The Seven Pillars
A LIFETIME OF
MAKING A DIFFERENCE

. . .

Mind - PILLAR 1

How much influence do our thoughts have over our health?

If what the mind can conceive and believe, then can we think ourselves well?

Body - PILLAR 2

The human body is an extraordinary system designed to adapt, repair and evolve. How well do we truly understand it and what are the ideal conditions that allow the body to thrive?

What might happen if we began treating our bodies as intelligent partners in our wellbeing?

Soul - PILLAR 3

What nourishes the deeper dimensions of our humanity? Is it creativity? Stillness? Beauty? Spiritual connection? Service? Or simply being in Nature?

How might reconnecting with the things that stir our spirit reshape the way we live and even stimulate our immune system?

. . .

Wealth - PILLAR 4

What is the relationship between financial wellbeing and overall health? Can money be a source of freedom and choice rather than stress and pressure?

How might a more conscious relationship with wealth support a life that feels balanced, secure and purposeful?

Contribution - PILLAR 5

Why do human beings feel such a deep need to contribute? Is purpose something we discover, or something we create?

How might the act of making a difference, however small, enrich not only the lives of others… but our own sense of meaning and therefore contribute to our own Health?

Community - PILLAR 6

How essential is connection to our wellbeing? What difference does Belonging make to our brain and body function?

In a world that is increasingly tech focussed, fast paced and fragmented, how do we create spaces of belonging?

Can community sustain us through the complexities of life?

. . .

Legacy - PILLAR 7

If every life leaves a trace, what kind of trace or footprint do we wish to leave?

Is legacy something that only appears at the end of life, or is it something that we can link to having Purpose and Meaning and therefore a deliberate action, our tomorrow starts today philosophy?

It’s Personal

For me, this exploration began long before the idea of a podcast, in many ways its been percolating for 20 years!

It began with in a single, life altering moment. I was literally blown into extreme change in just the time it takes to draw a breath. I was suspended between the surreal space of Life and Death.

In 2005, I was critically and permanently injured in a London underground train carriage when a suicide bomber deliberately detonated his device, it was a calculated targeting of the busy morning commute. In an instant, I found myself face to face with the fragile thread that exists between life and death. My life, and the lives of those around me changed forever.

In the thick covering of darkness, we strangers, anonymous commuters, reached out to hold each other’s hands, to help each other, to keep each other alive. The instinct was powerful, survival was a group intention, even though our challenge was personal.

Whilst my brain / my mind was desperately trying to compute what had happened, to rationalise and to calm the situation with its experience data of probabilities, my body had already begun its work. It was responding to the immediate change, doing exactly what it was designed to do. Survive.

The relationship between brain and body revealed itself to me with startling precision. Signals moving. Systems responding. Networks communicating. Even in the midst of chaos, the body was working intelligently to preserve life and continue.

Although it was an hour before rescue could reach us, time, for me, was non existent, it was as if the world, as I knew it had stopped. My mind became the Narrator, the internal voice that paced me through the void. I was shown the film summary of my life to this point, memory by memory, moment by moment, it was both confronting, insightful and beautiful. I was watching myself as a child, watching the interactions with the people I loved and the implications of the choices I made, the pathways that shaped who I had become. Everything was wrapped in a significant moment. Was this Life? Was Life a collection of moments, threaded together and if so, I wanted MORE. The Narration in my mind reinforced my feeling, ‘this is not where I die, this is not my end, this is not where I die, this is not my end’.

And in that narrow space between life and death, a simple truth surfaced with extraordinary clarity.

Life matters.

The way we treat one another matters.

The kindness we offer ourselves and others matters.

The way we choose to live, every single day - matters.

That moment did not leave me afraid of dying, instead, it awakened a powerful question.

How can I do Life better?

In the hours and days and weeks and months that followed, I was in absolute awe of my body as I merged between both observer and participant, learning to walk on prosthetic legs, learning to speak, learning to become the new version of myself. The powerful partnership between my mind, soul and body became a force that I had never imagined possible. I was thriving through the euphoria of being alive, despite losing both legs and managing a plethora of other injuries all that mattered was that I was alive and I was still ‘Gill’.  

My body was repairing, rebuilding and finding its new way to continue. It revealed a remarkable biological wisdom, something I now refer to as H.I. (Human Intelligence). A deeply intelligent system designed to survive, adapt and continue. Witnessing this extraordinary intelligence sparked an even deeper curiosity within me.

What are we capable of achieving? And how do our thoughts influence our ability to adapt and thrive, to find opportunity within adversity?

I’m excited to ask the questions and seek the answers, or maybe the answers will just open up a whole new set of questions…whatever it is, I’m here for it! Living like my Life Depends on it!