Zion Armstrong is a former elite athlete and global business leader. This episode explores the transformative power of mentorship, resilience, and intentional leadership. From a troubled youth in New Zealand to the global boardrooms of major corporations, Zion shares how sport, structure, and love helped shape his journey. This conversation is a masterclass in authenticity, parenting, and purpose driven leadership.
Key Themes & Takeaways
1. Turning Points & Mentorship
2. Sport as a Catalyst
3. Intentional Parenting
4. Managing Competing Priorities
5. Technology & Parenting
6. Leadership Philosophy
7. Career Advice & Growth
Memorable Quotes
With over 25 years of executive leadership in the energy and resources sector, Janette Hewson is a seasoned director and strategic leader who knows how to navigate both boom times and tough downturns. An expert in building strong internal and external relationships, Janette thrives on collaboration to deliver business objectives and drive results.
In the boardroom, Janette brings a respectful diversity of thought, sharp strategic insight, and the ability to build consensus even on complex issues. Her broad expertise spans external affairs, stakeholder engagement, ESG, major project delivery, procurement, legal advisory, governance, risk management, internal audit, policy development, and corporate strategy.
Having led through crises, restructures, acquisitions, expansions, and closures, Janette has honed her leadership skills and a deep understanding of business transformation. She is passionate about building effective teams and transforming business units to achieve sustainable success.
Episode Summary
Janette is a dynamic leader and advocate for the Mining and Resources sector. In this episode, she shares her journey from a legal background to becoming the CEO of QRC, and how mining has not only shaped her career but also allowed her to make a meaningful impact on communities across Australia and the Pacific.
This episode explores the evolving narrative of mining, the sector’s social and economic contributions, and the exciting future ahead, particularly for young people and those passionate about sustainability, innovation, and regional development.
Key Discussion Points:
Janette’s Unconventional Path into Mining
Mining as a Platform for Social Good
The Power of Belonging and Purpose
Public Perception vs. Reality
The Future of Mining
Opportunities for the Next Generation
Key Quotes
Industry Insights
Social & Environmental Impact
Resources & Links
In this episode Shaun interviews Paul Miller, highlighting his rugby career with the All Blacks, Chiefs, Highlanders, Otago, and Southland. They Paul's journey, including highs and lows, battling cancer, and his transition into life after rugby. Paul is also a team member at Stellar Recruitment.
Rugby Career & Influences
Adversity & Growth
Alcohol & Mental Well-Being
Parenting & Legacy
Final Thoughts & Reflections
Trevor Hendy is a legendary Ironman champion, mentor, and wellness advocate. Trevor takes a deep dive into his journey—from a young boy afraid of competition to becoming one of the most dominant figures in surf lifesaving history.
His story doesn’t stop at sporting success, Trevor opens up about the internal battles that came with fame, the personal challenges that forced him to redefine his purpose, and how he found true fulfilment beyond competition. This episode is packed with wisdom on resilience, self-discovery, and the power of presence.
Key Takeaways & Highlights
Trevor’s Early Years & Finding His Competitive Edge
The Golden Era of Ironman Racing
Kelly Slater, Peak Performance & The Power of Presence
Overcoming Life’s Toughest Challenges
Daily Rituals for Longevity, Energy & Mental Clarity
Advice to His Younger Self
Resources & Links Mentioned
Trevor Hendy Instagram: @handytrev
Future Lab Podcast (with Kelly Slater episode): Listen Here
Breath & Breakthrough Retreats: Learn More
Life Changing Foundation: Website
Melrose Health Supplements: Visit Here
12-Day Mini Masterclass on Victim to Creator Mindset: Watch on Instagram
In this episode, Shaun and James discuss strategies for starting the year strong, building sustainable habits, and finding purpose. James shares powerful frameworks elite performers use—from prime ministers to top athletes—to set and achieve meaningful goals.
