So who is this Jon Pedersen guy and why should you care? Well let me tell you.
I��m a quirky Norwegian guy living in Hong Kong, who has an affinity for productivity tools, time management, niche facts, travel, startups and social entrepreneurship �� and who generally seeks to make a significant positive impact on the world in any way I can. As such, this blog will mostly navigate between those affinities.
Overall, you don��t really need to care about who Jon Pedersen is. However, what you should care about is some of the self-help content, tips and tricks that will be shared on this blog, which hopefully can aid you in living a more purposeful life and becoming a better you. To easily stay up to date and receive exclusive content and giveaways, I��d recommend you subscribe to the blog.
What does Jon Pedersen do?
You are still reading, huh? You know you can just jump to the blog page to jump into the content? Well okay, since you��re interested, let me give a bit of backstory on me and some of the things that I do.
Ever since I graduated as valedictorian with stellar academic records in 2015 �� AND declined all job offers �� it��s been an exciting roller coaster with long days, tonnes of hard work, failures, successes, tough and challenging moments, lot��s of travels, lots of fun, money running short, and anything in between.
Admittingly, most people would say I do too much, and should only focus on one or two things, and while there��s definitely some truth to that, that��s simply not how I am put together. I��ve always been a multi-tasker, and always will be �� and yes I know that has its pros and cons. Fortunately, I work with great people, so it��s not like I do all these things and pursue all these goals by myself.
I take great pride in being productive though, and people have constantly asked me whether I have more than 24 hours in a day. That��s obviously not the case. But do stay tuned as a lot of my productivity tips will be shared here on this blog.
Also, as you��ll see, I really devote much time and effort to social enterprises and helping others, as that��s what really motivates me. Simply put, no matter how cheesy it may sound; I want to make a difference and make a positive impact on the world around me. And through hard work I��ll achieve it.
So, here are some of the cool things that I��m working on (in no particular order):
PSST! You would be super kind if you gave a like or a share to whatever startup/project you may care about among those listed here. Also, should you ever be interested in learning more, contributing or whatever, then don��t hesitate to get in touch with me via the contact form.
Soap Cycling | Board Member
At Soap Cycling we recycle soap from hotels around Asia and distribute these to where it is needed the most. Soap is one of the most efficient and cost-effective lifesaving tools ever invented. Yet every year across Asia millions of life-saving bars of soap are discarded (over 2 million soap bars annually in Hong Kong alone!). And when you consider that it is estimated that a child dies every minute due to diarrheal diseases �� easily preventable by proper hand-washing with soap �� then it��s truly outrageous.
By recycling hotel soap we also help eliminate thousands of pounds of chemical waste from our landfills each month, and instead use this invaluable �� but otherwise wasted �� resource to save thousands of children each year. Since its inception, Soap Cycling has distributed more than 2.5 million bars of soap.
Website | Facebook Page | BBC Article
Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) | Founder & Board Member
FSI has a two-fold mission. Firstly, FSI��s mission is to develop an ecosystem for social businesses to grow, so that the social impact of existing social businesses can be maximised, and new social businesses can emerge easier to further create impact. Secondly, FSI seeks to empower youth by equipping them with the right skills, providing them with the right experience, and connecting them with the right people.
Our work, among others, consists of training, events, team-building and leadership, fundraising, startup support and we have launched our own coworking space on Hong Kong Island. Our current portfolio of companies, among others, include Fair Employment Agency, Soap Cycling, 852 Design, Stitch Up, Migrasia and more, and we are partnering with the University of Hong Kong!
Website (in development) | Facebook Page
Fintech Ethics MOOC
I am developing the world��s first MOOC on FinTech Ethics, which is launching on edX in May 2019. Registration for the course is already open. Overall, humanity stands on the edge of a massive shift in technology and productivity that is going to fundamentally alter our lives. Humankind will be (and currently are) facing immense challenges and opportunities in the time ahead. Through this course we will explore the vast impact it will have on our lives and consider the tougher questions and dilemmas together.
In the meantime, before the FinTech Ethics MOOC launches, if FinTech floats your boat or you��re just curious to learn a bit more about it all, then take the great free FinTech Introduction MOOC, which over 22,000 learners from around the world have already enrolled in.
FinTech Certificate Page | Facebook Page | Twitter | Instagram |
Social Venture Management Internship Course at University of Hong Kong
I co-teach a 6-credit experiential course at University of Hong Kong, called the Social Venture Management Internship course, which enables 70+ students each semester to intern for social businesses in Hong Kong. In some cases, the students even create social businesses from scratch. The social businesses included in the program typically addresses human empowerment, the environment, social justice, and other large and pressing issues.
