Why The DO Lectures Exists.

We talk about food waste, about the tragedy of food going to waste.

But what about the human spirit? What about the waste of human potential?

Lots of us don’t do things in life because we’re scared, we lack the courage or the guts to just do it.

And that’s a waste.

We don’t ask our boss for that opportunity, we don’t apply for that job, we don’t try our startup idea, we don’t give that talk. Why not? Because we’re shit scared.

So we settle for a life at 50 or 60 or 70 percent of our full potential. What a tragedy. What a waste.

The Do Lectures is a movement to inspire people to switch their dial to 100%, to turn up the temperature, to put their foot on the gas. To stretch, to push, to hustle, to sweat, even to stand on stage to tremble. To do whatever. It. Takes.

Because otherwise it would be a waste.

That was nearly me.

By the end of last year I was tired. Fifteen years of doing my own thing had tired me out. I wanted a change. So when a job offer from a big organisation came along, it was tempting. An exit from my self employed life, a place to belong. A pay packet. Finally … stability. But ultimately whilst it was a great opportunity I realised it was a job where I could only bring 60% of me to the role. It would be okay, but I wouldn’t be pushing, be sweating, be trembling enough. And that would be a waste of Ian.

So finally I turned the job down. A few weeks later I found myself on stage talking to a room full of university students, inspiring them about the opportunities that lay ahead of them. And despite my own recent fears of public speaking, I realised that *this* was an important part of being Ian. Of my purpose. To shine the light, to show people the way. And if I’d settled for the job I was offered I would never have been able to do this, to inspire people on their journey. So what a waste that would have been.

So I turned down stability, I said no to ‘easy’, I said no to a full time job. Instead I chose uncertainty, I chose what the f**k am I going to do next month, I chose make-it-up-as-you-go-along. I chose to stand on stage.

I chose not to settle for half-Ian but to keep sweating, to keep going in search of full-Ian. Even if that scares the shit out of me.

Do Lectures is a movement to inspire us all to go the extra mile. Always. Don’t settle for anything less than our full selves. No human waste.

THIS is why Do Lectures exists…