November 2007

I have to be honest with you, really honest with you, like the honest that I can possibly be… I want a million pounds. Well actually, that is just the tip of the iceberg, one million would be a nice start but to be a multi-millionaire would be even better. The truth is, who does not want to be a millionaire? Millions of people buy lottery tickets week in, week out, in the hope that this week ‘it could be them’. Million’s of people around the World dream of what it would be like to have the clothes they want, the cars, the houses the holidays. You know what? To be a millionaire or to want to be a millionaire is perfectly okay.

Nevertheless, I also have another dream. My dream is related to what I want to see accomplished in my life-time. Ultimately, if I have stacks of money I wont be able to take it to the grave with me and the result will be that my family, friends and anyone else loosely related to me on facebook will try to claim as much of my millions as they possibly could, because they want millions too. When I am gone my money wont benefit me.

As well as wanting a million pounds I want to positively impact one million lives. Imaging the money is great but sit back, relax and imagine what it would be like to know that you have impacted a million lives, that you have inspired people in their own dreams, that you have stood up for something that you believe is right, that you have brought hope, potential and created a platform for others to live the best life that they possibly could do… now that would be awesome!

I have a small glimmer of this through tribewanted - 150 Fijians have been employed by our little eco-village on Vorovoro. This is employment that they would need have received, money that they would never have gained for food, education and development. I know that the people of Mali are very grateful for the little dream that I had on a cold winters UK evening. Through tribewanted there have been three engagements from people who have met through the project, three relationships, lives merging with one another creating new hopes, new dreams and new potential. 156 people is no where near the one million lives that I want to positively impact but it’s a start, I have had a taste of it and it is equally addictive, if not more so, than tha pursuit of one million pounds.

I have been called a ’social entrepreneur’ and that is what I am, someone who wants to make money and yet use that money in a positive way towards the people, society and planet around them.

I have a long way to go with both of my dreams, but it is the dreaming and the pursuit of the dream that keeps me alive. It is the belief that I could leave a legacy of impacting the lives of a million people that keeps me working day and night.

So, when you dream of the million pounds, I want to encourage you to dream of the million lives too!

I am VERY excited today as we have just received the tranmission date from the BBC for ‘Paradise or Bust’ the programme which follows the first 12 months of the tribewanted project.

Paradise or Bust will air on BBC2, from the 14th January at 9pm and will be on for a total of 5 weeks!

It is crazy for me to think about how an idea that was in my head, which I was scared to tell anybody about, has now turned into a prime time programme and will soon be aired across the World!

Check it out: www.tribewanted.com

Hot off the press from the BBC website, they have stated that the Tribewanted programme, ‘Paradise or bust’ will feature in their Winter / Spring schedule. Although there is, as yet, no specific date there is a great start:

Paradise Or Bust

Paradise Or Bust follows the dream of two 26-year-olds, Ben Keene and Mark Bowness. With no experience and little money, they’ve leased a paradise island in Fiji, started a website and hope that up to 5,000 strangers from around the world will join their website community, or “tribe”, and help them build an eco-tourist village. It is the biggest challenge of their lives.

The reality of their dream, however, is no toilet, no water, no shelter, no broadband connection, financial crises and relationships that are tested to the limit.

This remarkable series follows the first year in the life of Tribewanted.com and tells the personal journeys, business challenges and logistical complexities of creating an eco-village on a deserted island.

After battling fires, insect infestations, severe water shortages and living through a coup d’état, the boys face their greatest test – to not destroy the very beauty they went there to find. A year on, have they found paradise – or hell on Earth?

I will certainly be watching it
Check it out: BBC Press Release on Paradise or Bust

It has been a seriously great month for People Passion Planet which has resulted in a significant amount of media coverage. Lets go for the run down:

Channel 4 4Talent award:

I was extremely pleased to have won this award for the creation of Tribewanted. Channel 4 has stated that I am an individual to look out for in the social networking world, and that I am a ‘future creative hero’ ain’t THAT the truth
An article covering this win was featured in December’s Channel 4 4Ten Magazine, you can read the full article here: 4Ten Magazine

Make Your Mark in 60 Seconds:

It was great to win this award on behalf of the Liverpool Culture Cafe. We are now going full steam ahead with this project. This has been featured in numerous media across the UK which has been fantastic for us! Full details are on www.bebo.com/60seconds. A further exciting aspect to this project is that Make Your Mark, the organisation behind this project have asked me to get involved in encouraging, inspiring and motivating other young people and young adults to play a role in developing social enterprise within the UK. I love that sort of stuff!

The Observers top 500:

Over this past weekend the Observer listed top 500 people who had been submitted by the public and the judges agreed that these individuals are people who are going to lead the way in the UK over the future years. It was fantastic to see my name on that list, alongside Tribewanted business partner, Ben Keene. You can check out the list for yourself: The Future 500

It has been a great month for People Passion Planet and of course such media interest leads to developing greater networks, consultancies and concept development which is the actual stuff that I love to do.

People Passion Planet is about just that, playing a positive role in affecting people’s lives and the life of this planet - this is what I was created to do and I love it!

If you feel that Mark Bowness and People Passion Planet can help you in anyway then feel free to get in touch!