Aims

It's an interesting exercise to evaluate your life and crystallise out the underlying principles behind the things you do.  I've given the matter some careful thought and have come up with some useful answers.

First and foremost, I have always genuinely enjoyed the company of youngsters, so it's not surprising that many youngsters seem to enjoy my company too.  I see this as a kind of gift, because it enables me to really understand and help youngsters through friendships that are truly genuine on both sides.

Then there's the environment. The more I study the complex interactions between the physical and biological systems that keep us alive on planet Earth, the more obvious it becomes that we must live a sustainable life that does not damage these systems.  Future generations depend on us making the right decisions now.

I've put all these thoughts together and assembled them into a rough order of importance.  Remember, though, that they are only aims - being human, I'm sure I don't always achieve my targets.  The list is bound to be incomplete, and it's inevitably going to change and evolve as time passes, but I hope it helps you to understand me a little better.

  1. To enhance the lives and future prospects of young people, especially by:
    • Running clubs, activities and training programmes that encourage positive, healthy pursuits.
    • Being available to offer friendship, help or support to those who seek it.
    • Fostering or adopting well-matched youngsters who need a long-term home, and continuing that support into adulthood.
    • Providing help and encouragement to achieve maximum academic potential.
    • Demonstrating the benefits of a positive lifestyle by trying to live my own life to the standards I believe youngsters should adopt.
    • Encouraging youngsters to discover and value their own identity.
    • Increasing awareness of the enormous benefits that result for everyone when responsible members of the community willingly contribute their time, guidance and friendship to the lives of young people in whatever ways they can.
  2. To increase local, national and global awareness of the need to protect the environment in order to ensure the survival of future generations, and to show how this can be achieved, especially by:
    • Leading my own life in a way which is as environmentally-friendly as possible, including working from home, use of public transport whenever possible, use of car share devon website, recycling waste, use of appropriate sized cars for necessary journeys, extensive use of internet shopping to reduce need to travel, use of eBay for allowing unwanted items to be used by those who need them rather than discarding them, membership of various wildlife and conservation groups, zero use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers.
    • Writing, and encouraging others to write, stories and screenplays about a future where most environmental and social problems have been solved, and attempting to distribute those stories to the widest possible audience to help everyone focus on achieving sustainability.
    • Outlining the possibilities for global control of environmental protection.
  3. To run Dart Computing as a successful business that raises enough money for the needs of my family, sets high standards of service and benefits the environment whenever possible.
  4. To promote club cycling as an activity that allows people to enjoy the countryside, make friends, protect the environment, have fun, keep fit and feel healthy.

I have many other personal aims, such as eating healthy food, avoiding stress and keeping well exercised, but you'll find most of these listed elsewhere on this site, especially under Interests and Activities!