Key Takeaways:
Reflection Before Resolution – Take stock of the past year by revisiting key moments. Ask yourself:
Start, Stop, Continue Framework – Used by Fortune 50 companies:
Most Valued Priorities (MVPs) – Instead of setting 20+ goals, focus on 3-5 key priorities.
The Power of Visualisation & Journaling – Neurosurgeon James Doty’s method:
Accountability & Leverage – Find an accountability partner who will check in regularly. Use consequences to stay committed (e.g., James pledged to donate to a political figure he disliked if he didn’t write daily!).
Building Winning Habits – Key traits of high performers:
Discovering Purpose & Values – James emphasises:
Key Quotes:
"High performers have habits that are different from low performers – they know how to sustain success."
"Write, read, and visualise your goals every day – morning and night."
"If you don’t know your values, you’re easily swayed by distractions and shiny objects."
"Pick ONE habit at a time. Master it. Then move to the next."
Connect with James Laughlin:
Lead on Purpose Podcast – Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube. Ranked #1 in New Zealand!
Instagram: @JamesLaughlin
Resources Mentioned:
- Masterclass on Setting Up Your Year – - https://www.jjlaughlin.com/2025replay
- Core Drivers Diagnostic Tool (Deeper Signals) - contact James via his website www.jjlaughlin.com
- Jonah Oliver’s Values Clarity Exercise - https://northframework.typeform.com/Stellar
About James:
James Laughlin stands at the forefront of High Performance Leadership and Personal Mastery, earning global recognition as a pioneering strategist in the field. As a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, James captivates and inspires diverse audiences worldwide with his compelling insights and transformative messages. His extensive experience spans working with elite performers and leading organizations, including professional athletes, influential CEOs, and multinational corporations, empowering them to lead with unwavering conviction and achieve remarkable success.
Jonah Oliver is a distinguished performance psychologist known for his work with elite athletes like golfer Cameron Smith, V8 teams, surgeons, business leaders, and more. Jonah brings his wealth of experience to the table, discussing the intricate details of sustained high performance.
Key Topics Covered:
Key Quotes:
Attitude is Everything:
"A bad attitude is like a flat tyre. You can't go anywhere unless you change it." This applies to all facets of life: personal, professional, and family.
Three Basic Psychological Needs:
Relatedness: Quality of connection, feeling seen, heard, and valued.
Competence: Feeling good at something, is essential for motivation.
Autonomy: Having control over one's actions and environment.
Positive Energy vs. Energy Vampires:
Building an A+ Attitude:
The 20 Mile March:
Concept of consistent, disciplined effort towards goals.
Inspirational Practices
Final Thoughts
This episode features Jeff McKeon, who speaks on the topics of overcoming adversity and the science of happiness. Jeff's journey from a challenging childhood with an alcoholic father to dedicating his life to neuroscience and helping others reach their potential is both inspirational and educational.
Key Quotes from Jeff McKeon:
The Science of Happiness:
Practical Tips for Happiness:
Jeff's Conclusion:
Phillip Di Bella is a Director at the Di Bella Group of Companies
Phillip Di Bella is a highly respected business entrepreneur with a unique ability to visualise and commercialise what many others never see. Though initially known for the establishment of Di Bella Coffee, which became Australia’s largest specialty coffee company, Phillip’s entrepreneurial spirit has brought success to other businesses such as International Coffee Traders, Abbotsford Road Specialty Coffee in New York, and more recently The Coffee Commune.
Not satisfied with simply focusing on building his own successful businesses, Phillip has dedicated much time to supporting the growth and development of other businesses. Often referred to as an “Entrepreneur in Residence”, Phillip regularly lends his strategic thinking to businesses such as BDO Consulting, helping their clients overcome challenges, see new opportunities, and then supporting the commercialisation of these solutions.
01.50 - Phil’s journey with his weight
“Health is first, it’s the foundation. You don’t go building 10-storey buildings without laying solid foundations”.
“It’s me first so that I can give my best to my family and give more energy to work.”
