Please note: I’m busy moving blogs, and copied this content over. The image links are going to break, if they haven’t already. It is what it is.

Found this interview with Jason Stewart. The version that went live can be found at the Legacy Project– an initiative that hopes to inspire you through providing you with unlimited access to extraordinary individuals, each of whom have achieved Greatness in their own, unique and varying form.

Questions:

1. What does success mean to you? Has your definition of it changed over the years and if so, why?

Right now I’m looking for balance, so I guess success for me would be to achieve that. My work involves interfaces, moving between worlds and trying to find overlap, so success is definitely not an all out excess thing for me. I’m happiest when I’ve managed to combine and create something new out of things that look completely mutually exclusive. That’s success to me.

2. What drives you?

To be honest, I’m mostly driven by frustration. Something would irritate me and I would work until I’ve figured it out or changed it. The concept of jouissance – Jouissance is translated as “bliss”, but the French word also carries the meaning of “orgasm” really appeals to me (not only because I have a vulgar sense of humour). Working hard and long for something to have an intense sense of achievement appeals to me. Having a purpose is important, but the real driving force lies in the experience of the journey.

3. What are the highlights of both your life and your career that make you most proud?

I don’t think I’ve achieved those yet! So far, I like to think I’ve had a small part to play in the very many people I’ve seen go from having an idea to following that idea through to something that consumes them, makes them happy and achieving their goals, and that makes me proud. I am proud that I am changing the way the world thinks about waste, that we can start having conversations in person or on the radio or in the media about taboo subjects like shit in a open, fascinated, realistic way. I like that I can completely embrace being quirky and different, and being supported for that. One day, I would like to completely transform sewage into being the core of a community. Watch this space!

4. What do you think is often the difference between people who are good at what they do and people who are great at what they do?

I think we all have things we’re good at, things that need to get done and serve a purpose, but they contribute to something greater, on their own they’re just following orders. I think the difference to being great lies in having an all-consuming passion for what’s being done, but there’s also a hard-core realism at play, being tenacious and tackling challenges. Passion and dreams are not enough.

5. What is one talent or strength of yours, which has been critical to your success? Can you please offer advice to our readers on how they can replicate how you have used and refined this talent/ strength to be more effective and powerful over the years? This is as much of a step-by-step piece of DIY advice as you can manage.

I’m stubborn. I have a dream that I think is important and for most of my past people thought I’m being silly and should use my talents elsewhere. But I’m too stubborn to listen. I am also insatiably curious, and critical. While I wouldn’t describe myself as realistic – my dreams are pretty outrageous – I look at the real issues out there and keep on refining my dreams to take account of that. But I don’t give up on them. I think to be successful, you need to understand how what you want to achieve gives benefit to OTHER people – so that they can help you achieve it. You need to be able to communicate your dream in terms that OTHER people understand. Very few things can be achieved solo, you need to get other people to help you. So in short, you need to look outwards, and sometimes that is really frustrating, you feel like shouting, can someone just look at ME once, at MY needs? But this whole thing is about you, and your dream, and it is important, never forget that. It’s just that you need to package it to take cognizance of what other people need and what the reality is. I’ve learnt this the hard way. I think my talent is to take a wide variety of disparate trends and facts and stories and try to fit them together, to read and ask more and more to create a full picture – being stubborn, and being tenacious goes a long way to achieve that.

6. What do you believe are the characteristics, actions, habits and behaviours that you both have and use, that have helped you achieve what you have been able to achieve?

On the one hand, stubbornness and tenacity, on the other hand, distance. It’s a dance, you need to be able to let go and look at the situation from a distance sometimes, take time out, take the day off, and when you are convinced about what you need to do, you need to knuckle down and act without listening, lose the sleep, put in the hours. I think the trick to figure out when to do what comes with experience, and having a few mentors and friends whose opinion you trust, and who you can critically engage with. I have a few close friends, some disagree (loudly) on most of what I do, but they can argue in an informed way, and I will keep going until I’ve convinced them. Others are informed and agree with what I do, they’re good for when I just need to do things and need support. I almost want to say you should be argumentative and question everything, but at the same time you need to be able to let go of your treasured opinions and ‘facts’ because sometimes they’re just wrong. The only thing you shouldn’t have is too much pride and ego.

7. What are the principles and values that you believe are important to live by?

Community. I think this being the best and the only one on top is rubbish. One cliché I live by is ‘building ecosystems not empires’, and I really believe that. To get what you want, you need to help the whole ecosystem grow. In turn, it will support you. I believe in what I call ‘conversational leadership’ – the whole organization or initiative working together to achieve something, and all views adding value. It’s chaos, but I think it works. Also, integrity. You don’t have to exaggerate to sell something. I’m pretty disillusioned with the whole tech scene and how we do things at the moment, actually.

8. What are the critical skills that you have used and worked on improving, in attaining your success?

Having debates without it getting heated or personal in order to learn rapidly. Facilitating group processes to hear the silent voices too (not just the loud guys). Using conventional wisdom to develop really unconventional solutions (especially in engineering). One skill that needs improvement is patience. While I can keep pushing to get things done a little faster, sometimes I push too hard.

9. On a psychological or mindset level, how do you use your mind and how do you think in a specific way to help you achieve your goals and realize your ambitions?

Well, I had a full-blown breakdown, burnout in August 2013. So I wasn’t using my mind all that well, I think. I do seem to be able to hold a helluva lot of ideas in my head at the same time until they can fit into a coherent whole, but I also identify very strongly with my projects – I take it too personal. On the other hand, I think this is just the price you pay for passion. I take a lot of opinions and facts and situations into account, and this helps with the sense of community that works together to achieve something.

10. What are the most important lessons you have learnt so far, in your career or life journey? This could be anything from very simple small lessons, too much larger bigger lessons.

