I’m off first thing tomorrow morning for a few days in London before I head on to Davos. This year is the 40th year the World Economic Forum has been convening world leaders and interesting people under one very snowy Swiss roof. It will be my third time to the event, and so far the past two have been drastically different from one another. They continue to be inspiring and stimulating though, and have provided both a good reception for my speaking engagements in the past (I’m speaking again this year), and fertile ground to explore new areas of interest I have.

As some of you know, last year I was nominated into a special group within the Forum called the Forum of Young Global Leaders. It has been an absolutely amazing experience (with meetings so far in Jordan, China and Dubai) and has given me an incredible opportunity to begin meeting other young worldly thinkers trying to make a difference in the world.

One such project we have been working on together just launched today, and I’m pleased to be able to share it with all of you. It’s called Redesign Our World. Essentially, it’s a place to show off many of the incredible initiatives YGL’s have been dreaming up and working on, and solicit new ideas from people around the globe.

With the help of some friends, we managed to get a site up in time for Davos so the internal Davos community and world at large could see, comment and engage with what we’re working on. I hope you’ll take a look and leave a comment or endorsement if you see something you like.

As usual I’ll do my best to blog throughout my travels– but following me on Twitter is usually a better way to see what I’m up to, hearing, seeing and thinking.

Thanks for reading…

Picture from the Boston: Six Days Later piece that floated around the web earlier today.

It’s hard to sit by and watch what’s happening in Haiti. My father (who has dealt with his fair share of disasters) wrote a piece for the Huffington Post early that sums up a lot of what we’ve been thinking and discussing together. Give it a read if you’re interested: Overcoming Trauma in Haiti: Reflections of a Seasoned Disaster Specialist.

Everyone needs a little vacation from their inbox and the day to day, right? I’ll be tweeting every now and then– if I have anything remotely interesting to share from the beach. Be back to you soon!

Approximately 27,000,000 people are currently enslaved today. Call it human trafficking, call it forced labor, it’s slavery. More people working against their will right now than ever before in history. What are you willing to do to help stop it? More thoughts here.

It’s been a long time. Way too long. Want to tell me about yourself? What you think about the site? What I should change?

You know it’s just me running the place now– so I want to hear from you.

Fill out the 2010 survey.

Thanks!

Back in August some friends at Aston Martin and Gotham Dream Cars hooked me up with a brand new DB9 for the weekend (Thanks again guys!). I originally intended to write a blow by blow story of my experience but every time I put pen to paper I got nowhere but one single word.  Perfection.  Driving the DB9 was an absolute pleasure.

Fantastic pictures courtesy of my brother Micah Spear.

Rather than a narrative, I’ll share a couple things I’ll never forget:

• The attention to detail inside these cars is incredible. No corner, crevice or surface was left without excruciating attention to the detail. Stitching, beautiful woods, fabrics, and so on.  The craftsmanship was just gorgeous.  I guess that’s what being hand built gets you.
• There is no open road in New England that can handle this car.  It’s built for speed. There was no straight away long enough, no hill windy enough.  You need a race track or the European countryside to truly enjoy what’s under the hood.  We did our best though. Promise.
• Low clearance.  Low clearance.  I repeat, low clearance. Everywhere I went I was afraid I was going to scuff up the front lip.  I didn’t!
• I need to get me one of these.  Unquestionably a dream car.

What a treat. On with the pictures!

The above image is by Chris Jordan and depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours. I realize I am in some way apart of the problem. I guess the next thing to do is start offsetting my carbon more often. Tips welcome.

* indicates cities visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

Amman, Jordan

Boulder, Colorado

Canton, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cancun, Mexico*

Dalian, China

Davos, Switzerland

Dead Sea, Jordan

Denver, Colorado

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Hakone, Japan

Hong Kong, China*

Las Vegas, Nevada*

London, England*

Long Beach, California

Los Angeles, California

Macau, China

Miami, Florida

New York, NY*

Phoenix, Arizona

Sarasota, Florida*

Salt Lake City, Utah

San Francisco, California

Sedona, Arizona

Stamford, CT

Tokyo, Japan*

Vail, Colorado

Vancouver, British Columbia

Washington, D.C*

Zurich, Switzerland

Hat tip to Kottke and Amit for the idea again (my last year’s 2008 list has somehow disappeared though.) Once in a while I linked to  the reason behind my trip, although that got complicated quick.

Another Ji Lee production!

The recent arrest of Roman Polanski for the rape of a 13 year old girl in 1977 has caused much debate around the world.

On one side, Polanski’s defenders argue he should be freed immediately because the case is too old. On the other side, Polanski’s non-sympathizers argue he should be tried just like any other sex offenders regardless of how old the case is.

What do you think? Cast your vote on POLLanski.com

A twitter like site to share your awesome stuff in 150 characters or less. Do awesome deeds. Raise your awesome quotient. It’s befuckingawesome.com Via Zoomdoggle

Nearly a year ago I was interviewed for Donna Fenn’s next book Upstarts!. Now, I’m in it (there’s an entire section on Undercurrent and our culture) with a handful of my entrepreneur pals from around the globe… It’s a great book and inspiring gift. Give it to your kids. Give it to your students. Give it to yourself. Go, buy it, now.

Oh Hakone, how I love you so…

I’ve been enjoying being off the grid in Asia.  Sorry for the lack of updates, but I promise some pictures and reviews soon.  I’m having a great (and interesting) time!

I arrived safely in Dalian. I think if I squint, I can see the forbidden coasts of North Korea from here. Only kidding (sort of). Dalian is actually a pretty good looking city at night.  Very modern and well lit up. All the sites you would expect to be blocked, well, are. So much for Tumblr-ing. After all that travel and no dinner I went ahead and ordered some dumplings from room service. Wish me luck?

Landed in Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific business class seat put me to sleep for 12 of the 16 hours in flight. Incredible.

Remember last year when I went to Mainland China and Japan? I’m going again– leaving on Sunday (and checking out the new Cathay Pacific Seats on my way there). Speaking of which, I should probably start packing, eh?

The primary purpose of my trip to China is for the Young Global Leaders Dalian Summit. I’ll also be in Hong Kong for a few days, Macau for a night (wish me luck), and then I’m off to Japan. In Japan I’ll be in Tokyo a bit, as well as Hakone for some much needed Onsen and likely a day or two in Kyoto.

If you have any tips, want to meet up, want me in to speak at your company or agency, whatever– drop me a line.

As always I’ll be blogging along the way, but Twitter is also a good place to hear/see what I’m up to.