Fever, chills, and all the frills – that’s what it took to get me to watch the two-part documentary “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” (highly recommended). My own restless dreams were of the feverish variety, lacking any sense or plot. Watching this masterful history of a phenomenally gifted songwriter, during short moments … Continue reading I got sick and rediscovered Paul Simon
Author: Alan AtKisson
An editorial request to Bill Gates: please do a rewrite
I read carefully the recent Bill Gates memo, “Three Tough Truths about Climate Change” (28 Oct 2025), which caused a lot of commotion on social media. It was worth a close read, and I am still thinking about it, as well as tracking the media reactions, which have often been, in my view, exaggerated. Certain … Continue reading An editorial request to Bill Gates: please do a rewrite
The Plum Tree – A True Story about the Power of Optimism
These plums, and this marmalade, are proof of the power of optimism to create change. Even when things look bleak. Now with a new PS about overcoming perceived failure. (Read on below the image >>) A few years ago, our plum tree got infected with the dreaded “brown rot”. I was too busy with work … Continue reading The Plum Tree – A True Story about the Power of Optimism
Baltic Futures = Europe’s Future
Consider the Baltic Sea: Brackish. Beautiful. Highly polluted. Linking (or dividing) the following countries: Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark – and Russia. It might irritate certain EU member states, not mentioned above, both current and former, to learn that for journalist Oliver Moody, Berlin bureau chief for The Times of London, the … Continue reading Baltic Futures = Europe’s Future
Loyalties: A framework for how I intend to engage in the public sphere
Towards the end of this article, I present a list of my fundamental loyalties, defined as the intellectual commitments guiding my participation, writing and speech in the public sphere. Why am I doing that? To model transparency. To be clear, both with myself and with others, about what I intend to do, before I start … Continue reading Loyalties: A framework for how I intend to engage in the public sphere
How I recovered from burn-out
A “near-complete recovery.” That is how I describe my situation now, eight months after a sudden debilitating collapse in physical and cognitive capacity, caused by extreme stress in an already-demanding job. I wrote in detail about this in a previous blog post and LinkedIn "Pulse" article. The first thing to say about my much-improved health … Continue reading How I recovered from burn-out
Keynote Speech: “Future Thinking for Sustainable Development”
The following is a more polished version of the opening keynote speech I delivered (speaking from notes) in Gdansk, Poland, on 16 June 2025, at an international conference on sustainable development hosted by WEB Merito Universities (see Endnotes for more info and link). I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to present this speech, which … Continue reading Keynote Speech: “Future Thinking for Sustainable Development”
Chronicle of a CEO Burnout
Update 4 August 2025: There is now a complementary blog post to this one, called "How I Recovered from Burnout." Please read the two articles together. This is a cautionary tale. I tell it so that others might successfully avoid the kind of health-related collapse that I experienced after a long period of unrelenting stress … Continue reading Chronicle of a CEO Burnout
Third-Age Thoughts
Initial reflections after a long professional career in public service for sustainability On January 1, 2025, I woke up to the reality that I was actually and truly retired. I have no professional position, no company or business to maintain, no formal work responsibilities, at all. I am living on my income from a modest … Continue reading Third-Age Thoughts
Announcing my retirement from public service
Letter and social media post sent 1 January 2025 To friends and colleagues around the world: I am retiring. After 44 years of professional work, 36 of them spent working to advance sustainability and sustainable development, it’s time for a rest. I had intended to continue working professionally a few more years, but in November, … Continue reading Announcing my retirement from public service
Alan AtKisson 