“My philosophies are templates, and a lot of them apply, and they have for me, personally, professionally, and family. Same thing in business, you can have all the theories in the world, you can go to all the workshopping events and build your knowledge base in your library, but if you don't execute, it just doesn't happen.”
Shaun - “If you put the work in and have that desire, intent and willpower and you execute, you can go from here to here, and that could be finance, it could be career, it could be relationships. It could be anything, but it's having a plan. It's executing that plan, drawing on the resources around you, but being disciplined in that regard. And that's the transformation.”
7.45 - What are the daily rituals that you do to optimise yourself?
12.30 -
16.00 - Other rituals that bind Phil and his wife
20.15 - “Life is simple, humans just complicate it”
20.46 - Managing Priorities
27.30 -
30 - Core philosophies in business
1 - You have to be solving a problem
2 - You have to be so relevant that if your business can’t be replicated
3 - When you get 1 and 2 right, tell the story. Marketing is the art of telling the story.
32.30 - Where people go wrong in business often comes down to poor planning
36.30 - What are you focusing on for work in 2024?
Phil is working on trying to make sure that before governments make decisions that impact people’s lives.
“I'm getting stuck into 2024 and we kick off with the release of our small business paper that we took six months to commission and we kick that off on the 19th of February to go to market. I want to see this industry sustainable.”
43.00 - Core philosophies in life
Enough time and money to do what you want when you want.
48.00 - Shaun - “Be intentional about where you want to be and what you want to achieve then surround yourself with the right people to get there.”
50.40 - If you can’t improve the silence don’t speak
“The wealthiest place in the world is the cemetery”
Jonah Oliver is a world-leading performance psychologist he combines sports psychology and neuroscience to facilitate peak performance.
He has nearly 20 years of working in high performance from Olympians, executives, and professional codes (Brisbane Roar, Gold Coast Suns, Essendon), to car racing teams (Porsche – Le Mans World Champion, V8s), indigenous performing artists and surgeons.
Executive coach, author, speaker, and consultant on talent identification, leadership, and organisational performance around the world. Husband, father, entrepreneur.
2.30 - How do you navigate the car trip home after a sports game when your kid has strong emotions?
"Emotions tell us something, it's not ambivalence. They're not just sitting there. If there are emotions, it means they care. So they care about something like the performance, their teammates, your approval, their own standards, feeling competent or feeling incompetent, whatever it is, there's something there to listen to."
4.50 What is our role?
08.44 - Our fears as a parent. I don't want them to …
"Sport can be the greatest vehicle for learning about life in a safe way. Life is hard and how do you survive in the jungle if you're raised in the zoo? It's like sport needs to allow you to be exposed to failure to set back to I'm not as good as other people at some things that I need to solve this puzzle myself. "
11.15 - How do you get your kids to see your intentions for what they are?
15.40 - "What does success look like? And what is the intention behind it? If it's trying to protect them from failure because of your fears of them and what their life might be, if they don't succeed in that domain, then that's you. And you got to get the heck out of the way. It is a fun first mentality, just let them have fun."
20.00 - How do you help children identify and navigate self-doubt as a roadblock to them reaching their potential?
27.00 - How to motivate kids to do something they may not love but may be important?
36.00 - How do you deal with the "I want to give up"? How do you unpack and deal with that?
41.00 - How do we get our kids to recognise that effort and attitude matter?
"We want to build people with self-determination, a sense of competence, a sense of autonomy that they can do things of their own. They can build meaningful relationships with the world around them. They can take on the world and that they are enough in their current form."
"Our job is to create conditions for a fire"
47.00 - "Our kids are enough already, they don't need to win first place."
Let them grow into the version that they are and the different phases, we are there to nurture and support them.
Does my child look forward to/promote me being there?
54.00 - What's the world of social media, the dominance of that, the prevalence of that mental health struggles, and how do we help our kids?
