Bob Clark Beyond: Inspiration

latest inspiration posts

March's Architect of the Month: Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick is an English architect and the founder of London-based design practice Heatherwick Studio. His work is outstanding and he has been described as one of Britain's most significant designers. He studied three-dimensional design at Manchester Polytechnic and at the Royal College of Art. In 1994 he founded Heatherwick Studio, which is recognized for its work in architecture, urban infrastructure, sculpture, design, and strategic thinking.

My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future

A great book I read recently is Indra Nooyi’s new memoir My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future. Nooyi, the former chair and CEO of PepsiCo, is one of the only women to run a Fortune 50 company and among the most strategic thinkers of our time. In the memoir, she describes the events that shaped her life as a woman of color and an immigrant, from her childhood and early education in 1960s India to the Yale School of Management to her rise as a corporate consultant and strategist who was appointed to one of the most senior executive ranks in business.

Memoirs to Read for Holocaust Remembrance Day

In light of Holocaust Remembrance Day, it seems like a powerful moment to recommend these three books to read in succession. I’m hoping no one in the world will experience the horror, participate in, or be the victim of these types of atrocities fueled by racism and divisive, egotistical goals again. All The Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner is the true story of an American woman in the German resistance in Nazi-ruled Germany. Mildred Harnack was 26 when her PhD studies took her to Berlin. From 1932, a small band of activists started holding secret meetings in her apartment.

January's Architect of the Month: EwingCole

Pfizer, Inc EwingCole EwingCole takes a collaborative approach to real estate architecture, engineering, design-build, and construction. Like Clayco, the firm’s objective is to enhance how design and architecture impact the individual.

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel

Although I generally don’t agree with this author on many things, including his politics, I believe this book is required reading for entrepreneurs and investors … Zero to One: Notes on Startups, Or How to Build the Future. Written by Peter Thiel, one of the founders of PayPal, the book is assembled from some of the class notes that were taken from his lectures held at Stanford University in 2012. It is very insightful, and I agree with a lot of the main points Thiel makes, especially when it comes to thinking outside the box and innovation. The book starts off with the premise that even though it might not seem like it, we’re currently living in an age of what Thiel calls ‘technological stagnation.’ He basically means that instead of people building new companies or products to solve problems that no one else has thought of, we’re mainly doing much of the same thing that other established companies are already developing. Using examples like the rapid advancements in information technology and companies in Silicon Valley, he illustrates how imitating or copying what another business is already doing isn’t really moving us forward.

Books I Read in 2021

This was a big year for reading for me as I embraced audiobooks and can listen during all my down or travel time. I read a very human story with lots of familiar political friends and relationships Both/And by Huma Abedin and The World As It Is by Ben Rhodes. Both of these books are definitely worth reading.

ARCHITECHT SPOTLIGHT

Jean Nouveau’s Dynamic Vision

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a building with a dome roof and a body of water

Beyond Book Club

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Medicine 3.0: how to live a long, strong and happy life

The Legacies of Two Great American Heroes

Atomic Habits by James Clear

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.

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