In this episode of Gone Workabout, practical philosopher Paul Baker shares some of the highlights of his life to date, spanning Ceramics at Eton, to attempting to teach Richard Branson to fly, to the Alexander technique and beyond.

Paul has a matter of factness about him that is both refreshing and charming. As his story unfolds, it becomes clear that it is all heading in one direction - a better understanding of people and how to support both individuals and groups to live life more lightly.

About the show:

Gone Workabout is a show where host Oliver Happy talks to people who move about the things that matter most. Each conversation starts with childhood origins, and evolves organically as we explore wide-ranging topics.

About my guest:

Paul Baker is a practical philosopher who started life as an awarded Ceramicist, who then opened the UK's first hang gliding school and later to explore hypnotism and therapy on his lifelong journey to help people live more lightly. Paul is a therapist, coach and trainer. He lives in the South East of England.

• Email: Contact Paul Baker

Show mentions:

• Life as a bit of an outsider and that feeling of never really quite fitting in, then realising I didn't really want to
• Eton as a high school that has is very old, and has originated a large number of british prime ministers
• 03:00 Eton as a high school leading to Sandhurst as a military academy for officers
• 04:00 Eton hierarchy by age group and pupil / servants vs the Christian ideals underpinning the education.
• Dyslexia as a barrier to higher education and university.
• 08:15 Hang gliding as a business venture and obviously the most sensible thing you could do
• Stalling a glider as a means to surviving an almost 1000 ft drop on the first flight
• 09:45 The high school of hang gliding as a business venture
• 10:30 Learning to be an instructor being based on information in digestible chunks
• 11:20 Hang gliding as a way to empower people.
• 12:30 the best air is near the cliff and needs you to run off a cliff as fast as you can
• What feels dangerous can actually be really safe and what feels safe can be very dangerous
• You can feel safe but it doesn't mean you necessarily are. And while heading to the edge of the cliff you can actually be very safe and on the right path
• How do our feelings and our thinking relate to the world around us?
• 16:00 hang gliding moving to towing, moving to microlights
• Design principles as a source for designing hang gliding harnesses
• 18:20 the emergence of powered hang gliders
• My brother helped invent bungee jumping and the second bungy jump ever being off the golden gate bridge in san francisco
• Ending up on the evening news as being in a light aeroplane (microlights) leading to an influx in people wanting to learn
• The fundamentals of teaching people to fly light aeroplanes - understanding the risks and learning how to control them
• Teaching the marquis of Bath to fly (he wasn't a great pupil)
• Teaching Mike Oldfield and Richard Branson to fly
• Richard...