Getting personal: Raising kids is awesome, terrifying

John Narraway is the chairman and licensed host of TEDx Bermuda, which held its fourth successful event on October 19.

He is also the executive vice president of Saker Aircraft, which is attempting to build the world’s fastest and most fuel-efficient civilian jet, scheduled for production in 2019.

Mr Narraway is Bermudian but was born in Toronto, Canada. He has two children and two step-children, and is married to Dr Mary Sophie Mathew.

What were you like in school?

I started my first business at the age of 16 — a DJ company. I was in a rush to finish school and get on with life

Who is your hero?

Howard Hughes. From movie-making to aviation he was considered an outsider in every industry he was in. He also was successful despite numerous personal challenges

Which human trait you value most in others?

Brutal honesty. It can be painful, but you never have to guess where they stand on an issue. I think constructive criticism is most helpful

Your ultimate ambition?

To build a business that is successful and does good things for society.

Describe yourself in three words

Explorative, passionate, with a healthy dose of anxiousness

If you had a time machine, where would you go?

Back to the early 1900s to visit Nikola Tesla (Serbian-American inventor, electrical and mechanical engineer, and futurist). He helped to design alternating current electricity and was also characterized as the ‘mad scientist’

What’s the best advice you have ever taken?

“Why would someone believe in you, if you don’t believe in yourself?”

Your attitude to money?

Too much or too little and you tend to make bad decisions

Guilty pleasure?

Coffee from Kona, Hawaii

Name a favourite...

Movie: North by Northwest (directed by Alfred Hitchcock).

Band: LCD Soundsystem.

Book: Atlas Shrugged (by Ayn Rand). 

A pet peeve?

People who aren’t open-minded enough to allow others to reinvent themselves

The most daring thing you’ve ever done?

Raising kids. It’s awesome and terrifying at the same time

The most important lesson life has taught you?

What you fixate on will happen, especially if it is negative. But if it’s positive it can be life-changing!

Why are you so inspired by TEDx (Technology, Entertainment and Design)?

My wife Sophie — who is also on the TEDx team —  and I enjoy a good story, which is usually followed by a lengthy debate and additional fact checking. FYI she is right 99 per cent of the time

What do you hope TEDx will achieve in Bermuda and how do you hope it will inspire people?

When we started TEDxBermuda, our group decided that it would be an excellent way to expose the island to fresh thinking. 

Today we are more exacting in our ambition. We want to “change the conversations at the dinner table”.  

We think this is where a lot of opinion is formed, and where people are most likely to be able to express their thoughts. 

We hope this will lead to us as a people hopefully solving some of our broader issues.

If you could have one speaker from any time in history, who would it be?

It would be important that the speaker was inspiring, and also living in the present, to make it practical and actionable. 

Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla Motors (US businessman, inventor and engineer) would have a great impact on our audience. 

He is already becoming one of the most disruptive innovators of our time. 

But honestly, the whole magic of TEDx is that the best speakers are people who are relatively unknown but who are doing fantastic projects. n

For more information on TEDx Bermuda see tedxbermuda.com or take a look at our special TEDx Bermuda 2013 section.