Playing The Inner Game

I was recently invited to speak by the social entrepreneurship platform  Impact Circles on the topic of storytelling. How can we become more persuasive storytellers? How do we adapt the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves? Why is finding your 'WHY' so important? As Dr Jim Loehr so eloquently put it: "The power broker in your life is the voice that no one hears. How well you revisit the tone and content of your private voice is what determines the quality of your life. It is the master storyteller, and the stories we tell ourselves are our reality."I'll continue to share these shorter soundbites, in-between regular guest episodes, in the hope that some of you find them helpful.  Host: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for an Executive Coach or Guest Speaker please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

"Don't sell your soul because you can't buy it back. Selling out is something I just can't do."My guest this week is Justin Fornal and I’m incredibly lucky to have him. He’s someone who has lived and continues to live such an exciting and technicolour life that he very much resists categorisation. To describe Justin as an international explorer, cultural detective, award winning writer, filmmaker, culinary celebrity, and extreme athlete is about as close to the mark as you’ll get. In 2018 Men’s Journal simply ranked him as the #3 most adventurous person in the world. As a cultural detective, in search of secret societies, lost rituals and ancient talismans, he has travelled to the far corners of the earth, living with hunter-gatherer tribes, meeting with witch doctors who (still to this day) believe in human sacrifice, and taking part in ritual exorcisms, so just be aware that some parts of our conversation are not for the squeamish or faint-hearted.   Everywhere Justin goes, he always sets off with a deep respect for each culture that he interacts with, and sharing whatever he finds with integrity and a real commitment to the truth of a place, not adherence to institutional narrative. He is the Co-Founder of the History, Arts, & Science Action Network (HASAN) a non-profit organization that focuses on relic repatriation, historic justice, and documenting vanishing cultures. He’s also the co-host of TV show UNEXPLAINED AND UNEXPLORED, alongside one of my previous guests Emiliano Ruprah, a show that has been airing on the Discovery Channel and Science Channel since 2019.Justin has also written extensively for National Geographic, VICE, The Explorers Journal, and Parts Unknown. I strongly recommend you read some of his articles which I’ve linked to below. He is also an extreme open water swimmer and having swum 100 miles around the Whisky Island of Islay on Scotland’s freezing West Coast, he is currently planning the longest unassisted swim in history for Summer 2022.  The GREAT ARCTIC SWIM will be the first attempt to swim from Canada to Greenland across the Nares Strait. Truth is, unless there’s a documentary made about his life, I’m not sure one CAN do Justin Fornal justice. The sheer depth and breadth of his experience makes keeping pace with him an impossible, yet very very enjoyable and joyous task. He truly is larger than life and a real polymath in every sense of the word. We start the conversation with him lighting up one of his rare pipes collected on his travels, before journeying through his culinary, cultural, and sporting adventures in that order. I hope that you find this conversation as interesting as I did.Links:https://justinfornal.com/articlesIG: @justin_fornalhttps://greatarcticswim.com/Weird Homes, Atlas ObscuraHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are lookin

If you watched the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, or you're one of my listeners in Hong Kong, Siobhan Haughey will need absolutely no introduction as she is essentially a national treasure and the most recognisable celebrity in the country right now. Siobhan made sporting history last year,  winning two Olympic Silver Medals in the 200m and 100m freestyle events.  Not content with that she stormed to a new World Record in the 200m freestyle at the 2021 World Short Course Championships. As a general rule I prefer to have guests who are a bit longer in the tooth. People who are further along in their journey through life. Age is not a proxy for accomplishment, but there is something to be said for having done a few more laps around the sun. However, there are exceptions to every rule and this 24 year old is certainly one of them. The chance to learn from someone who is at the absolute peak of their profession so early in life, and a role model to millions, is an opportunity that I didn’t want to pass up. She retains the infectious positivity and optimism of youth that makes her so likeable, but there’s also a very mature head set on those young shoulders. She’s given countless interviews since taking the podium at Tokyo 2020 and I wanted to make sure that this conversation had no sponsors, no corporate agenda, and that it went a little differently. I wanted to take a couple of off-ramps that might reveal a different side of her. I think that we succeeded. I thank Siobhan for being so open and generous in sharing how she is developing her inner game. Join us to find out what motivates this Olympian and what she is most proud of... Links:IG: @siobhanhaughey01Wikipedia https://www.scmp.com/topics/siobhan-haugheyhttps://about.arenasport.com/en/athletes/siobhan-haughey Host: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for an Executive Coach or Guest Speaker please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

