Who am I? What do I stand for and believe? What is the purpose of my life? are all questions any thinking person will ask themselves at some point in their life’s journey.

Am I happy living up to the image others have defined for me? Or am I unhappy because I am not being true to myself - what psychologists call being “ authentic”?

Harold Hillman Ph.D, the author of Passion and Purpose, was married with two daughters and had a successful career as an officer in the US Air Force when, at the age of 42, he found himself having to face up to the fact that he was gay, and that for all his adult life he had been living a lie.

How he reassessed his purpose in life, is something he shares in his latest book Passion and Purpose - Leading and Living Life with Greater Fulfillment - and also with me in today’s interview.

I must admt that when I was first sent Harold’s self-help book to review I thought his publicist had made a mistake. After all, I’m the guy who is constantly calling out our ME centred society and wanting us to develop the kind of WE society that allows every child to thrive and the best that they can be.

But then, as I began to read Passion and Purpose, it dawned on me that there is a difference between being selfish and being self-aware and how being true to yourself can help you become true to others -especially if you develop empathy for others, as part of your self definition.

The relationship between the individual and society is complex. Our family, friends, society as a whole, present us with definitions of who we are and what is expected of us that can sometimes cause tensions within us if it conflicts with how you see ourselves.

You may have wanted to go to Art School, for example, but the Careers Advisor said “You’re good a numbers kid you should be an accountant.” So that’s what you are and now at age 40, you maybe wondering why you are not happy.

So, I think that for anyone trying to assess who they are and what matters to them, at any age, Hillman’s book is a worthwhile read, especially as he gives practical thought- provoking excercises at the end of each chapter to help his reader figure out their passion and purpose in life.

In Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3, Shakespeare has Poloius give Laertes, his son who is leaving home, the sage advice ”And above all, to thine own self be true.”

In 2025 Laertes might ask, “How do I do that Dad?” and Polonius might say “ Here, take this copy of Passion and Purpose. You might find it useful.”

Enjoy the interview.

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Peter Bruce - Iri is a climate activist based in Whangarei who has written a quite remarkable book about the important role plants play in cooling our planet.

He says we humans have degraded about half of the vegetation of land and oceans and thereby destabilising the climate and warming the planet.

His message is that by stopping this destruction, revegetating as much as possible, regenerating soils and the water cycle, and eliminating our use of fossil fuels we can heal the climate sooner than we might might think.

I talk with him about his very readable book and his idea that we can use plants to heal the climate. I particularly like the practical advice on what you and I can do to help fix the climate mess we have created.( My favourite is not mowing the lawn!)

Head2Head is made possible thanks to the generosity of my paid subscribers. If you are receiving this post for free, please consider upgrading to paid. For $9 a month (less than a cup of coffee each week) will not only give you access to all my documentaries and premium posts, you will get to join a group of New Zealanders in our chatroom who comment on posts and discuss the issues that are important to all us who want to live in a fairer,more democratic society.

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Dr Gary Payinda is an outspoken Emergency Medical Specialist based in Northland

In this Head2Head interview he spells out why patients are waiting so long to see a doctor in our overcrowded hospitals, and hundreds of thousands of us are on waiting lists for surgery.

And what is the root cause of the problem?

Answer - a political ideology that panders to the wealthy few at the expense of the many, by cutting taxes and privatising essential services that should remain the collective responsibility of government.

For make no mistake, the agenda of the present coalition government is to privatise our public health system - and the sly way they are doing it , the speed at which they are doing it, and the impact it is having on our lives and society, is all made clear in this conversation.

But this interview is no hand- wringing excercise.

Near the end of our conversation we talk about what you and I can do to actively protest this assault on our hard- won public health system.

We have to make the invisible,visible.

So please listen to Gary’s frontline description of what is happening in our health system and stay tuned for action points, in the coming days, weeks and months that we can all take to turn this dire situation around .

You can find more of Dr Payinda’s writing here:

Head2Head is made possible thanks to the generosity of my paid subscribers. If you are receiving this post for free, please consider upgrading to paid. For $9 a month (less than a cup of coffee each week) will not only give you access to all my documentaries and premium posts, you will get to join a group of New Zealanders in our chatroom who comment on posts and discuss the issues that are important to all us who want to live in a fairer,more democratic society.

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