The You Project

This is a two-part conversation where Melissa asks me 12 questions, without forewarning of theme or topic. I hear them for the first time on the podcast. In this episode I answer (discuss) the following..  (1) Why do you say that your biggest problem is you? (2) Do you think you’re too hard on yourself? (3) When did you feel most inadequate? (4) Why do so many of us self-sabotage? (5) You grew up in religion, where are you now with all that? (6) Why do we desire external validation so much? Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The desire for an easy life is an understandable desire but (1) what exactly is an easy life? (2) Does an easy life automatically equate to a happy, strong, resilient, fulfilled person in the middle of that life? (3) Does a life full of peaks and troughs, messy-ness and mayhem, tears and joy automatically equal an unhappy, unproductive, broken person? Is it possible that happiness and fulfilment is not about building an ‘easy life’ but rather, creating a stronger, more adaptable and confident version of you? Me? This conversation is quite possibly, my favourite episode with Tiff. In case you’re interested, the vulnerability door got swung wide open in this chat. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This time Patrick and I talk about the possibility of intelligent life somewhere 'out there’ (you know where), the smartest and dumbest dog breeds (if you’re a Basset Hound, don’t listen), the possibility of downloading our consciousness (not terrifying at all), how honest we should be with kids, achieving immortality with tech, computers becoming self-aware (good grief), who Patrick thinks I look like (an actor), why we might be the ‘apes’ of the Cosmos, NASA heading back to the moon in 2024 and lots more. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Taylor and I are like fine wines. And sometimes, cheap beers. And despite our over-fifty-ness, we both work hard to have a biological age that’s younger than our calendar (chronological) age. Apart from talking about ageing well and optimising what we have to work with (genetics, time, energy, resources), we also discuss the way our values drive our choices and behaviours, the correlation between relationships and health, the value (or not) of wearable fitness trackers, owning our decisions, living in alignment, placebos and spontaneous healing, intuition and instinct, the link between the age of parents (at conception) and health outcomes for their children, Paul’s son and his one-in-a-million medical condition and lots more. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Taylor and I are like fine wines. And sometimes, cheap beers. And despite our over-fifty-ness, we both work hard to have a biological age that’s younger than our calendar (chronological) age. Apart from talking about ageing well and optimising what we have to work with (genetics, time, energy, resources), we also discuss the way our values drive our choices and behaviours, the correlation between relationships and health, the value (or not) of wearable fitness trackers, owning our decisions, living in alignment, placebos and spontaneous healing, intuition and instinct, the link between the age of parents (at conception) and health outcomes for their children, Paul’s son and his one-in-a-million medical condition and lots more. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is failure? Personally, I don’t like the term but it’s a common label that we give certain events and outcomes based on our goals, intentions, plans, expectations and hopes. But what happens when we take the same less-than-desirable result and apply different thinking? Is there a lesson here? How have I grown through this? In terms of my strategy, what worked and what didn’t work? What would I do different next time? What awareness do I have now that I didn’t before? If not achieving a desired outcome is ‘failure’, then I have spent much of my life failing. Fortunately, those less-than-desirable outcomes have also given me insight, awareness, skill, gratitude, knowledge and resilience. Oh, and a few successes. Happy failing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Collingwood Football Club and Melbourne Storm Psychologist Jacqui Louder is back at TYP chatting to us about the way she does her job. Specifically, her strategies, suggestions and conversations for dealing with performance anxiety, tall poppy syndrome, instant fame (and public attention) integrating young athletes into an existing group of older team mates, building culture within a group, managing ego, life after sport, managing fear, navigating social media as a professional athlete, delivering hard messages and lots more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meanwhile, back at the best job in the world… today I chat with Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School. He is a Professor of Psychiatry, world-renowned Researcher, Author, Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development (the longest running study in the world – 85 years) at Massachusetts General Hospital, cofounder of the Lifespan Research Foundation and Zen Master! This was a fascinating conversation about life, love, longevity, learning, happiness, connection, relationships and what constitutes a good life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Josh Lenartowicz is a world-class Bodybuilder (2 x Mr. Olympia Competitor), Coach, Entrepreneur and Mate of mine who has been through some sh*t over the last few years. This was a fun catch up where we spoke about everything from bodybuilding, competition, diets that suck and standing on stage in budgie smugglers while being judged (literally) to dealing with pain, setbacks, self-doubt and uncertainty. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all like to think we have no bias, that we’re totally objective, open-minded and would never discriminate. It makes us feel better about us. In fact, 90% of us think we’re more open-minded than the average person. Well, if you’re like me and have existing beliefs, ideas, values and ingrained attitudes (not bad things, by the way), then like me, you’re not quite the cognitive or emotional blank canvas you might like to be. Life’s much more comfortable (for a while) when we only pay attention to the stuff (ideas, information, philosophies, research, people) that reflects our own thinking (confirmation bias). And for people who love being comfortable and ‘right’ (all of us), bias makes complete ‘sense’. *Jessica Nordell is an award-winning author and science writer known for blending rigorous science with compassionate humanity. Her first book, ‘The End of Bias: A Beginning: The Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias’ is the culmination of fifteen years of reporting and writing on the subject of bias and discrimination and how to solve it, for publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the New Republic. Jessica is great in this chat and I'm sure she will resonate with you. Enjoy. jessicanordell.substack.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.