Importantly, the course gives students an opportunity to work directly for social ventures under the guidance of a faculty instructor and professional mentors, while having the opportunities to solve real-life problems, gain hands-on business experience, and attain an appreciation for social causes.
Ejj Holding Limited | Co-Founder & Co-Owner
I��m the co-founder and co-owner, and former director, of Ejj Holding Limited. The main portfolio brand, Ejj Jewellery, has since its humble beginnings expanded to over 15 shops in China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Macau, as well as close collaborations with the luxury hotel chain, Banyan Tree.
The brand received ��The Most Innovative Jeweller�� of 2017 in Hong Kong, and our co-founder and Chief Brand Officer, Elaine Shiu, has received several specific entrepreneurship awards for her work at Ejj Jewellery, such as ��The Most Outstanding Young Entrepreneur�� of 2017 by MediaZone, and APEA��s entrepreneurship award.
Website | Instagram | Facebook Page
Blog �� Bucket List Fanatic (BLF) | Author & Founder
Bucket List Fanatic was my first blog. The ultimate reasoning behind blogging in the first place was to make people excited about exploring life, pushing their own boundaries and setting bold goals and achieving them.
At first I attempted to cover a wide array of topics at BLF such as topics revolving around life, work, travel and more, and I built up a significant follower-base with over 5,000 monthly visitors. However, I then realized that the approach was too broad. Therefore, I decided to split up the self-personal development articles from the various travel content. That way, I could focus on the things that I particularly enjoy writing about (personal development stuff, productivity, startups etc.) on a new website, whereas I would gradually be handing over the reins of BLF to others who can take that project further.
I would aspire to do a lot more with the BLF website, such as moving it away from just being a blog to becoming a website portal where users could easily establish and collaborate on their own life goals with friends and anything in between. This is also a major reason to the split and somewhat odd decision you might say in moving popular blog content to a new site (jonandrepedersen.com). We��ll see what will happen!
Website | Facebook Page | Twitter | Instagram
Blog �� Jon Pedersen | Author & Founder
Too often we get caught in a daily autonomy or live on ��auto-pilot�� without any clear direction, goals or wants. So that��s why I seek to make people become truly aware of their purpose in life, as well as accompanying tips and tricks on productivity, doing good and more. Moreover, I want to help young entrepreneurs and budding social entrepreneurs to scale and succeed, and will therefore touch upon such topics as well.
This blog will embark on a dynamic journey and we��ll see what shape and form it will take as time goes by. Stay tuned! �9�5
Website (this one!) | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
Smaller projects:
Volentos (Co-Founder): Sustainable travelling is a topic dear to my heart. At the social startup Volentos we wanted to facilitate and make it easy for travelers to find sustainable travel activities, with a chief focus on South East Asia. Earlier we won a startup competition by Science Park in Sweden and scored some initial funding. At first, we focused solely on volunteering opportunities but realized that a lot of volunteering actually may end up doing more harm than good to the local communities �� so we changed the emphasis to sustainable travel activities.
Other (Consulting & website development): Throughout the years I��ve also been helping companies and entrepreneurs to establish themselves in China and all that it entails, I��ve also been developing websites for both friends and clients, and more. I consider all this more as a hobby of sorts, of which I take up upon projects I find interesting and if time permits.
Final notes
Overall, throughout the last few years, there has also been various failures, of which I��ve learned heaps from. For one, I co-founded and worked on a project to create a shared economy-related tutoring platform for a long while that we called Ademiq, only to realize that we didn��t have the sufficient resources or know-how to properly roll it out. Through this and other experiences, I��ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn��t, as well as the importance of proper testing and validation before committing too much time and resources into a project.
Don��t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don��t even try.
�� Jack Canfield
Anyways, let��s say that this is all for this time. Did you really read all that?! Oh well, I hope you found some of my work and projects interesting. As mentioned, should you ever be interested in learning more, contributing or whatever, then don��t hesitate to get in touch with me via the contact form.
PS! I��ll try to keep this up-to-date, but, as things often change at an ever-increasing pace in today��s workplace, to ensure you��ll have the most up-to-date snapshot of what I��m up to, do check my LinkedIn profile and feel free to connect with me there.
Best,
Jon blogs about productivity, goal setting, and finding your purpose. Stay tuned.