Nick Seneca Jankel: Switch On
Nick Seneca Jankel: Switch On
“After all, who does not want to be switched on? And live a switched on life?” ~Nick Seneca Jankel
The son of a psychologist-turned-business school dean and psychotherapist, Nick Seneca Jankel has always been drawn to the potential of human beings to transform themselves. The grand-son of two Holocaust survivors, he has spent years exploring how practical philosophy can liberate us and others so we can bring more creativity and consciousness into every situation. Nick Seneca Jankel starred in a 4-part BBC TV series and coached a major celebrity on the highest-rated show in MTV UK’s history.
Nick Seneca Jankel co-hosted the BBC’s happiness experience with Kelly Osbourne, hosting stars like Adele; and created secular mindfulness meditations for the BBC that have been listened to hundreds of thousands of times.
Interview with Nick Seneca Jankel
OMTIMES: Why did you write Switch On?
Nick Seneca Jankel: In terms of Switch On, the book, which is at the epicenter of the whole flowering of my work, all I can say is that I couldn’t not write it. It came through me like a juggernaut on a highway tunnel once I had seen the light and switched myself on. However, it then took 7 years to simplify the science and wisdom philosophy enough for a massively mainstream audience; and codify the process of change into a toolkit than anyone aged 15 upwards can grasp and crucially make work in their own life. It blends 20 years’ worth of work, research and practice at the cutting-edge of personal and corporate change into a pithy, and as complete as I could make it, handbook for human thriving. It covers pretty much all areas the human experience, focused on how we use our natural creativity (and curiosity) to solve our own problems (and those of the people around us) so that we can thrive not just despite our problems but also, even because of them.
It is both a life philosophy and 10-step process that people can read once and use right now; but also refer back to many times as their life changes. It covers everything from releasing addictions, achieving goals, creative problem-solving, getting stuff done, dealing with exhaustion, how to connect our hearts to something bigger than our problems are, how stress works, how to practice mindfulness and empathy and compassion, leadership, innovation and more besides. It would have been far easier to write a book that just picked one of these, as so many books do, and repeat the same idea in 10 chapters. Or to write one that was full of -isms and -ologies and academic citations. This one took 7 years to write because I wanted to unify science and wisdom seamlessly; use language that was precise yet not academic and warm yet powerful; ensure that the toolset was tried-and-tested to work with everyday personal and organizational problems; and put it all into a mainstream ‘product’ that is graspable, engaging and useful.
