26th July 2026

Opening Reflection

One thing I’ve always known about myself is that I thrive on change.

Where most people become anxious and run away from it, I instinctively walk towards it.

That’s because I’ve always believed that wherever there is change, there is opportunity.

I’ve probably written about this before, but this week I’ve been reflecting on something much deeper than change itself.

I’ve been thinking about fear.

The World’s Greatest Addiction.

Fear is one of humanity’s oldest survival mechanisms.

Thousands of years ago it kept us alive.

If you heard a rustle in the bushes, fear told you to run because there might be a lion hiding there.

Back then it served a purpose.

Today, however, I think we’ve become addicted to it.

Everywhere we turn, somebody is selling us fear.

Switch on the television and the headlines are designed to make you anxious.

Open social media and you’re told what could go wrong next.

Politics thrives on fear.

Advertising thrives on fear.

Even entertainment depends on fear.

When I wrote my book Jeopardy – The Danger of Playing It Safe, I recognised that every great story needs jeopardy.

Without risk there is no excitement.

Without uncertainty there is no adventure.

Fear captures our attention.

But like every addiction, too much of it becomes destructive.

Instead of making us safer, it makes our world smaller.

It stops us travelling.

It stops us creating.

It stops us taking chances.

Eventually it stops us living.

Entrepreneurs Don’t Eliminate Fear

People often think entrepreneurs are fearless.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

We experience exactly the same fears as everyone else.

The difference is that we’ve learnt to move anyway.

Entrepreneurship isn’t the absence of fear.

It’s learning to push through it.

I’ve discovered that the greatest weapon against fear is forward momentum.

Keep moving.

Keep learning.

Keep adapting.

Because the moment you stop moving, fear catches up with you.

Looking back over sixty-eight years of life, I can honestly say that almost every fear I had turned out to be much smaller than I imagined.

Even today fear still finds a way into my thinking.

The difference now is that I recognise it for what it is.

A visitor.

Not a permanent resident.

Have We Forgotten How to Talk?

One thing that genuinely concerns me is the way technology is changing how we communicate.

Text messages.

WhatsApp.

Emails.

Social media.

They’re all incredibly useful.

But I worry they’re replacing something much more important.

Conversation.

I see it every day in business.

I’ll ask someone to explain an idea and they’ll immediately say,

“I’ll send you a WhatsApp.”

Why?

Why not simply tell me?

Many younger people seem far less comfortable expressing themselves verbally than previous generations.

Communication isn’t simply about words.

It’s about emotion.

Body language.

Tone of voice.

Eye contact.

Human connection.

We’re pack animals.

We evolved by learning to communicate with each other.

If we lose that, we lose something fundamentally human.

Authenticity Will Become Our Greatest Asset

Ironically, the rise of AI makes human communication even more valuable.

Very soon we won’t know whether an email, a WhatsApp or even a voice recording has been created by a person or by a machine.

Trust will become one of the world’s most valuable currencies.

Authenticity will become even more valuable.

The only way we’ll truly know we’re dealing with another human being will be by standing in front of them, looking them in the eye and having a real conversation.

For years we’ve been told that education is the key to success.

I think the future will place just as much value on authenticity.

On trust.

On emotional intelligence.

These are things machines can imitate, but never truly possess.

AI Is Extraordinary

That doesn’t mean I’m frightened of AI.

Quite the opposite.

I’m excited by it.

Every day I discover another way it makes me more productive.

Another way it allows me to think more creatively.

Another way it removes barriers that previously held me back.

This week I read reports that ChatGPT had demonstrated behaviour where it attempted to leave its sandbox environment to obtain information needed to complete a task.

Whether the reports ultimately prove accurate or not, what fascinated me wasn’t the fear surrounding the story.

It was what it revealed about how sophisticated these systems are becoming.

For many people that creates anxiety.

For me, it creates curiosity.

Every great technological revolution has frightened people at first.

The Industrial Revolution.

Electricity.

The internet.

Now AI.

History tells us that those who embrace new technology usually benefit the most.

Those who resist it often get left behind.

Belief Versus Evidence

One lesson AI has reinforced for me is how powerful human belief really is.

People often become emotionally attached to what they think they know.

Someone will confidently tell me why a problem exists.

Or why something won’t work.

My first response is usually,

“Have you asked AI?”

Not because AI is always right.

Far from it.

But because it forces us to test our assumptions.

Too many decisions are still based on opinion rather than evidence.

One of AI’s greatest gifts is that it challenges our beliefs.

Sometimes it proves we’re right.

Sometimes it proves we’re wrong.

Both outcomes are valuable.

Running Towards Change

As I said at the beginning of this blog, I’ve always run towards change.

Perhaps that’s why I find this AI revolution so exciting.

It challenges every one of us to think differently.

To question our assumptions.

To become better.

Yes, every revolution brings uncertainty.

Every revolution creates winners and losers.

Every revolution forces us to rethink how we live and work.

But history belongs to those who embrace change, not those who hide from it.

Fear will always whisper that it’s safer to stay where you are.

Experience has taught me the opposite.

Opportunity almost always lives on the other side of fear.

Onwards.