"Do they have the skills to make good decisions around their own safety and, or advocating for the safety of others? Do they have the ability to understand morals and mores and all those things? And if the answer is no, they're probably still underdeveloped in that space then you absolutely have to withhold their exposure to it because any weakness or vulnerability your child has in normal life in those spaces is magnified on social media."
Limit the exposure as much as you can. It can set them up for long-term mental health issues.
"We look at the rapid increase and not just through overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis all that and remove all that from the science and I've done it well, there's been a massive uptick in the prevalence of mood disturbances in our children and it correlates almost identically with the introduction of the big social media brands."
1.01.00 - Final comments
Links -
03.51 - Sandy’s journey to starting Traction
“Why not start something that makes a direct impact on young people”
8.00 - CEO Bike Build
Young people growing into their potential and meeting expectations that might be held of them in workplaces.
It is so much more than the bike. Make the situation at Traction relevant to their outside life.
10.05 - Core fundamentals taught at Traction
“We know isolation and loneliness are felt through the neural pathways in much the same way as physical pain. So the health impact of being isolated and lonely is as deleterious as smoking a packet of cigarettes a day over a long period. So for our young people, when they say that they just want to make friends, we take that seriously because quite often they haven't had many role models in how to build good relationships.”
Traction allows providing young people with role models they have never had and teaches them confidence. It’s a wellbeing framework
12.00 - Elements of wellbeing
13.32 - Tangible benefits of Traction’s program
Sometimes the most tangible benefit is just for these kids to have one day a week where they feel safe and are learning not just surviving.
It’s not a program you are sent to do, it’s an opportunity.
17.04 - The 2 things you need in life
1- Love and connection
2 - Meaning and purpose
19.00 - What has Sandy learnt in the corporate world and the Traction world
Ordinary people working together can create extraordinary things
Having a vision and team built around a shared purpose
The challenge in not-for-profit space compared to the corporate arena is just the uncertainty around, or it's difficult to plan for the long term because of the pipeline of funding that's required to invest in, whether it be program delivery or developing the capacity as an organisation or investing in the infrastructure needed like without.
22.30 -
“The energy comes from seeing the results and the difference we're making and we're about prevention. So there's a lot of attention being paid to youth crime in our community at the moment. And to me, there's work that has to be done on that. If we get in early and reach young people before they slip through the cracks in the system and get them on.
Positive and trajectories to their potential and possibility, then it's a much smarter investment upfront than having to deal with the knock-on effects later.”
23.45 - The cost of incarceration on society/community
A massive trigger for youth crime is exclusion from school. As soon as you fall out of, or are excluded from the schooling system, who are you going to hang out with?
28.20 - What do kids fundamentally need to have a positive/good/great life?
- Care and love
- Recognise that every young person has unique gifts, and brings different strengths, and try to understand what they are
- Encourage them to participate and have a go
- Education is key and there are so many ways to learn
- Have a community around the young people
30.30 - What stands in the way of the grander vision you have?
“It's about fuel in the tank. We've got a great model. We've, we know the attributes of powerful mentors and we are ready to scale up the program and reach more young people.
We're ready to recruit, train and develop.”
34.00 - What is your purpose and your why?
● It’s about making a difference, something each day. Ordinary people working together can do extraordinary things
● Be present within the community to find what is possible
● Sense of belonging around a shared purpose/cause
● We are not here for a long time so it’s about who is around you
2.00 - The Background & Intro
When Jimi bounced off of rock bottom he got to the point where he said “I have to do something different that makes my tomorrow different from my today because my today sucks.”
4.00 - Picking up the tools and applying them
Applications change the outcomes. Once you start seeing the gains you get “addicted to the gains”.
Talent for translating the information and putting it in a way he could understand and that others could understand.
6.00 -
Doesn’t have to be a big event that sets you into that state.
“...the shove over the edge, you either fall to your death or you learn to fly. And that's what I decided as I was. I need to learn how to fly real, real quick… where can I, where can I build some wings from? Where can I get a parachute from?”
