Better Than Yesterday with Osher Günsberg

My guest today is Danielle Prince. On Instagram she’s @danniprince, follow her there and let her know that you heard her here.  

Danielle is a Commonwealth Games and Olympic Rhythmic Gymnast. In her words - rhythmic gymnastics is the absolute fusion between athleticism and art. It is the sport that is designed to make the impossible look easy.  

And Danielle’s story is one of how much time, effort, focus, and dedication it takes to do just that, to make the impossible look easy.  

Spoiler alert - relentless focus, practice and repetition.  

But I’ll let her describe it.  

Because there are no shortcuts to mastery.  

Danielle has an incredible athletic career, she’s made history as the first female gymnast to represent Australia at 3 consecutive Commonwealth Games, and has represented the country as the only Rhythmic gymnast selected to get to the Olympics in Rio.  

Danielle not only works with the Layne Beachley foundation, but Danni has developed her own scholarship to nurture young athletes to continue to strive to be their best.  

And in this conversation, you can hear how she not only deals with the incredible successes that she’s had in her career, but also the times she missed the podium - which, let’s be honest will happen more to an athlete than not.  

This is an emotional conversation. Twice while Danni was telling me her story I started to cry. Her grace and dignity in describing how even though she missed out on the athletic goal she’d set for her self, she emerged as a victor from a competition that she didn’t succeed at - it’s one that moved me and I’m certain will move you.  

It’s the first time I”ve met someone who’s retiring at 25 from the thing they’ve done their entire life. And so I was fascinated to hear how someone who’s done nothing but dedicates their every waking second to a particular outcome now changes course and pursues something else.  

You may never twirl a ribbon while doing a reverse scissor leap, however, what Danni’s been through and the lessons she has to tell you today will change the way you look at what you stand to win even when you look at the scoreboard it says that you have lost.  

She’s a remarkable young woman, find her on Instagram @danniprince and wish her a happy birthday on Tuesday - and enjoy this conversation with Danielle Prince.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guy Sebastian is a singer, songwriter and producer from Sydney, Australia.  

He’s on instagram and twitter @guysebastian  

The first winner of Australian Idol back in 2003, he and I have known each other for most of our careers.  

We’ve had interviews along the way, at Channel [v] or on radio - but he and I have never spoken like we speak today.  

Guy Sebastian has an incredible voice, and is a very, very successful recording artist in Australia because he works harder than almost anyone.  

However along the way Guy has had his struggles, and in this conversation he and I unlock a massive catalyst for change that happened with Guy, and it only happened in the last 18 months.  

To put it simply, daily physical exercise changed his life. I’ll let him take you through it, however the way he describes how hitting the gym every day has changed the way he works, thinks and feels, changed so many things outside of the gym - well, I related to it so much because that has been my experience too.  

Guy is a very deep soul, a kind man, and a man who feels great empathy and love for his life and also those who enjoy his music.  

He spent a few hours in my apartment and we could have chatted all afternoon, however I think in this one we really unlocked a few keys to what makes Guy Sebastian one of the greatest performers our country has ever seen.  

He’s a complete inspiration to me, and I hope you get the same feeling when this conversation is over that I did. One of elation, and a desire to go and move my body.  

Guy’s touring around the country in the next few weeks, tickets are available at guysebastian.com  

Even if you’ve never seen him live, after hearing this I’m sure you’ll want to go just so you can spend time being in the same room as him, because hs’e a very special human.  

Please enjoy this long-overdue conversation with Guy Sebastian.  

You can book tickets for his upcoming tour http://www.guysebastian.com - if you liked the chat, please let him know on twitter or instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Todd Sampson is an adventurer, award-winning documentary-maker, television presenter and businessman. Originally from Canada, he’s made a home for himself in Australia where he rose to become one of the most influential business executives in the country.  

Known to Australians as the guy in the t-shirt on one of Australia’s most successful and longest-running panel shows “Gruen”, Todd’s TV career took on a life of it’s own.  

Aside from his TV work, Todd's business resume is formidable. He’s the former CEO of the Leo Burnett ad agency, he currently sits on the board of Qantas and Fairfax, plus he’s an active investor and advisor in Australia’s start-up scene.  

However first and foremost - Todd is an adventurer. As you’ll hear, his quest for adventure and finding what lies beyond where his is comfortable has lead him to every corner of the globe, putting himself in places and situations that push the limits of human endurance in an effort to see what is on the other side of where most other people would turn back.  

Somewhere along the way, Todd began to film his adventures and that has lead him to an incredibly successful career as a documentary maker, writing and producing "Redesign My Brain", "Life on the Line" and most recently "Body Hack".  

I’m fascinated by Todd. His constant quest to discover what else he and in a way all of us are capable of when we take ourselves outside of the climate-controlled, low danger, low energy output, constant caloric intake world we have built around ourselves - is so inspiring to me. In the last few months I’m discovering what can happen for me when I go beyond what I thought I was capable of, and it has been transformational.  

