Description

In this episode, Darren talks with Mark Winn whoshares his journey:

Marc Winn is a Dad, Husband and Entrepreneur who found his calling in supporting people turn ‘struggle into ease’. One of many accomplishments, Marc, is known for creating the world-wide meme of Ikigai.

This powerful and joyous episode of Podventures hosted by Darren Robson, begins with the sharing of Marc’s childhood - of being born in Guernsey, and then growing up in some of the poorest countries in the world. There is explanation as to how this opened Marc’s mind to understanding the challenges of poverty as well as the opportunities – including the profound joy he saw in those who materially had very little, in contrast to the restlessness and dissatisfaction of the West. 

A self-professed mischief-maker, Marc describes himself as ‘lazy’, getting by on the bare minimum throughout his formal education years – and continues to explain how his naturally questioning mind thrived on the gift of being able to decode systems and to remove labour from structure and processes.

The episode continues with Marc’s inspirational story post-education detailing a decade of entrepreneurship and business building endeavours. These profound 10 years saw success, but also brought home the consequences of not being in alignment with who you truly are. Seen as highly successful in the eyes of others, Marc’s next leg of his story took him on a journey biased towards artistry rather than engineering – creating a model of success that felt true to him – one cup of coffee (and meaningful conversation) at a time.

Finding his calling in exploration and travel and learning about individual and collective potential, Marc talks about his self-curated MBA whilst living in service to others. 

One way in which he was able to serve was through the Dandelion Project, and his mission to make Guernsey the best place to live on planet Earth. This 6-year project concluded in 2020, just as Covid19 hit – and the discussion between Marc and Darren about the pandemic is a theme throughout (the episode was recorded 6 weeks after lockdown began) with Marc’s personal thoughts on ‘The global pause’ as he describes it.

Key Takeaways:

• A key theme throughout is Marc’s profound hope for humanity and vision of re-designing the way we live and re-connecting communities – how to weave the fabric back together, and how this cannot be done individually as we move through to the next phase of our evolution. There is discussion on the future of our children, and a reminder of the idea it takes a village to raise them. 
• Known for being the creator of the Ikigai meme that spread globally across social media – while talking about the 45 minutes that brought this to life, Marc reinforces his message as to how it is creativity that creates impact, not effort – and challenges the notion of hard work, when it was a moment of ingenuity by him that has made the most difference and impacted the most people – a simple stroke of insight.
• This episode will leave you believing in magical moments once more, encouraged to embrace living a life of ease and authenticity, trusting that it all leads somewhere of meaning. Marc concludes inviting others to experience their own mischievous coffee-journey filled with the art of meaningful conversation. 

About Mark:

Speaker, mentor and adviser on community-led innovation, the role of small island states and unlocking human potential at scale. He works with individuals, organisations and communities to help them break through their barriers and unlock their full potential. Most of this is done with coffee! 

Marc's favourite childhood song:

Paradise City by Guns and Roses.  

Website: marc@marcwinn.com 

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