“I only loved doing well. I never really allowed myself to enjoy it. Enjoyment came through performance and feeling like I contributed to the team. If I didn’t perform well I felt a huge sense of emptiness. I felt insecure. I felt pretty damn fragile a lot of the time.” My guest this week is Nick Compton, former first class cricketer and England’s opening batsman. Nick had an excellent first class cricket career, making 194 appearances and clocking up 12,168 runs. He represented England in 16 Test matches, scoring back to back centuries against New Zealand, and was part of the dynamic duo with Alistair Cook that famously beat India on their own patch for the first time in 28 years.  The cricket and football fans among you will no doubt recognise his surname, the entire Compton family has huge sporting pedigree. His Grandfather Denis is sporting royalty, famously playing both cricket AND football for England and Arsenal, was one of the finest cricketers to ever walk the planet, and has a stand at Lord's named after him. Nick and I became mates at Durham University back in 2002 where we lived on the same corridor and despite not having been in touch for ages, I was delighted that he accepted my invitation to come on the podcast. He has had an exceptional career and been in the limelight for much of his life. More recently he has been spending more time behind the camera lens rather than in front of it, so I wanted to hear about his burgeoning professional photography career too and future plans. Nick and I talk about what it takes to reach the top of elite sport, we talk about peak performance, mindset and visualisation, we talk about growing up in the shadow of greatness. He also generously shares the difficulties that he’s facing as he transitions out of sport, when his identity and self-worth have been so tightly wound around this one profession for so long. I’m very grateful to Nick for not holding back and rendering himself somewhat vulnerable by revealing the various challenges he’s faced with his mental health over two decades. I know that he would have it no other way, but it always makes for a better episode when high-profile guests bring their authentic selves to the table. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Links:IG: @nick.comptonTwitter: @thecompdoghttps://nickcompton.com/YouTube Highlight Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WueTSNtXJlE&t=1sHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for an Executive Coach or Guest Speaker please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

"The first question you must ask yourself is - do you believe, or do you not? If you do believe - are you doing everything that it takes? We believe that if you’re in, you're in. With all of the consequences."So many great answers on this podcast, but so many great questions to sit with too. The way in which Manuel has built up Pirata Group over the years has been truly impressive to watch. Even more so when you realise the consistency and integrity that runs through everything he does. There's something very special about sitting down in a restaurant when there's nobody else around.  Just you, the owner, a bottle of Malbec and honest conversation. We cover so much ground in this one, from his early rap career to getting fired as a dishwasher, how to scale culture, optimising for kindness, day architecture, the infinite game, why he always wins twice,  the 80/20 principle, and how pictures and notes from his journal manifested into the restaurants you see today.Whether you're a food lover, entrepreneur, business leader, or just someone looking for more motivation to attack the day, there's plenty of gold in here for everyone. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!Shoutouts:https://piratagroup.hk/ IG: @piratagrouphk IG: @manuelpiratahkLinkedIn: @manuel-palacioHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for an Executive Coach or Guest Speaker please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