Not everybody plays nice, even if you allow the space for them to express themselves. Your integrity does not safeguard you. Yeah, I’m naïve. But, on the other hand, being gruffly honest means people who are dodge usually avoid me because they know I will rock the boat, I will call them out, mainly because I just don’t have diplomacy. For a long time I thought I should be more professional and tactful and diplomatic, but actually, no.

I’ve also learnt that people are really bored and being downright eccentric is fine and acceptable as long as you’re not obnoxious. Respect people and be kind, but by all means, be hugely unconventional, entertain them!

Don’t be afraid to love too much – ideas, your project, other people, whatever. It hurts like hell, but the investment is worth it.

11. How do you deal with self-doubt, fear or negativity? Can you share a time in which you either doubted yourself the most or had great fear, yet faced up to them and conquered them?

Well, I recently spiralled down into a vicious, vicious cycle of self-doubt and it completely destroyed my confidence. I am currently getting out of it. What I did once it bottomed out was to take a month off – off-line, off-work, the whole hog (and I know I am incredibly privileged to be able to do this, but definitely, leave what’s been killing you. Just do it). Then I started from scratch: I did a few courses that I need in my career, that I’ve done before, as a refresher and to boost my confidence. 80% of what I do at the moment is exclusively intended to boost my confidence. It also helped me evaluate what I really like and what I don’t, which helps me plan going forward. I am seeing a psychologist (highly recommended), once I bottomed out and it got quite scary I started seeing a psychiatrist – important to note this has to happen in conjunction with making changes in your life – don’t just use psychiatric help to ‘take the pill to make you forget’, you have to take charge of what hurt you in the first place. I am planning to see a career coach to make significant changes in my career to help avoid what made me doubt myself in the first place. Most importantly, while you do need people to debate and argue with to ensure your idea and projects have vigour and can succeed, you do NOT need people who break you down. Some of your best friends change when you get successful. YOU change as your success grows. Take care that these friendships don’t become toxic. Have a few friends to talk to, who you can have no-holds barred conversations. I got a dog. I bought my first self-help book. Yup. Sometimes all those clichés… crawl into bed and read them for a while. Just to reflect. Apparently meditation is the bomb. I just haven’t manage to do it yet.

12. How do you ensure you are always performing at your peak?

I don’t. You don’t need to. Take time out. I do think either perform at your peak or get out, don’t fluff around in the middle. If you’re not feeling it, take an hour, a day, a week, a month. And when you feel it, get stuck in. It’s that simple. I’ve decided office hours are for losers. Work on deadlines, they’re motivating, but don’t stare into the screen because that’s what you do at work. Outcomes based performance works best for me. Also, do things entirely unrelated to what you’re supposed to be doing when you’re stuck. I completely believe in creative inspiration. There’s a lot of, sometimes corny, tools to help you brainstorm to get to the point where you can just perform. It goes without saying that you have to want to be doing what you’re doing, or have a clear understanding how what you are doing, even if you don’t like it right now, fits with what you are passionate about – I believe you can’t fake motivation.

13. What resources (people, books, environments, movies, music etc) do you use to keep yourself inspired, informed and growing?

I love libraries. I love reading. I have a few friends who are also complete geeks and very well informed, and I drink a LOT of beer with them. Twitter is fabulous for getting all sorts of disparate views on topics, it is important to get a range of views on things you care about – even the weird insane ones. Definitely throw out your TV. I do believe that pottering around with a hands-on hobby, or gardening, pets… something basic that involves doing things with your hands are important to keep you grounded, but I realize that’s not for everyone. Really, throw out the TV though. Go completely off-line once in a while, for at least a week.

14. What are your dreams, ambitions, plans or goals that you would still like to achieve?

I want a franchise of sewage plants. I want to build incredibly beautiful buildings that involve manufacturing beautiful, basic necessities, and happens to treat our shit as well. I want people to consider these to be central to their community, to be the meeting places where people let their hair down, where they come to learn, to play. I want ecosystems of all sorts – plants, people, ideas. I want a community of citizen scientists, who can have informed conversations about all sorts of whacky things.

15. What do you believe is the meaning of life?

I don’t think there is one. It’ll just be a bit dull if we all sat around not doing anything, so now we do stuff to keep ourselves entertained. Ask me again when I’m in love.

16. What is the best advice you have ever received?

Trust other people to look after themselves, that’s not your job. Trust them to be adults. (It frees up more time for you to spend on yourself)

17. What would your practical advice be to someone who wanted to grow rich and build wealth?

Don’t. Why on earth would you want to? Plant a forest, when you’re old you can sell the timber.

In seriousness, I think money and what we understand as financial systems will always have some sort of relevance, so I’m not saying to disregard it entirely, but I think richness and wealth is desirable because it promises security and power, and I don’t think that it delivers that any more. I would say support independent food initiatives, and then create a community or a network of whatever skills you would pay money for – so you can get them for free when you need to. Build currencies of skills, trust, influence, networks, friends – then money is only needed for a few other things. Seriously, I think we’re in for a rough ride in the coming years, and money’s not going to save your ass.

18. How do you find, motivate and keep great people working with you to reach your goals?

Find out what they really love, and see if there is a match with what you want. Kyra Maya Phillips from the Misfiteconomy put it well: “let me get to know the guy or girl who has half an idea that I can combine with my own”. Understand that they have their own passions, and let them get on with that. Be clear what you need to make your dream happen, and why it’s such a big thing – articulate that clearly. Keep talking, continuously adapt and respond to what’s happening to them, and you. Ideally I like working with people who have their own thing going, I don’t like employing people.

19. What is the answer to a question, which I should have asked you, but didn’t?

20. What Legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to be part of the group of people who change the world’s thinking from lines to circles.