The You Project

And before you ask, not only did I have Jon’s consent to go with that title but he used the term in our conversation. He threw himself under the one-nut bus. Classic. Jon Summers is leading the charge when it comes to opening up the conversation around infertility for men. Just like women, men can experience a fertility diagnosis. And just like women, that diagnosis brings it uncertainty, fear, guilt and all sorts of emotional turbulence. Gonna be honest, this topic isn’t really my area of expertise (at all) and it’s fair to say that Jon had his work cut out getting me up to speed. I loved his laid-back, self-aware, no-ego communication style and his ability to make this a fun and fascinating chat. Enjoy.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I was recently on the ‘Simply Practically Human’ podcast with Mark LeBusque and as is often the way, we opened the door on the never ending ‘how do I manage me and not f*ck up my life?” question. You know the one. We had fun. Enjoy. The Simply Practically Human PodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob Dickson was my mate. But then, he was a mate to a lot of people. Everyone loved him. At school (and beyond), he had an ability to make me feel valued, special and connected - to him. But in truth, I wasn’t special, he was, because he made everyone feel the same. It was a gift. He was a gift. He had an undeniable energy that people wanted to be around. He was simultaneously charismatic, creative, cheeky, annoying, hilarious and undeniable. He got away with sh*t that I still can’t comprehend. After school, he went on to become a helicopter pilot (at the age of 17) working for the NSCA, an AFL player (Hawthorn and Brisbane), the winner of ‘Survivor Australia’ season 1, an incredible film maker (with his brother, Pete) and most importantly, a loving husband and dad. Tragically, Rob and his two boys passed away in 2009 as the result of a car accident, leaving his beautiful wife Dusty without her husband or children (a pain I can’t even begin to comprehend). I know it seems like this chat with Pete Dickson might be super-sad but it’s not. It’s thoughtful, uplifting, insightful, funny and at times, emotional. It’s not always easy talking about death, trauma and grief but these conversations also present an opportunity to talk about healing, vulnerability, communication and love. Enjoy. *Pete’s book about Rob, ‘He Was My Brother’, is out now via his website (public launch soon).  dicksonfilms.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, I made a new friend. Dr. Amanda Ferguson and I hit it off from the get-go and had a fun conversation, discussing burnout (from work, roles, situations, life), jobs having a use-by date, the flawed ‘work-life balance’ theory, the importance of unlearning, sharing complicated information in an uncomplicated manner (as a teacher, writer, speaker, coach), the benefit of getting ‘out of our mind’ and all-things self-management. On a lighter note, we also spoke about the career she almost had as an opera singer (for real), her floating meditation centre (yacht) and my complete ineptitude as a sailor. Enjoy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than thirty-five years ago, Max Peggie walked into the gym I was managing, we chatted and about ten minutes later, I had my first Personal Training client before PT was even a thing; no course, no regulations, no industry. To be honest, I didn’t even have an official name for what I was doing; I was just training him three times a week and he was paying me three-times my hourly (gym instructing) rate. Giddy-up, I was rich. For me. Little did I know what would come from that conversation; the infancy of an industry, twenty-five years of owning studios, educating thousands of trainers (and employing hundreds), personally completing more than forty thousand PT sessions, speaking all over the world, radio, TV, working with elite athletes and lots more. Without Max, my story may have been very different. He was an important influence, mentor and support system in my journey and growth and all these years later, we got together to talk about the lessons and laughs, the student and teacher (he taught me business, I taught him body) and of course, the mutual sh*t-slinging. Enjoy. *Note: Max’s first book (out now) is called ‘I Didn’t Ask to be King’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patrick is back and this time we ditch the tech talk and open the door on being single without being lonely, careers and relationships that have a use-by date, where and how we invest our emotional energy, why I would have made a crap soldier (probably), Melissa’s capacity for catastrophising (I was four minutes late for the recording and she thought I’d had a heart-attack), Patrick’s cold shower update, being a billionaire and lots more.  genesisfx.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karen Eber is the CEO and Chief Storyteller of Eber Leadership Group. She helps build curious and empathic leaders and teams, and healthy cultures. Karen and I are on the same page in that, we both work with businesses without really talking about business. We talk about the people stuff in the middle of the business stuff (systems, processes, KPI’s, rules, roles). In this episode, we spoke about culture, communication, unnecessarily long (and boring) meetings, self-indulgent bosses (over-talkers), unaware leaders, the value of story-telling in the workplace, keeping staff happy and how to create a work environment that people want to be in. Enjoy. kareneber.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TYP fave David Gillespie is back and this time we chat about a very common drug (you probably use it) that reduces empathy (really!), Melissa’s OCD, good addictions (are they a thing?), David’s real motivation for coming on the show (it’s not me) and once again, we open the psychopath door. So to speak. Enjoy.  davidgillespie.orgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heston Russell is a Retired Special Forces Major, who after 16 years in the military and over 100 combat missions serving within the Special Forces, found his way to TYP Central for a chat and it (the conversation) was a revelation, inspiration and in some ways, not what I expected at all. I thought it would be good but it was brilliant. He was brilliant. We chatted about the mindset, morality and ethics around killing people when it’s part of your job (weird, I know), performing under the ultimate pressure (someone shooting at you), returning to ‘normal life’ after combat and some fascinating stuff that I don’t want to share in this overview because it will ruin the listening moment. Enjoy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaemin Frazer is the founder of The Insecurity Project and specialises in helping entrepreneurs, leaders, and business owners eradicate insecurity so they can show up to life unhindered by doubt, fear, and self-limiting beliefs. He is a leading voice globally on the subject of personal insecurity and is the author of Unhindered - The Seven Essential Practices for Overcoming Insecurity, Elegantly Simple Solutions to Complex People Problems. Jaemin and I spoke about why and how we’re so insecure (and what we might do about it), finding our identity in our job (good or bad?), seeking approval from people who don’t love us, when a ‘group’ becomes a cult, blokes becoming more vulnerable, backlash from leaving the ministry (he was an ordained Minister), being self-sufficient and we even disagreed on a few things (graciously of course - lol). Enjoy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.