book I recently read that offered exclusive insights into the workings of the White House. Written by former President Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton, his integral title related to U.S. safety gave him insider information and access to the Administration’s affairs. He spent many of his 453 days working right in the room where everything happened (and the facts speak for themselves). Die-hard fans of Bolton’s former boss quickly try to ignore or discredit him, as Fox News seems to forget that he was a daring foreign policy hawk for a long time before his tenure with the former president.

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Inspiration

I have always had an insatiable curiosity

What causes me to get out of bed every morning is driven by inspiration. Ever since I was a little boy, I was inspired by my insatiable curiosity, which caused me to be a reader, a thinker, and a dreamer.

I can remember being inspired by seeing Bobby Kennedy on TV and watching videotapes of Martin Luther King Jr., and being deeply saddened by their assassination even though I was only 10 years old when I experienced all of this.

As a little boy, rocket flight was a big thing. I remember being fascinated by the moon and the stars and the astronauts exploring them.As humans we are achieving remarkable things that only a handful of years before were just in the imagination.