With Todd, he’s doing it on another level altogether and you can see the results as he pushes himself into the limits of human endurance not just for great footage - but to see what else he will then be capable of with the knowledge that he can do such extreme things and come out the other side.  

I could have talked to Todd for hours - but I think you’ll get a real kick out of this one. You might even need to listen twice.  

The new season of Body Hack starts on Thursday night here in Australia, 8:30pm on Network Ten. Don’t miss it, it’s a life-changer.  

If you enjoy this conversation please let Todd know, he’s on twitter @toddsampsonOz (https://twitter.com/toddsampsonOz).  

Enjoy this adventurous conversation with Todd Sampson.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jamie Pride is a serial entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist and author on a mission to help shift the needle on startup culture. Find him on instagram @jamiepride  

We’ve all heard the Cinderella story - two people create an iPhone app, sell their business to Google for $20M after 18 months and now everyone’s taking baths in Lambos and Bitcoin taking Uber Jets to Burning Man.  

However that’s not the real story.  

92% of startups fail.  

And Jamie has a very real and personal experience of failure.  

Jamie was formerly a partner at consulting firm Deloitte, and then the CEO of realestate.com.au.  

He rode a rocket ship of success to the stars, founding more than six technology start ups, raising over $16M in funding and even listing his HR startup Refined on the ASX in 2015. 

Refined listed and went through the roof, within 30 weeks the stock shot up to a Market Capitalisation of over $200M, and overnight dropped to $20. 

He had investors who’d poured millions of dollars into his business turning up to his house in anger, and he even had to deal with death threats. 

Jamie self-medicated and his health plummeted before he hit a dangerous rock-bottom both mentally and physically which he goes into in this conversation. 

Now on a path of recovery, Jamie is committed to preventing other start-up founders from going through what he went through, by helping them not only understand the astronomical odds stacked against them - but also to help founders build resilience, so that they can fail, and then learn from that failure, then fail again and again until finally they succeed. 

He’s written a brilliant book on the matter - it’s called Unicorn Tears which is out now, and it focuses on mental health and resilience in the start up scene. It’s well worth a read if you’re an independent business person, there’s a lot of valuable content in there, I certainly resonated with the attribution of your product’s success to your self-worth - which he and I discuss in this show.  

We may not all be coders or tech start up geniuses - but all of us have ambitions and goals, and all of us can learn from Jamie’s story.  

He has a particularly excellent philosophy when it comes to mornings and about the use of his phone - I certainly have changed my game since I spoke with him, I hope that what he says can resonate with you too.  

Enjoy this conversation with Jamie Pride.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melissa Ambrosini is an Author, Podcaster and Motivational Speaker. You can find her on instagram @melissaambrosini. Her first book “Mastering your Mean Girl” was an absolute hit, and she’s just released a new book “Open Wide”. 

We might not all be authors, we might not all reinvent ourselves and work hard to become authorities on self-help and self-love : but all of us have been at rock bottom, and Melissa’s story of how she came back from a place of true darkness and peril is one that will move you. 

This one gets dark. This one gets emotional, however it’s ok. It has a happy ending. 

Melissa’s Podcast is a superb listen and you can find it where you found this one, just search The Melissa Ambrosini Show. 

If you like this episode, go let her know online - my guests always get a kick out of getting feedback from you. 

So let’s not waste any time. 

Settle in for a tale of coming into the light out of the darkness with Melissa Ambrosini. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Hill is an entrepreneur and advocate for plant-based eating. Originally from Melbourne, he’s now based in Bondi Beach. You can find him on Instagram @plant_proof and online at plantproof.com - a guide to living a plant-based diet for people who like to be on the more active side of life.

Simon’s story is just remarkable.

He is one of Australia’s most successful young entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors.

As we talked he was very humble about his businesses - just casually dropping that he started a “tea company” while he was working as a physiotherapist.

The tea company he’s referring to is the absolutely massive YourTea.com, giving people access to herbs and teas used in traditional Chinese medicine.

But you’d never know he’s one of my country’s most successful entrepreneurs, he’s also one of the people behind Organic Village Foods and Bean Body Care.

Simon’s a very smart, very humble man.

Devastatingly handsome with eyes like turquoise tropical lagoons, Simon’s focus now is on advocating for a plant-based lifestyle.

If you look at a photo of him, you’ll notice that he is cut like a chopped salad.

The man works out.

And Plant Proof was inspired by Simon’s own experience with transitioning from eating animal foods to a plant-based diet.

As we discuss, initially he shared many common fears among men and women, who are doing the same thing.

If I stop eating meat am I going to lose muscle?

With all those carbs will I gain fat and feel bloated? What about my iron?

Will I get enough protein?

There are answers to all of these questions, and we talk about most of them in this show.

What I love most about Simon isn’t just his inspirational journey - but that he doesn’t throw health claims around willy nilly.