07.30 - The difference between resilience and mental fitness
Mental fitness is the ability to be able to see chaos coming and have the perspectives, understanding and tools to avoid it as it comes, or at least glance it off.
Is the ability to learn tools, techniques, perspectives, observations, and understandings that allow us to see situations unfolding as they unfold and be able to make really clear, confident, rational decisions in those that lead to the best outcomes for us.
10 - What do you do to keep mentally fit?
“Instead of telling me what to do, he told me why I should do it.” A simple start.
Future success is determined by past success. You're much more likely to succeed in the future if you have succeeded in the past.
13 - Two key underpinnings for Mental Fitness
Ability to observe your thoughts and the ability to regulate your nervous system.
15.30 - The breath
The key is to move yourself from a sympathetic state to a parasympathetic state. Parasympathetic is your rest, rejuvenation, and relaxation state. You can do this through your breath. Allows you to be in a state that helps you be in a state to choose better and create better outcomes for yourself.
17. 40 - Mental fitness for kids
The parents are the biggest influence on a child’s life. You cannot teach what you do not know. “What is genetic in feeling is that you teach it to your children.” Parents control or dictate the environment or atmosphere people walk into.
22.30 - Mental health continuum
When you say mental health people think of mental illness.
If you put in small, consistent efforts all the time then you will become mentally fitter. Continuum is being able to put ourselves on to figure out where we’re at and how we can move up.
32.00 - Jimi’s why & putting yourself first
“My why is to improve my mental fitness. I care about everybody secondary to myself and the more I connect to myself, the more I improve my mental fitness, the more I learn and the more ability I have to share that with others.”
“And the happier the people are, the more mentally fit people are, the better employees they are, the more creative, the more productive, the less sick time, the less turnover, all of those metrics.”
40.00 - Advice you would pass on to younger Jimi
Links -
https://www.jimihunt.com - https://www.jimihunt.com/newsletter/
Intro to Jeff McKeon:
Jeff is currently the Chief Growth Officer at Neuro Capability, he's a really interesting person and deeply kind. He's lived a great life and has reached this position where he genuinely loves what he does for work. He's got some great learnings to share as part of his journey. Jeff believes that our greatest asset is our mind. We are sure you will thoroughly enjoy this episode.
02.20 - Reflection and Curiosity:
"I'm just eternally grateful that I get to share a message and talk about the stuff that fills me with curiosity. And it comes around from those moments in your life. And if you're conscious of those moments and those decisions you make, and reflection I think is that thing, when you start to reflect at those moments, you think did I make a good decision? Did I make a bad decision? What did I learn from it? That's been my biggest transformation if I think about it."
04.15 - Defining moments that have impacted your life
That's the power of connection and human connection. You never know what someone's got going on in their life.
That's why we need to be kind. I always laugh that the other stuff, the negative stuff has a better PR team. So be kind. It's just that in those moments in life, you never know what someone is going through.
11.00 - The impact stress has on your body
Stress has a huge impact on our body long term. The term is called allostatic load, which is the impact on the machine because you're going too fast and too hard the whole time.
"I can't change him, I have to change me. When I talk about change, sometimes you require that catalyst. "
13.00 - The career reinvention
In the moment you don't realise it, you just do what your instinct is. But that's when you have to take those gambles with the career transition. You have got to trust your instinct because my instinct had gone from a quiet little voice to that screaming voice saying you gotta get out, you gotta do something more with the rest of your life. You have to approach it in a whole different way. What can I learn from this?
When you transition careers, you need that piece of paper to feel a little bit bulletproof. You have to back your instinct
16.15 - Ben Crowe and the notion of being your inner fan and the inner critic.
The biggest realisation is just being aware that the voice is trainable. Most people go through life hearing this inner voice and not realising that you can actually shut it off or you can diminish it or you can change it.
The way the brain is wired is in the first five years. That's why it's critical in a child's development, the love and nurturing because it's happening the brain is wiring, not only are they learning to walk, they're learning, do I love this way? What's their condition, what's right, what's wrong?
