BEING with Sally Wilson

Brent McKean has done a huge amount of walking all over the world, from the Inca Trail to the Blue Mountains, easy strolls in nature to incredibly demanding rugged walks of hundreds of km’s, and now he's editor of Australia's only dedicated bushwalking magazine, “Great Walks”.

In this episode he describes what he calls the “primitive freedom” he associates with being out in nature, relaxing back into the rhythms of nature and peace and transformation. He also talks about the importance of stretching our comfort zone and being adventurous, and the deep bonding which can happen quite naturally through shared experiences in nature.

A great listen for seasoned hikers as well as those ‘maybe’ considering it, for parents or grandparents wanting to get kids out into nature more, and simply for anyone wanting to feel inspired by one man’s walking adventures.

https://www.greatwalks.com.au/ 

Kirsten Macdonald has lived with the knowledge that she could die any day, at any moment… She has an inoperable brain aneurism.

I met her as the Founder and Chief Editor of Ponderings Magazine, and knew nothing about her bewildering story. When I saw Kirsten across the room of business owners and professionals, I just knew: “Wow. I need to meet her.” And I am so very, very glad I introduced myself.

Join us for a conversation spanning the seldom-addressed and yet all-pervasive, from faith to ‘God’ and humour during hardship, and for Kirsten’s profound knowledge on how to live every day like it’s your last.

This is a must-listen.

www.ponderings.com.au

As soon as you hear him speak, his resonant, rich voice demands attention. Built like a Gridiron footballer and with charisma galore, Berlin-based Derrick Lawrence chose opera singing over football. He won the world’s most prestigious singing competition in New York when he was 23, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it all came easily.

Derrick talks about the road to “overnight success”, the dangers of rushing your development and trying to skip important, foundational steps in your journey, and what it is to be motivated through honesty.

His wisdom is framed around his experience getting to and performing at the pinnacle of the operatic world, but it’s relevant to all of us in every walk of life.

He’s refreshing, extremely insightful, painfully honest as well as compassionate. Derrick has the wonderful capacity to keep it real and inspire at the same time. You’re going to enjoy this conversation!

Listen to him sing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcp7rTF35zA 

https://www.instagram.com/dlazlaw/ 

http://www.mennicken-pr.com/eng/lawrence.html

Artist, conservationist, naturalist, author… Richard Weatherly is a curious man with many talents, much experience and a spellbinding knack of storytelling!

Richard speaks of his initially accidental artistic career, beginning in London, and our conversation winds around the sensitivity of an artist who works from and in nature and deeply cares about it and for it, the fragility of our ecosystems, mentors, inspiration and even avian personalities!

Importantly, Richard also gives suggestions as to how we can connect ecosystems in order to provide habitat to our precious wildlife – even for those of us living in an urban environment.

www.richardweatherly.com.au

Getrude Matshe embodies Ubuntu – the African philosophy with which she grew up in a small town in Zimbabwe. She’s a warm-hearted whirlwind of passion, drive, energy and vision, and believes she has been given this life in order to make a difference to the world and to even out the inequality she sees. 

The Ubuntu philosophy is a way of acknowledging our common humanity, and it starts at home. In this episode we talk about the loneliness and isolation so many experience in Western society, and how we can change it. In Getrude’s words:

A person is only a person through other people.

I am because you are.

There is only WE.

In her 2013 TEDx talk (she has since presented another) Getrude described the African woman as the personification of “the downtrodden human being”. Since then, Getrude has been a facilitator for many social impact projects to help empower women, some of which she describes in this episode. It’s her intention that the HerStory women’s global empowerment movement she founded inspire, uplift, and connect one million women, and she’s well on the way to achieving that goal!

www.herstorycircle.com

Unconscious bias – it’s part of our innate survival mechanism and, at its worst, it can threaten our survival.

Justine Cooper has been delving into and training people, teams and organisations on unconscious bias for decades. With humility, humanity and wisdom she talks us through her personal realisations and experience around unconscious bias, how we can become aware of our own biases and how, even with small actions, we can have a huge positive ripple effect.

Justine is Head of Brook Graham Asia Pacific. The headline words on Brook Graham’s website are Embracing diversity. Inspiring inclusion. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could acknowledge and celebrate all the richness, colour and variety in us and around us! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all felt that we belonged!

In this episode Justine gives us first steps as well as the wonderful, broad big picture view of what’s possible through uncovering and purging limiting and negative biases. I highly recommend getting curious and having a listen. It’s so worth it!

https://www.brookgraham.com/

Have you ever been to a business networking event which starts with a meditation? No? Justin’s does! And by the way, no one talks about their business or what they do. It’s Different.

Justin Cooper is a man with passion and drive, and in this episode we explore mission and purpose, and a way of approaching business and business practice that values intuition, fun, vulnerability, stepping away from safe (and limiting) conventions and embracing a heart-centred approach.

Justin talks about his burning epiphanies and a different awareness around purpose and business accountability. Most importantly, he talks about ‘Purpose’ as a process of continually stepping into your joy.

Ahhh… It’s like breathing fresh air and sunshine.

https://www.consciousnet.com.au/

Who hasn’t ever agonised over a difficult but necessary conversation OR avoided it altogether? (Yep, I hear silence here…)

Cameron Shepherd is the master of ‘difficult conversations’. As an HR consultant he’s had to have them on behalf of different companies in vastly varying situations all over the world. Cam has learned through experience, and that’s obvious when you hear him speak. Now he teaches other people how to have these conversations in the most positive, constructive way possible.

And we’re talking not only business conversations here, but difficult conversations we all, at some time or other, need to have with family, friends, colleagues etc. Many of us avoid them, which then creates bigger problems. Can you relate?!

Cam’s a man with a good heart, who’s very open about his experiences in learning how, and how not to conduct difficult conversations. The clarity he gives around this topic is both refreshing and a relief!

Tune in to learn how to “do” difficult conversations well.

https://shapehr.com.au/ 

Nikki Smith’s the person to have in your corner if you want to be fulfilled and energised by your work. She’s a psychologist and career / redundancy coach with nearly two decades’ experience, and a fount of the kind of wisdom we all need in order to feel great and perform at our best in our careers.

In this episode, Nikki talks about the massive benefits in identifying your strengths and playing to them – and the downside if you don’t. She addresses the self-limiting beliefs and blocks that prevent people from looking for or finding their best fit role.

Nikki also a practices what she preaches. She has created her own best-fit role with a beach-side dream life to match.

You’re going to enjoy Nikki’s energy and clarity. So, be heartened! YOUR dream life, best fit role are out there. Tune in to hear how you can uncover them and make them a reality.

https://www.nikkismithcoach.com/ 

Ross De Vincentiis is a guy who, to put it euphemistically, LOVES a challenge. He thrives on it!

In this episode we talk about Ross’s career in the military, from infantry soldier to intelligence, the challenges, stories, injuries and what led him to become the holistic health, movement and nutrition coach he is now.

We talk the role of the mind in health and injury recovery, placebo and nocebo and the importance of being aware of the ideas we accept and reject. Ross is also candid about why he finds running a business more stressful than deployment in a war zone!

You’ll love Ross’s openness and humour, as well as his wisdom learned the hard way – through practical experience. For anyone suffering from an injury or illness, or for anyone who’s been told they’ll never be physically healed again, this is a MUST-listen.

You’ll find hope (and possibly a different road) here.

https://rossfit.com.au/