He only talks about stuff that is backed up by hard science. He won’t make a claim that isn’t backed by a reference to a peer-reviewed journal study.

And in this day of Instagram experts touting miracle cures - that is an important thing to have.

To add even more clout to what he’s talking about, Simon is currently studying a Masters in Nutrition so that he can come at anyone with cold hard facts at fifty paces.

He’s a great guy, I hope you enjoy getting to know Simon Hill.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today is elite cyclist Shane Perkins, you can find him on twitter @perkoperkins. 

Shane is an Olympic Games Bronze Medalist, a world champion team sprinter and a former Keirin track world champion.  

Shane’s story is one of coming out from under his father’s shadow, committing to a goal and striving for what he wanted. 

We might not all be track cyclists capable of exploding an astonishing 2500w of power out of our legs, but we all have something that we want to get done. 

Shane’s story is so great because for him, those few seconds standing on the podium while the anthem plays - that’s not what he’s doing this for.  

He’s doing it for the journey.  

He’s doing it for what he’ll learn about himself on the way to stepping up on that small piece of oblong carpentry that stands on the edge of the track. 

That to me is the most inspiring part of Shane’s story - that the journey itself IS the reward. 

We caught up over Skype, thanks for allowing me to do more Skype chats guys. 

Enjoy this conversation with Shane Perkins.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fraser Bayley is a bodybuilder and trainer originally from NZ and now living in New Orleans, Louisiana. You can follow his adventures at @evolvingalpha on Instagram or FB.  

Fraser’s story is a heroes journey if ever there was one.  

From an unwell butcher who lived with a diagnosis of ADHD and then bipolar disorder, to a powerful bodybuilder who has achieved an incredible physique on a vegan diet.  

However, Fraser’s transformation is way more than physical. The way he describes the dark place he was in during his teenage years, how he escaped a pattern of negative behaviour, how he identified ways to start to feel better and then simply worked on them every day, building momentum until he emerged from the chrysalis as a new man - this is a story that will show you the true gift we have as humans - the gift of being able to choose our next response and choose our next action.  

That Fraser is a bodybuilder may not be something you aspire to - however, it is a physical manifestation of the focus and commitment he has to not only feeling better in his mind but also creating a new life for himself unrecognisable from his troubled past.  

If you add on to that the extraordinary shift from being a butcher who did work in slaughterhouses, who worked every day cutting up animal carcasses for a supermarket meat section - to becoming the epitome of what masculinity celebrates when it comes to the “alpha” type - a fiercely competitive bodybuilder with an intimidating physique who trains and maintains that physique on a plant-based diet, that is truly astounding.  

So much of the communication around health and fitness, and particularly muscle gain is all about eating meat - either the paleo diet or the keto diet - and when it comes to being a man, to expressing masculinity, one display of that we as a culture look toward is muscle.  

Muscle that comes from eating animal products.  

It’s touted as the only way to get that physique.  

I’m here to tell you - it isn’t.  

And Fraser is here to tell you too.  

We caught up on Skype - so there are a few drops, but I hope you forgive the glitches and enjoy the inspiration that will come from this conversation with Fraser Bayley.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brett Robinson, or Robbo to his athletes and clients, is a high-performance coach who worked for years with the Australian Paralympic team. 

He’s since branched out into the wider community, hoping to bring his concepts and ideas that he learned and developed over the course of his incredibly successful career with elite athletes, and share them with the wider community. 

He has an excellent podcast that I highly recommend - Your Life Of Impact, which you can find wherever great podcasts are heard. 

Brett’s story does take some darker turns, but it’s ok, I promise he’s ok and found his way to Ok in a way that will inspire us all to live a life with more intentionality than before. 

I’m so grateful we got the chance to chat and to former podcast guest Rachel Neylan who made the introduction. 

Enjoy this introduction to the inspirational world of Brett Robbo.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bernie Black is the CEO of Brave Foundation, and the author of the book "Brave Little Bear: The inspirational Story of a Teenage Mother”.  

Bernie’s story is not uncommon, but it’s something we don’t really speak about still.  

Teenage pregnancy.  

I know that Bernie’s story will resonate with many people listening, and I am sure it might even be confronting to some people listening.  

Bernie has not only built an incredible life for her son, and now larger family - she’s risen to create an incredible career for herself as the CEO of Brave Foundation - and you’ll hear how she’s making a massive difference not only with stigma reduction and support for teenage parents, but on a broad policy level here in Australia.  

You might not be trying to tackle a powerful social issue like teenage pregnancy, you might just be trying to tackle getting your kids to ease up on screen time and engage more in real time - it doesn’t matter, Bernie’s story will leave you inspired about what is possible no matter what circumstances face you. And that with support and a solid reframe, many situations can turn out way better than you thought in the first place. 

You can find out more about the incredible work that Brave Foundation does for expecting and parenting teens at http://bravefoundation.org.au/ 

Enjoy this conversation with Bernie Black.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.