Start With What Is in Your Hands

On 10 October 2026, I spoke at the Threefold Impact Leaders Fellowship on leadership as a catalyst for driving social development. I wanted to bring the subject back to something people could act on: what can you do with the knowledge, skills and opportunities you already have?

When I was preparing for the FE-1 examinations in Ireland, I wanted notes I could understand more easily and audio I could listen to while studying. I began creating those resources for myself, then realised other candidates might find them useful too. That was how FE-1 Made Simple began. I did not have the whole business worked out before I started.

At ATTP Global, I wanted young people to learn from people who had gone ahead of them. We began with interviews and later organised competitions where young people could develop their ideas. For a long time, too much depended on me. Getting a core team in place meant other people could take responsibility for the work, including planning programmes without my involvement in every decision.

I shared these experiences because starting can feel difficult when you cannot yet see how everything will work. You can begin with a problem you understand and something useful you are able to do about it. Then pay attention to the people using what you have made, be willing to change it and make room for others to help. The slides and workbook below give you an exercise to work through with your own idea.