An example is how Ben Crowe worked with Ash Barty and her inner voice to identify that she is so much more than tennis, she is an individual and that's where that power of identifying your inner voice is.
19.01 - Diminish your inner critic
Ethan Cross talks about diminishing and harnessing your inner critic in his book, Chatter.
Be aware of it and know that you don't have to listen to it because that's no longer relevant, that's the voice you heard when you were seven or eight.
It's no longer relevant to who I am as an adult. But we learn it way back when we are judged when we are young. But we're still, it's the same voice. Quite often it'll be either a mom or dad or an authority figure. And it'll be the same voice and that's just because that got wired into us.
20.30 - I am Enough
The biggest thing Ben Crow does in his work is helping his clients to say, I'm enough. So when you believe you are enough, guess what happens? That inner voice gets silenced. Gets turned down because you're no longer listening to it because you're going, no, no, I'm enough.
The power of reframing and rephrasing.
21.30 - Helping your kids with their inner critic and being conscious of it.
Disrupt the process to change their trajectory.
23.30 - Create a psychologically safe organization but also have an organization that's accountable, that delivers, that meets.
"When you look at aligning the why you do it and the outcome, you're not having to manufacture the outcome. The outcome is a by-product of what you do with your why. When I talk to companies I only ever write with companies or work for companies that align with my values, when you come into these businesses you can tell it's from the top down."
What we are seeing now is a lot of pushback against the traditional command and control leadership models. In business, what we've got is these early adopters, like Stellar, who're already living and breathing it. Guess what? Their business is aligned because they're not having to manage every layer. Of the well-being of their staff, they're actively doing it from the top down.
25.30 -
"Your company's culture is the heart, the minds and stomachs of your employees on a Sunday night thinking about Monday morning."
27.52 - Profound question around what is the future of leadership
"In the past jobs were about muscles. Now they're about brains, but in the future, they will be about heart."
Minouche Shafik
30 - Allow your why to direct what you do, profit will be the buy product of this. If your staff are thriving, your profitability will be through the roof.
32 - Habits and Traffic University
"The longer you do something, the better you get at it. People refer it to as muscle memory. It's neural pathways practised over time, repetitive notion. So whatever you are wanting to achieve, it's about creating that university. So how do you create that highway? Well, first of all, you have to make sure you are looking at it. The smallest habit to start with to then move forward."
Layer and stack habits daily. Keystone hab
37 - Prime your brain in the morning by listening to something positive in the morning.
38.30 - The process of finding your WHY/ finding your “Ikigai” - what you love doing, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can get paid for.
"Tapping into your why is taking time to actually go through, what am I here for? What is this about? What is my legacy? What is important to be and what am I going to leave behind?"
The only stuff I will sell is stuff that's in line with what I want to talk about and that's when you align with purpose. There's a weight removed, the weight of what other people think you should do and what society says you should do and you go, no, I'm going to do what aligns with me. I write it quite often, but my main measure for success is the number of hours I spend with my teenagers."
44 - Tips and tricks around cultivating a wonderful relationship with your kids:
But we also both knew that we had to do the work and...
Intro:
Holly Ransom has been named one of Australia's 100 Most Influential Women. She has achieved so much from a young age not to mention she has interviewed the likes of Barrack Obama, Richard Branson and the Dalai Lama just to mention a few.
Holly has a consultancy business, Emergent Global, she is also a board member of Port Adelaide Football Club, she is an author, global speaker and podcaster and discusses topics like how to conquer public speaking, how to create rituals to get you to your best and how to cultivate a healthier and better mindset. She is certainly inspiring and it is an episode not to be missed.
3.00 - Where did it all start?
A summary of quotes from Holly.
“Strong sense of direction and lose hold of the reins.”
“Always know what you are passionate about.”
“When you walk past things you tell the world it's ok.”
