A Satisfied Mind

I've been a fan of Cy Wakeman's work for the past few years. Her New York Times bestselling book, 'No Ego' and her 'reality based leadership' methodology has changed the way I work and understand the role of personal and professional development, coaching and leadership in the workplace.

She has a unique ability to cut through the bullshit to connect and share heart to heart. Her philosophy and methodology is exactly the kind of approach we need right now, one that demands accountability, truth telling, empathy, vulnerability and integrity.

In this episode Cy shares her methodology and some really simple yet powerful ways to help you cut through ego, develop greater self awareness and not only have a greater positive impact at work, but to have live a more loving, compassionate and conscious life.

It might be messy, but it's worth it.

For more of Cy's wisdom, check out her 'No Ego' podcast here.

And check out her 'Reality Based Leadership' work here. 

We wrap up this short six-part series by looking at integrity and integration. It's one thing to develop awareness and understanding, it's another to live it. 

In this episode I look at what integrity means and how we might develop greater alignment between what we think, what we believe, what we say and do. This is where we bring to life and deploy our awareness and understanding.

Integrity is living what we know, where we practice what we preach and learn through doing. I share examples of how to develop greater integrity with reference to the work of teachers such as Martha Beck and her 'Integrity Cleanse'.

This is an honest look at the value and importance of personal integrity and is full of practical ways in which you can develop yours. 

In this episode we look at what we're doing with all this awareness and understanding we're developing and ask, what are you creating? 

Who are you co-creating with? 

What is it you're manifesting and how much control, input, influence or impact are you having on what's going on around you?

Good questions, don't you think?

In order to become more of who we want to be, of who we truly are – we need to let go of who we've become.

This episode of the Conscious Culture series looks at how we might do that. 

Carly is a self-confessed expert in death and dying, she's come close on several occasions. In this raw and vulnerable conversation Carly shares the brutal reality of what it means to live with Cystic Fibrosis, to have had a lung transplant followed by cancer, and to be surrounded by death your entire life.

It's a heavy topic. But Carly is anything but –  she shares her experience with such humility, honesty and with a very healthy dose of humour and a perspective that is truly remarkable.

Follow Carly and Billie on Instagram at @carlyjaymetcalfe for behind the scenes pics.

Watch her Ted talk here:  Learning to Die - Carly Jay Metcalfe at TedX Brisbane

Subscribe to this podcast here. 

Everything is changing, we need to adapt. So how do we do this? 

Show up. 

Do the work.

Do the best we can with what we've got. 

This episode is raw, freestyle, as is. 

It's shared with the intention of facilitating greater understanding. Of self, and others. 

Understanding beyond:

1. Assumptions about what things mean
2. Expectations of how others should behave and what they should do
3. Attachment to our own identity

Understanding ourselves and each other, so that we might connect more meaningfully. 

We need this now more than ever. 

How do I introduce my next guest? For those of you who know me, you’ll know how important my Dad is in my life. From the youngest of ages, from my earliest memories he’s not only been my father, he’s been my mentor, my teacher and my best mate. 

He, along with my Mum, has taught me more than anyone else, and what I’m so grateful for is how he’s done it. He’s taught me what it means to be a good man, a good human, through the example he’s set, through his actions first as well as his words. 

He has the biggest heart of anyone I know, he’s humble, gracious, selfless and compassionate and he’s honest, he has the most integrity of anyone I know. 

In this episode, we dig deep into Dad's early life as he talks about some of the challenges he experienced growing as one of nine children.

We talk about his early working life after leaving school at 13 years of age, his various careers and his more recent years as a Grandfather and Great-Grandfather. 

He shares lessons learned, wisdom earned and how he'd like to be remembered. 

This conversation deserves one of your best bottles of wine, so pour a big glass and enjoy getting to know one of the all time greats, Poppy G.

Insta: @george.ellis42

*Trigger warning: this podcast involves a discussion of domestic violence.

In this episode, the second of this conscious culture series I’m doing each Tuesday, we’re talking about awareness. As far as I’m concerned, unless we are aware of what’s happening within, unless we’re aware of what we’re thinking, what we’re feeling, what we’re experiencing, we can't change it.

And things need to change – lives and the future of our planet depends upon it. In order to change, to grow, to create something new, something better, we must have an awareness of where we are and how we got here if we are to be able to change it.

The greater our awareness – the more sensory acuity, cognitive and conscious awareness we have, the easier it’s going to be to calibrate and navigate our way through, and to, a better future – a more just, fair, equal, compassionate and conscious future.

We look at  the four paradigms of awareness:

1. Self awareness
2. Relational awareness
3. Environmental or contextual awareness
4. Meta, or conscious awareness

And we explore our instruments of awareness:

1. Our thoughts - cognitive awareness
2. Our emotions and feelings - sensory awareness
3. Our gut - intuitive awareness
4. Our heart - universal awareness

In order to do the work we're called to do right now, we must have a greater awareness of what we're bringing to the table. This episode features plenty of practical tools to use to cultivate your awareness.

For more episode notes and links, subscribe to my newsletter at mikeyellis.com

Creativity. What is it and how do we do it? Do we do it, or is it who we are? 

In this episode we talk all things creativity. What I love most about this conversation is we look at how to redefine creativity and challenge our assumptions and identities about what 'being creative' or what 'being a creative person' is.

We discuss:

• What it means to be an 'architect of atmosphere'
• Why 75% of people don't feel like they're living up to their creative potential
• How to redefine creativity and tap into your magic
• How to be more courageous, more curious, to seek, to feel and to make more
• How to bring these lessons into your work and transform your work experience

This guy is the real deal. His book 'Everyday Creative - A Dangerous Guide to Making Magic at Work' is essential reading for your ever-evolving quest for self expression and creative inspiration.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did  with the facilitator of fabulousness, the curious curator and champion of courageous creativity, Mykel Dixon.

The way we work is changing, it has changed and these are big changes. We need conscious leaders who will guide us through these times, towards are more compassionate, creative, diverse and inclusive future. How are you changing and what role will you play in this evolution?

In this episode we look at a new world of work and how we might design a more conscious workplace culture. This conscious culture needs champions, it needs leaders – courageous souls to lead by example.

If you're curious about what a more conscious culture is and how you might help bring about the change we so desperately need, this episode is for you. 

We'll look at five stages of growth necessary for this change on both a personal and professional level:

1. Awareness
2. Understanding
3. Unblocking
4. Creating
5. Integration

The future of work is our to create, and the work begins now.