Like many of the Indigenous (土著的) communities across the Australian continent, he remote communities in north-west New South W ales are struggling. Many of the 300 or 50 residents rely on welfare. Higher electricity bills—up to $3,000 a quarter for some households—further worsen the poverty. They' re always at the end of the power line, so the service that is there is quite extraordinary in terms of cost. It' s a real problem that needs to be fixed. 

To that end, Anderson and other Indigenous leaders have formed the First Nations Renewable Energy Alliance (FREA) to push for renewable energy in Indigenous communities. They partner with private enterprise to support Indigenous communities looking to switch to renewable energy. 

" We can build a power station where the community exists," Anderson says, " so people are able to successfully live in the environment the way they want to live and have access to power which enables them to better determine their economic future. " 

Only a handful of Indigenous communities have set up renewable energy projects in Australia. The Indigenous -owned and -operated company AllGrid Energy, for instance, has installed solar panels and battery storage systems to replace diesel (柴 油) generators n the communities of Ngurrara and Kurnturlpara in the Northern Territory' s Barkly Tableland. Within two months of the system being installed in May 2016, people were moving back to their homelands, the communities growing from just two permanent residents to about 40. 

But FREA will go one step further, working with community leaders and acting as a conduit (纽带) between the communities and the businesses they are dealing with. This is essential, says Anderson, to avoid predatory (吞并) practices they have seen in the past, with companies " playing on the psychology of poverty" to gain advantage. The FREA has drafted terms of agreements that will guide how companies engage with Indigenous communities for renewable energy projects. 

One of the next steps for FREA will be to identify a community that can act as a test case for a renewables project. " Our experience is that if we can make it work for one community, it will work in every other community," Anderson says. 

The year is 1763, and a 7-year-old Mozart is about to set off on a tour around Europe that will jump-start the Mozart legend. Mozart had a trick up his sleeve. When the young Mozart heard a note played-any note-he could immediately identify exactly which note it was. It was an ability now we know as "perfect pitch", and it seemed to be an example of the mysterious gifts that young geniuses had been born with. But is that really so?

Over my years of studying experts in various fields, like Mozart, I have found that there's no such thing as a predefined ability. Actually, those people all develop their abilities through "deliberate practice", a purposeful and systematic type of practice that makes it possible for them to do things they otherwise could not. In them, potential is an expandable vessel, shaped by the various things they do throughout their lives.

One of my testimonies came from Ray Allen, a ten-time All-Star in the NBA. Allen's jump shot was not noticeably better than his teammates' back in high school; in fact, it was poor. But with hard work and dedication, he transformed his jump shot into one so graceful and natural that people assumed he was born with it.

But it doesn't mean "Just keep working at it, and you'll get there". Heartfelt desire and hard work alone will not lead to improved performance. The right sort of practice carried out over a sufficient period of time will lead to improvement. Nothing else. And this is true whether our goal is to become a concert pianist or just play the piano well enough to amuse ourselves, to be the greatest three-point shooter or just build ourselves up. Deliberate practice is the gold standard for anyone in any field who wishes to build new skills and abilities.

When Amanda Lemay heard the story about a baker and her husband who were traveling around the United States in a van (厢式货车), learning from expert bakers, she wanted to do something similar. So she got rid of most of her possessions and made an old ambulance with her dad into a lovely home on wheels.

Lemay's ambulance is actually a former emergency response vehicle for the US Navy, built on a 2006 Ford E350 Cutaway. Renovations (改装) were done by her and her dad. Now the dark blue vehicle has a lot of built-in cabinets on all sides, offering a lot of storage space, while the rooftop has 400-watts of solar power panels and a small roof deck where Lemay practices Yoga. The inside is tastefully done to suit Lemay's work and hobbies.

As Lemay mentions, not only did her father help, but also the rest of her family. Lemay's mother helped sew the decorations on the removable cushions, and her sister crafted the leather pulls. It was truly a family affair.

Her current nomadic (流浪式的) lifestyle fits well with her work doing audiobooks, voiceovers ,and publishing work. In the end, this unexpected path has Lemay rethinking what it means to be truly sustainable, now that van life has gotten her to become minutely aware of the water, electricity, and other daily resources that she uses. But all these day-to-day concerns are balanced with a greater sense of freedom.

"It's almost mind-blowing, it feels like a completely different life because I'm doing the work online, and I can do things on my own schedule. Most of my days are mine— so by living in the van, I can be where I want to be, and do the things I want to do, and spend time outside.