“What I have chosen to say yes to or put energy into comes back to the fact it was not something I was willing to walk past.”
“It's about putting yourself where lightning strikes, where you are going to collide with your purpose.”
“I was very lucky and I encourage people to do this; volunteering gives you so many different opportunities to test out your thinking and meet extraordinary mentors that have taught me so many lessons.”
06.36 - Which mentors have had the biggest impact on you and why?
A variety of people moved beyond a conversation to working together ongoing, some people you have one conversation with and it's life-altering. But ultimately my grandmother is hard to go past with her powerful influence in my life.
2 things her grandmother instilled in Holly:
10.15 - Shaun says, "One of the coolest things about leadership is seeing it in action, not just words. It's about leading from the front."
11 - Leadership in today's time. What is your definition of what leadership should look like in 2023?
Leadership by its very nature is contextual. Leadership needs to work with or against the forces around it to be able to achieve certain goals and objectives.
What’s striking about leadership today is the way that we are putting it to work. It used to be hierarchical which would count a lot of people out.
In this day in age, it's a distributed model of leadership where we have to be involved.
A compelling vision, agenda level of trust and live true values. Where people get out of bed and want to be part of your vision.
The greater level of accountability. Closing the gap, don't say one thing and do another.
It's an exciting time to think of how we hold up different levels of leadership.
How we lead and manage younger people is totally different to what it used to be.
Diversity of influence around the boardroom is crucial.
15.42 - An important role for people to play that are influencers, advisors and in the ears of leaders in all types of all shapes and forms.
"One of the challenges for Changemakers is the way we tell the story to those we are trying to influence in a way that lines up effectively with what matters to them."
17 - "I invite people in those situations to see the need for adaptation is on us as the changemakers. We have to do the work to change the story because the systems around us won't do it."
18.15 - Tips around public speaking
It's perfectly normal to feel nervous about it, there is no silver bullet with it, it's a case of practice.
You need to be mindful of self-compassion and how you go about conquering it. You need to step out of your comfort zone not leap out of it, to set yourself up for success.
Think “what is my minimum tolerance right now? How do you get your reps up?”
The more you get your reps up the more comfortable you will become, and then you can take the next step. Make the commitment to regularly having a go and I would recommend buddying up with someone to chip away at the fear.
22 - "It's better to copy genius than to create mediocracy".
Practice self-compassion or you risk burning yourself too quickly.
23.20 - Gradual Voluntary exposure
You have to put your hand up for it. The word voluntary is crucial to do this, you have to be up for it not pushed into it.
24.45 - Managing your time and your energy
30 - Habits and rituals Holly uses to make sure she is turning up for the people that matter in her life.
32 - Cultivating a positive mindset
Awareness split - catch and stop the thought faster. The negative voice comes up more often when you are stepping out of your comfort zone.
35 - Positivity and Energy
"My grandmother says I was born into petrol motion."
Holly's default is positive but it doesn’t mean she doesn't have times when she needs a support crew to help you get back into a positive mindset. You can't always do it yourself, so make sure you have a support crew to help you do this.
38 - What can we do to prepare our kids to thrive in this world?
One of the most critical superpowers we need is resilience.
Mat Rogers is one inspiring individual, not just inspiring as a sportsman or father but inspiring as the man beneath it all.
From an ex-Wallabies player to a father of four, tune into this episode to hear why his drive and resilience are something we can all aspire to.
2.00 - The highlight or achievement of Mat's footy career:
"Staying on the path, not getting distracted - not dragged away by the influence around you. I stayed committed to what I wanted to achieve. The only way to succeed is to put all your eggs in one basket and make it happen. Focus on one thing at a time and if one doesn't work out you focus on another egg. Zero in on your focus as there is so much going on in the world. That's what I am the most grateful for."
When it comes to the people around him:
"I didn't change my goal I changed my friends
Forget a Plan B - stay true to your path"
5.40 -Who was the hardest bloke you had to tackle?