If there was one man I wanted to have on the show in the first week of January, right when people are busy making New Year’s Resolutions and setting health and fitness goals, then it was the man who whips superheroes like Wolverine and Deadpool into shape. He’s built like a Greek god, runs an ever-expanding health and fitness empire, is a loving family man, and possesses a rolodex that’s the envy of most people in Hollywood. His list of clients past and present is frankly ludicrous: Hugh Jackman, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Sebastian Stan, Jake Gyllenhall, Emily Blunt, Cindy Crawford, Anne Hathaway just to name a few. More importantly, Don Saladino is a man who loves to help and finds joy in serving others. He’s a natural giver, not a taker, which is a large component of why he’s enjoyed the success he has. The celeb clients are a nice draw for the podcast, sure, but they’re really just an indicator from the marketplace that the man is good at what he does, that he adds value, that he really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to strength and conditioning. More importantly, I know firsthand that the guy has a big heart, he’s opened up his home to my family when he didn’t need to which speaks volumes to the kind of man he is, and anytime you come across someone with that blend of kindness, positivity, and discipline, there’s always lessons worth unpacking.A well-known celebrity trainer, Don founded Drive 495, has graced the cover of the iconic Muscle & Fitness Magazine, is on the advisory board of Men’s Health Magazine, and has appeared in the media countless times on the likes of Cosmo, People, US Weekly and the Today Show. He and I talk about the fundamentals of patience, passion, consistency, and plenty of hard work. Lots of hard work. Shoutouts:https://donsaladino.com/Instagram: @donsaladino Instagram: @jenny.campionInstagram: @fourfoxsakeofficialInstagram: @ouraringHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for an Executive Coach or Guest Speaker please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

*Turn the tables episode* This week sees a slight change in your regular programming as I vacate my usual role as host, and take on the role of guest. Historically, there have been other opportunities to record this type of episode but it never felt quite right. However, when an old friend of mine Jason Mountford got in touch to say he’d love to catch up and have me appear on his Spotify UK Top 20 Business podcast called The Hedge, previously known as The UK Money Podcast, I was very happy to oblige and accepted the invitation without hesitation. I think Jason did a wonderful job of probing the right areas for conversation, and I thank him for deeming my inner game, worthy of further exploration.Let me know what you think of the gear change, but either way Playing The Inner Game will be back to its regular format later in December, where I’ll be bringing you more incredible entrepreneurial and inspirational guests that we can all learn from. Links:Youtube Trailer - The 3 Pillars for Achieving Wealth & Happiness w Michael Campionhttps://linktr.ee/thehedgeSpotify - The Hedge PodcastHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for an Executive Coach or Guest Speaker please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

My guest this week is Tess Collins - a brilliant singer and songwriter who has most recently been the artist in residence at Carlyle & Co, the exclusive private members club that sits atop The Rosewood Hotel. She grew up on a lumber yard in rural Maine and followed the big city lights all the way to Hong Kong over a decade ago. She has performed all over the globe - everything from Canadian jazz festivals to London Clubs, to the Beijing Olympic Stadium. From 5 Star Hotel Lobbies to partnering with BMW, Chanel and Estee Lauder. She’s shared the stage with Ne-Yo, Coco Lee, and opened for the legendary Dionne Warwick. That's all well and good, but to read her accomplishments from the page does nothing to prepare you for the force of nature that is Tess Collins. To see and hear her perform live, on stage, is really the only way to experience the full extent of her magic. There are singers, and then there are artists. Tess belongs firmly in the latter category. My goal for this conversation was to capture a small piece of that magic through the spoken word. I hope that I’ve succeeded. My biggest takeaways from this chat with Tess? The importance of compassion, connection, and confirmation (if it were needed) that all great art is born from a place of sensitivity and vulnerability.  Our biggest superpower lies right next to our deepest wound.This episode is also very special because it is book-ended by a sneak preview of her upcoming single which has not yet been released. The single is out soon and is called “Sober”. Links:Instagram: @tesscollinsmusicWeb: tesscollinsmusic.com LinkedIn: tesscollinsmusicSpotify: Choosing HappyFeatured Single: "Sober" (release date tbc)Mentions:Julia Cameron - "Remembering"https://juliacameronlive.com/books-by-julia/https://www.carlyleandco.com/Instagram: carlyleandcoHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for Executive Coaching, Public Speaking Courses, or your next Guest Speaker, please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

My guest this week is the brilliant comedian, Jocelyn Chia. The speed of her ascent in the comedy world has been impressive to watch, given that she had absolutely zero involvement in the world of stand-up before 2014. She’d barely watched any stand-up let alone performed on stage, which makes her opening for the legendary Bill Burr last month even more impressive. As well as having appeared on AXS TV, MTV and Comedy Central, she’s rapidly gaining recognition in industry circles and is becoming a firm favourite on the New York circuit where she holds down a regular spot at two of the city’s most iconic clubs, the Comedy Cellar and Gotham Comedy Club. Only a few days ago, Jocelyn was also chosen as the face of comedy for the new NYC campaign celebrating the reopening of New York's arts scene, alongside some Broadway legends.Born and raised in Singapore, Jocelyn gave up a high flying career at law firm Weil, and later as a management consultant, in order to pursue what she felt to be her true calling. Chatting with comedians is always good fun and if any of you feel like you might have a true calling that you’ve been ignoring up until now, this conversation might be just the motivation you need to start walking that path. Links:Instagram @jocelyncomedyhttps://www.youtube.com/JocelynChiaComedy http://www.jocelynchia.com/Home of the podcast:LinkedIn: @michaelxcampionInstagram: @michaelxcampionWeekly Newsletter  'Thursday Thoughts' www.michaelxcampion.com/subscribeMentions:Stephen Cope - The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True CallingJason LeongSam MorrilTJ Miller in Silicon ValleyAziz AnsariAnthony JeselnikAli WongJerry SeinfeldHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for Executive Coaching, Public Speaking Courses, or your next Guest Speaker, please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com

Professional golfer, Zane Scotland grabbed the attention of the media in 1997, when he was hailed as Britain’s answer to Tiger Woods at age 14. A year later he was a scratch golfer and in 1999 at just 16 years old, Zane became the youngest English player ever to qualify for The Open Championship. He was Europe's #1 amateur player and represented both England and GB & Ireland. As well as progressing to the European Pro Tour he also holds a record 11 wins on the MENA tour. Zane now runs his own golf academy, based at The Wisley in Surrey, England. He also works as an expert analyst on Sky Sports and is a brand ambassador for Callaway. There are some great sporting anecdotes and stories in here, so golf fans will hopefully love this podcast, but this episode is not just about golf. It’s about mindset, it’s about race and identity, it’s about using the feeling of being an outsider as fuel. We discuss dealing with injuries and setbacks, the reality of borrowing money from your parents, driving through the night, cheap airport motels, and buying golf shirts on a maxed-out credit card before making your big breakthrough. It’s also about the power of goal setting, visualisation, and creating your own reality.I love golf, so I won’t apologise for getting excited about this one and milking it for coaching tips. But I was cognisant the entire time (as I am with every pro athlete on the podcast) that I should look for patterns to parlay into self-development, business, and life lessons more generally. I wanted to steer him towards topics and motifs that bleed into others. How can we extract the general from the specific? What can we learn over here that also applies over there? Playing the Inner Game is all about mentality. It’s about adjusting the aperture through which we view life’s events, and in that regard, I think Zane absolutely delivered.Links:Instagram @zanescotlandgolfTwitter @ZaneScotlandYoutube Vodcasthttps://www.zanescotland.golf/Mentions:The WisleyGrant Cardone - Be Obsessed or Be Averagehttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jan/13/golf.rydercuphttps://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/12010640/racist-incidents-in-golf-on-the-way-out-says-zane-scotlandHost: Michael CampionWebsite: www.michaelxcampion.comLinkedIn: @michaelxcampionIG: @michaelxcampion-----Michael Campion is a Corporate Trainer, Career Coach, and Entrepreneur based between Singapore and Hong Kong. If you are looking for Executive Coaching, Public Speaking Courses, or your next Guest Speaker, please email the address below.hello@michaelxcampion.com