"Defence is an attitude, if you want to stop something you will put everything you can into it. Stand in the way enough to slow them down…
…Tony Brown made my life challenging. Every player out there is a competitor and is going to be tough to take down.
Be completely relentless"
8.45 - What was the most inspiring thing about your dad?
"He didn't just influence through words, would influence through actions. Showing me not just telling me.
After seeing it I knew I wanted to do it, I knew how much needed to go into it.
I focused on the end goal because I saw my dad doing it. I remember seeing the work he would put in and the extras he would go through. "
11.40 - You earn every win, no one is just going to give it to you.
"He role-modelled greatness. Not everyone gets ribbons in life, you have to earn them."
Matt's resilience has been the cornerstone of his achievements, he has faced so many challenges in his life.
14.10 - "The reality is even when you have challenges, the world is going to keep turning. I like working under stress, through the tough times it's about just living again. I need my next goal, something to fire me up.
I want people around me that are focussed and motivated and fired up about something."
Living an intentional life rather than just existing.
Intrinsic or Evolved ability to work under pressure?
"I rise to the thought of pressure. It was something from a young age.
Reframed situations are usually ones that people avoid"
What happens if we don't win? What happens if we do? Use it as an opportunity to thrive.
20.40 - "I don't want to voice out negativity into the world. You just tell yourself that you aren't going to, so you won't.
The power of the voice. I want to put the books in my favour. Learned to be internally positive and rub off on those around me."
"If all the people around you are positive then you can lift each other.
Be way more positive than negative from the outset and even if there are some doubts, I will keep them to myself because the people around me might not have those doubts, so as soon as I voice them, all of a sudden they have them too. They might have the positive feedback to help me get over the bump."
24 .00 - Mental health
Mat exercises every morning for an hour with his friend. They have a pact that they don't have any negativity in their morning routines.
The busier you are, the more important it is as you have less of your own time. It allows you to reflect on the day before and plan the day. Having me time in the morning is key.
29.10 - Team sports allow you to have a goal set for you every week.
Having the game gave him purpose and when he retired he realised he didn't have that purpose in his life anymore. You need a goal with substance, work back from it and celebrate the milestones on the way. Put a date on it and a timeframe otherwise it's not a goal it's a wish.
Goals in concrete and plans in the sand because life can change.
"I perform best when the whip is lashed and setting a goal allows for this."
34.40 - Key realisations as a parent
"I grew into adulthood resenting my childhood however when I wrote the book I realised it was what made me.
You want your children to know what it feels like to get hurt."
"I feel like I have set an example for my kids of what it feels like to succeed… I haven't told them I have shown them. And I need to step back a bit…I have laid a platform for them to succeed and I am always here to guide and advise when needed but don't want to overstep."
Shaun - "It is a moving target. You talk about resilience, inner belief and work ethic and that's portrayed in your success so far. How do you build the muscles around them along with good manners and being a good human?"
40.00 - "Be respectful and build have good manners.
Skills can be taught but a bad attitude can't be. Telling kids what to do doesn't work, you have to model it. Model behaviours you want your kids to live up to."
42.00 - "Modelling is the best form of teaching, barking is the worst. Treat people with respect despite their role. You have a short time in leadership if that's how you lead."
Shaun - "Leading by example means if you can get one thing right to set the tone to set the example hopefully and it will resonate with those around you. If you are living and breathing it that's more important."
45.00 - "Every single time where I have gotten advice from someone that has what I have wanted, on how they did what they did and got what they have, and I did it, it has materialised. Every time. You can't cut corners."
"Change is great when it's done."
"There is not much joy in comfort. But comfort does not breathe."
"Be uncomfortable in the process of change."
48.00 - Matt talks about facing the challenge of working through his son, Max's autism, whilst still juggling all other elements of his life and his family's.
56.00 - Life after football.
The longevity of his career was based on being a professional athlete not just a professional football player. Lifestyle needs to equate to a career. Invest time into investing in yourselves.
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